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Here and Now: Letters 2009-2011 - Paul Auster and J M Coetzee
10 May 2013
Epistolary correspondence between two stalwarts of contemporary English literature
Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee, two stalwarts of contemporary English literature, first met in 2008. Shortly after, Coetzee wrote suggesting they “could strike sparks off each other”. Here and Now is the result: epistolary correspondence from 2008 to…
I Am An Executioner
10 May 2013
Nine wildly inventive tales on love, life and death from Indian-born US writer Rajesh Param
I Am an Executioner is the debut collection of short stories by Indian-born US writer Rajesh Parameswaran. The tagline is 'Love Stories', an indication of the inextricability of love, life and death which Parameswaran explores in these nine wildly…
Clandestino: In search of Manu Chao
10 May 2013
A carnival of photojournalism and trans-continental reportage which brings you closer to the World M
It is no marketing accident that Peter Culshaw’s book has all the look and feel of a Lonely Planet volume. A carnival of photojournalism and trans-continental reportage, Clandestino, in search of Manu Chao is an ambitious biography of an artist who both…
The Flamethrowers
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10 May 2013
Fast-paced novel which reflects Kushner's need for speed
Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers is remarkable for its expansiveness and for its exhilarating succession of ideas. At its heart is Reno – named after her hometown – who becomes involved in the New York art world of the 1970s. From there the novel…
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
10 May 2013
DiSclafani's debut novel fails to provoke passion in its readers
Like many debuts, Anton DiSclafani’s novel draws on her childhood. Initially set in her summer home of North Carolina, the author’s love of horseback riding backdrops part of this story of a high society teen at brink of the Depression. Sent away to The…
Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard-Living, Hair and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower East Side
10 May 2013
Vivid recollections of a punk's fascinating life
From the moment Rayya Elias describes breaking her leg on the marble floor of the Syrian apartment she lived in until the age of seven, Harley Loco is a beautifully ugly memoir. Elias’ gravelly voice hustles her story onto the page; her Detroit…
The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour
10 May 2013
Witty duets guide you through the city's literary history
This entertaining mash-up of pub crawl and street theatre uses conflict to bring its subject alive, with great results. Hosted by two characters (one a bohemian who believes Edinburgh’s famous writers were formed from the city’s squalor, the other an…
Matt Hill - The Folded Man
10 May 2013
Transgressive fiction that keeps us shuddering for Britain's future
Part science-fiction, part horror, Matt Hill’s debut depicts a war-torn near-future Britain poisoned by nationalism and racism. Using current anxieties over riots, terrorism and the recession as a springboard for clever satire, Hill makes weighty topics…
Alice Thompson - Burnt Island
10 May 2013
Sixth novel takes the gothic genre to a whole new level
When emotionally fragile literary author Max Long wins a three-month writing fellowship on the mysterious Burnt Island (not to be confused with the Fife coastal town), he believes that this could be his opportunity to write the bestseller that has so…
Apple Tree Yard
10 May 2013
A novel reflecting upon how we all create our own stories in order to justify our actions
Yvonne Carmichael, a successful geneticist and suburban wife, embarks on a dangerous affair with a married man, which intensifies and leads to a shocking act of violence. At first glance, the plot of Apple Tree Yard may seem like a mixture of crime…
Interview: John Cooper Clarke set for 2013 UK tour
9 May 2013
Punk, poet and comic recaps 35-year career with humour and fresh insight
Like a recently awakened raven, all hair teased to eternity and trademark skinny suit, John Cooper Clarke is one of the most unique figures in poetry and punk. His forthright poetry, delivered in a breathless, freight-train rush of breath, was perfectly…
Star Trek Into Darkness
9 May 2013
Solid sci-fi story in the vein of JJ Abrams' first Star Trek film
With his brilliant restart to the Star Trek series in 2009, director JJ Abrams delivered an origin story that was both respectful to the series’ history while unafraid to take its well-known characters in new and surprising directions. Added to this…
A History of Classical Music: Part 4 - The Later Renaissance
8 May 2013
