Paul Mason’s latest book, How To Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance (The Week Bookshop £15.99), is published this week.
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon (1990)
A haunting and surreal story of betrayal, both in love and politics, set amid the ruins of the 1960s counterculture, the war on drugs and the rise of the US surveillance state. Vintage £10.99; The Week Bookshop £8.99
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Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman (1980)
Grossman was a journalist who saw both the Second World War and the Holocaust from the frontline. This masterpiece of 20th century literature was banned for explicitly comparing Nazi and Soviet dictatorships, and had to be smuggled out of the USSR on microfilm. Its author died believing that every copy of his book had been lost. Vintage £10.99; The Week Bookshop £8.99
The Red Virgin: Memoirs of Louise Michel (1886)
A schoolteacher turned barricade fighter in the Paris Commune, Michel was exiled to the Pacific island of New Caledonia, where she began to document the folklore of the indigenous peoples, and to support their revolt against French colonialism. My 2017 play, Divine Chaos of Starry Things, was a tribute to her indomitable spirit. University of Alabama Press £32.50
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn (1939)
Of all the coal-mining novels, this is the one that captures best the intense solidarity of communities like the one my grandparents lived in, and how much they loved life despite its hardships. Today the Welsh valleys are, once again, green – but at massive social cost. Penguin £10.99; The Week Bookshop £8.99
Istanbul, Istanbul by Burhan Sönmez (2016)
I covered the Gezi Park uprising in Istanbul in 2013. Sönmez’s novel tells the city’s story through the eyes of four victims of torture, who tell each other fables as they share a prison cell. In a world where torture is becoming the routine tool of political strongmen, Sönmez shows how ordinary people find the courage to resist. Telegram Books £8.99; The Week Bookshop £6.99
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6 exquisite homes for skiersFeature Featuring a Scandinavian-style retreat in Southern California and a Utah abode with a designated ski room
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Film reviews: ‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ and ‘Young Mothers’Feature A full-immersion portrait of the Shakers’ founder, a zombie virus brings out the best and worst in the human survivors, and pregnancy tests the resolve of four Belgian teenagers
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Political cartoons for January 25Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a hot economy, A.I. wisdom, and more
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6 exquisite homes for skiers
Feature Featuring a Scandinavian-style retreat in Southern California and a Utah abode with a designated ski room
-
Film reviews: ‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ and ‘Young Mothers’
Feature A full-immersion portrait of the Shakers’ founder, a zombie virus brings out the best and worst in the human survivors, and pregnancy tests the resolve of four Belgian teenagers
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Book reviews: ‘American Reich: A Murder in Orange County; Neo-Nazis; and a New Age of Hate’ and ‘Winter: The Story of a Season’Feature A look at a neo-Nazi murder in California and how winter shaped a Scottish writer
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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – ‘a macabre morality tale’The Week Recommends Ralph Fiennes stars in Nia DaCosta’s ‘exciting’ chapter of the zombie horror
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Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
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The Voice of Hind Rajab: ‘innovative’ drama-doc hybridThe Week Recommends ‘Wrenching’ film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza
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Off the Scales: ‘meticulously reported’ rise of OzempicThe Week Recommends A ’nuanced’ look at the implications of weight-loss drugs
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A road trip in the far north of NorwayThe Week Recommends Perfect for bird watchers, history enthusiasts and nature lovers
