I ought to preface this review with the statement “I do not speak any German”. Although one of my personal goals for my year abroad is to learn German, at this current junction of the year I can order a cup of tea and thank people, and that would be the end of it. However, whilst […]
literature
“The Times, They Are a’Changin'”: Thoughts on Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize
It was the first year of my English literature degree, and I had earnestly proposed to my seminar leader that I write my summative essay on Bob Dylan’s lyrics to A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. I was not a little upset when the slightly bemused professor replied that I could not write an analysis of […]
Review: “Room” by Emma Donoghue
O ur nightmares are filled with fears of claustrophobia, feelings of imminent danger and monsters. The monsters of our dreams don’t exist, but some people give it their best shot. Well Jack the hero of our story lives in a nightmarish world blissfully unaware of the dangers and monsters around him; he is just five […]
Reader, I’d Marry Him
Has third term left you longing for peaceable solitude rather than the buzz of festivals? Perhaps you just need a few days of quiet before you start checking off that plethora of events clogging up your calendar. Well, no reader’s summer is complete without falling utterly, hopelessly in love with someone who does not exist […]
Let’s talk about sex
From Adam and Eve, to Paris Hilton, Ryan Giggs, and Kim Kardashian, what people get up to in bed has been the subject of fascination since the beginning of humanity. When sex tapes are leaked and infidelities are revealed, time and time again we can’t help but delve into the sordid details, with head-shaking claims […]
150 years of Beatrix Potter…
To celebrate 150 years since Beatrix Potter’s birth, the writer and her famous characters will be appearing on British fifty-pence coins alongside Shakespeare and the latest portrait of the Queen. A classic British writer of predominantly children’s books, Potter left a lasting legacy through both her creative work and her interest in conservation and natural […]
Is James Bond outdated?
He is, undoubtedly, one of the most iconic characters in the entirety of English literature: the epitome of patriotic, debonair sophistication who has since spawned the third highest-grossing film series, over 30 re-worked novelizations and an introductory line which has become a cultural phenomenon within itself. Indeed, judging from the success of the most recent […]
Me, My Shelf and I: Valentina Vacchelli
LR: Tell us where we can find your favourite bookshelf? What do you love the most about it? VV: My favourite bookshelf is in my room in Exeter. Actually, it’s not one single bookshelf but it’s three shelves one next to the other. When I moved in last September I had four big boxes of […]
Malay Roy Choudhury revealed: Part I
You grew up in Patna. What was your childhood like, and how do you think it has affected the person you are today? I was born in a Bengali Brahmin family in 1939, and grew up in Patna in a slum area called Imlitala. Imlitala means ‘below the tamarind tree’. Ours was the only brick-mortar […]