Alex Johnston's series of articles outlining the history of classical music - with Spotify playlist
Welcome back. We left off in the mid-16th century, and for quite a while yet, the vast bulk of music that gets written down is church music. And you know what that means, right? ... More unaccompanied choral singing? Yes! And lucky you, because…
Arika Episode 4: Freedom Is A Constant Struggle - Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 18–Sun 21 Apr
2 May 2013
A quietly powerful weekend of jazz, poetry, philosophy and 'haiku for black people'
Arika may no longer do music festivals, but Episode 4: Freedom Is A Constant Struggle, boasted the most sublime music the innovative Edinburgh-based curators have presented since the glory days of Instal, alongside riveting talks, readings and…
New Scottish band Akord bring hard rock from the Granite City
1 May 2013
Zealous Aberdeen-bred band sweeping competition ahead of debut EP release
On the cusp of securing top spot at their third competition in as many months, the Granite City's noiseniks Akord have been rapidly attracting major attention from both sides of the border; all of which has been impressively amassed prior to the release…
Chimpanzee
30 Apr 2013
Disney's latest nature documentary will keep young animal enthusiasts happy
This kid-friendly documentary has all the elements you would expect given its Disneynature origins: excellent production values (many of the crew are veterans of the BBC’s natural history documentaries), slick filmmaking and a generally wholesome…
The Eye of the Storm
30 Apr 2013
Adaptation of Patrick White's 'unfilmable' novel starring Charlotte Rampling and Geoffrey Rush
He may have won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973, but Australian novelist Patrick White has not has much impact cinematically beyond his screenplay for 1978’s The Night, the Prowler. His novel The Eye of The Storm has often been described as…
Dragon
30 Apr 2013
Fast-moving martial arts flick with dazzling action scenes
A welcome entry to the martial arts genre, Peter Chan's Dragon is a fast-moving action thriller that has the brains to match its brawn. Set in the Yunnan province in China in 1917, the film picks up as peaceful handyman Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) is forced…
Dead Man Down
30 Apr 2013
Overlong and silly crime drama starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace
This convoluted thriller's nondescript title is a pointer to its flaws: unfocused and overlong, its swill of criminal characters and sub-plots feel like an unfinished work-in-progress, thrown together and stamped with a generic title whose meaning is…
Rebus author Ian Rankin set to launch Lyceum’s 2013/14 programme
30 Apr 2013
The new season features works from Chris Hannan, Tony Cownie and David Haig
A play by Ian Rankin is just one of four world premieres and three new co-productions to be announced as part of the Royal Lyceum Theatre’s new season. Rebus novelist Rankin’s play will launch the season as part of a crime double bill, with Maureen…
Top 5 superhero romances
30 Apr 2013
Iron Man 3's Tony Stark and Pepper Pots are but the latest in a long-line of superhero sweethearts
Warning: may contain spoilers!
TV review: Banshee
29 Apr 2013
Getting through Alan Ball’s new show requires a strong stomach and powerful painkillers
If Six Feet Under was Alan Ball’s attempt to create a Shakespearean family drama set among the funeral parlours of LA, then Banshee (Sky Atlantic, Mon, 10.15pm) might be his attempt at pitching himself for a Bourne writing gig. While Ball may be…
Travis, Johnny Marr and Hurts announced for T in the Park 2013
26 Apr 2013
Day splits also announced - see which acts are playing when from Fri 12-Sun 14 Jul
Glasgow band Travis have been announced as performers at T in the Park 2013. Having played at the very first T in the Park in 1994 as Glass Onion, they will return to Kinross to take part in the festival’s 20th anniversary, playing on Sat 13 Jul. Travis…
Matmos - The Marriage of True Minds
26 Apr 2013
Diverse album a return to form for duo specialising in high-concept fun
For two decades now, Matmos have making music that goes way beyond sticking microphones in inappropriate places and making glitchy techno from the results. Originally emerging during the post-rock wave of cerebral electronic experimentalists that…
Stephen Collins – The Gigantic Beard that was Evil
26 Apr 2013
Collins’ graphic novel inspects the havoc wreaked on a neat community by unruly facial hair
On the bland, egg-shaped island of Here, Dave lives a comfortably dull life: by day he performs a data-processing job; by night he sketches the view from the windows of his suburban home. Like the other inhabitants of Here, Dave is wary of change and…
