sat 06/09/2025

book reviews and features

Jung Chang: Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister review – China's century in three women's lives

Boyd Tonkin

In 1930, a couple of romantically involved Chinese expats in Berlin – both revolutionaries in their own way – went on a farewell date. One of them, Deng Yan-da, was due to return home to continue...

Read more...

Sarah Hall: Sudden Traveller review - lyrical and luminous

Jessica Payn

Movement, flight, searching, the quest for a destination: as its title might suggest, Sarah Hall’s latest ...

Read more...

Chantal Ackerman: My Mother Laughs review - too umbilically linked?

India Lewis

My Mother Laughs was first published in Chantal Ackerman’s native French in 2013. This year it has been...

Read more...

John le Carré: Agent Running in the Field review - fake news, Brexit and Cold war echoes

Marina Vaizey

That John le Carré! It turns out the agent isn’t so much running in the field as playing badminton. The master of the ...

Read more...

Hisham Matar: A Month in Siena review – memories, framed

India Lewis

A Month in Siena is a sweet, short mediation on art, grief, and life. Ostensibly describing the time and...

Read more...

Thomas J Campanella: Brooklyn - The Once and Future City review - out of Manhattan's shadow

Liz Thomson

For visitors to New York, it’s all about Manhattan, its 23 square miles of skyscraper-encrusted granite...

Read more...

Great Women Artists review - the book we have been waiting for

Sarah Kent

Every now and then a book comes out that can change lives. If a survey like this had appeared when I was a student at the Slade, the struggle to make headway as a female artist would have seemed...

Read more...

Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol

theartsdesk

She has more armed guards than she has luggage. She has a sense of purpose even Magsalin admires. She rides along the coast toward a historic place and, by simply stepping on its soil, she will...

Read more...

Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol

theartsdesk

She had clutched the envelope given by the shy messenger, but she had never opened it.

The Intended.

True. The message from the director was for her.

A joke between...

Read more...

Book extract: Insurrecto by Gina Apostol

theartsdesk

At first, what puts Magsalin off at the pastry shop is Chiara’s voice. It is nasal, and her monotone, a bored flatness, even in the most interesting parts, keeps Magsalin, or the pastry shop...

Read more...

Pages

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £49,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

 

latest in today

'We are bowled over!' Thank you for your messages... ...
Deaf Republic, Royal Court review - beautiful images, shame...

The Ukraine war is not the only place of horror in the world, but it does present a challenge to theatre makers who want to respond to events that...

Album: Josh Ritter - I Believe in You, My Honeydew

Americana rocker Josh Ritter can write a beautiful song....

Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, Underbelly Boulevard Soho revie...

Laura Benanti has been enchanting Broadway audiences for several decades now, and London has this week been let in on the secret that recently...

Waley-Cohen, Manchester Camerata, Pether, Whitworth Art Gall...

Manchester Camerata is enhancing its reputation for pioneering with three performances featuring Nick Martin’s new Violin Concerto, which it has...

The Courageous review - Ophélia Kolb excels as a single moth...

“I never abandoned you,” says Jule (Ophélia Kolb; Call My Agent!) to her 10-year-old daughter Claire (Jasmine Kalisz Saurer), setting a...

Album: David Byrne - Who is the Sky?

From his early days with Talking Heads, David Byrne has ploughed a highly individual furrow, and exploited a persona that combines naivety with...

The Paper, Sky Max review - a spinoff of the US Office worth...

Fans of the US version of The Office may wonder what happened to the assorted oddballs of Dunder Mifflin, proud creators of...

Edinburgh Psych Fest 2025 review - eclectic and experimental

Now in its third year, Edinburgh Psych Fest returned to multiple venues in the old town and the city’s southside for 2025; namely Summerhall,...

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters