I should have read this years ago - it was originally published in 1991 - but just had not got around to it ... and then I found a copy in a secondhand bookshop and wow - magical, moving - nature, yes, but so much more as this amazing artist builds his garden in the wildness of Dungeness. I had the pleasure of meeting him around the time this book came out - I was looking for hedgehogs (no surprise there) and was knocking on doors. He was charming and a little bemused. The world lost a supreme artist when he died.
Derek Jarman tells the story of his discovery that he is HIV+ and, in a series of flashbacks, looks at his life - his difficult relationship with his father, his discovery of his homosexuality and the dramatic exposure of his first homosexual relationship, his university days and his coming out at art school in the company of contemporaries such as David Hockney and Patrick Proctor. He goes on to describe his early work as a stage designer , his affair with Robert Mapplethorpe and his early encouragement of David Lynch. The cast list also includes Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Kenneth…
I was already a massive fan of Olga Tokarczuk thanks to her amazing book, Drive your plow over the bones of the dead ... so when this came out I bought it immediately. The subtitle: A Health Resort Horror Story does not, I feel, do it justice. This book pulls you in with the elegance of her writing - the fact that there is an amazing plot, beautifully crafted characters of varying degrees of appeal, and a deep critique of many of the failings of modern society all are sidelined by the simple (!) skill of putting the right word next to the previous well chosen word ... and on ...
In September 1913, a young Pole suffering from tuberculosis arrives at Wilhelm Opitz's Guesthouse for Gentlemen, a health resort in the Silesian mountains. Every evening the residents gather to imbibe the hallucinogenic local liqueur and debate the great issues of the day: monarchy or democracy? Do devils exist? Are women born inferior? War or peace? Meanwhile, disturbing things are happening in the guesthouse and the surrounding hills. Someone - or something - seems to be watching, attempting to infiltrate this cloistered world. Little does the newcomer realize, as he tries to unravel both the truths within himself and the mystery…
Helen Macdonald's is famous for H is for Hawk - a groundbreaking piece of writing about nature ... I am sure I was one of many eager to see what came next. When I met her at an event Helen was a little reserved when I asked about the next book ... 'oh, I don't know whether it will be your sort of thing,' they said ... well it could not be more different. Prophet is a fast paced techno-thriller and is so good that I nearly wet myself... seriously, I was so absorbed that for the first time in many years I realised (almost) too late that I was desperate! No point in trying to share much of the plot, it is so original ... happy memories getting weaponised with lethal consequences... oh - just read it.
'Brilliant. Hypnotically enthralling... I loved it' CHRIS WHITAKER
***
A mysterious event An all-American diner appears overnight in a remote British field. More and more objects materialise: toys, fairground rides, pets and other treasured mementos of the past.
A weapon like no other The deaths quickly follow. A devastating weapon - Prophet - is bringing these memories to life, then stifling innocent people with their own joy. But nobody knows who created it, or why.
A fight for the future Sunil Rao and Adam Rubenstein are tasked…
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING ON CONSERVATION
Investigating the ethical and practical challenges of one of the greatest threats to biodiversity: invasive species.
Across the world, invasive species pose a danger to ecosystems. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity ranks them as a major threat to biodiversity on par with habitat loss, climate change and pollution.
Tackling this isn't easy, and no one knows this better than Hugh Warwick, a conservationist who loathes the idea of killing, harming or even eating animals. Yet as an ecologist, he is acutely aware of the need, at times, to kill invasive species whose presence harms the wider environment.
Hugh explores the complex history of species control, revealing the global movement of species and the impacts of their presence. Combining scientific theory with gentle humour in his signature style, he explains the issues conservationists face to control non-native animals and protect native species - including grey and red squirrels on Anglesey, ravens and tortoises in the Mojave Desert, cane toads in Australia and the smooth-billed ani on the Galapagos - and describes cases like Pablo Escobar's cocaine hippos and the Burmese python pet trade.
Taking a balanced and open approach to this emotive subject, Hugh speaks to experts on all sides of the debate. How do we protect endangered native species? Which species do we prioritise? And how do we reckon with the ethics of killing anything in the name of conservation?
