The former deputy PM and president of global affairs at Meta picks five favourites. He will be speaking about his book, “How to Save the Internet”, at the Hay Festival Winter Weekend.
Life & Times of Michael K
Possibly my favourite book of all time, mostly because of the taut, sparse prose. It generates a stunning effect. There is simply not a word out of place – and every word resonates with meaning.
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys, 1966
A prequel to “Jane Eyre”, which takes us to Jamaica, through the life and marriage of the soon-to-be Mrs Rochester, the madwoman of the attic. An agonisingly poignant novel, made all the more so by the fact that Jean Rhys wrote it while living in poverty and obscurity; the recognition it earned her came far too late.
Far North
Marcel Theroux, 2009
I’m not sure if I would have read this if Marcel were not a lifelong friend – but it’s one of his best: quite chilling, a bit eccentric and haunting. A story about a solitary figure called Makepeace who journeys through a bleak post-apocalyptic landscape. If you like post-apocalyptism – which unfortunately feels rather more relevant these days – then this is one for you.
Plough, Sword and Book
Ernest Gellner, 1988
I first encountered this when I was at uni in the mid-1980s. It is an imperiously sweeping (critics would claim over-sweeping, and over-European) view of how humans evolved through plough, sword and book. As an undergraduate wanting to be exposed to big ideas, it felt like a meteor full of them.
An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Liberalism
Conrad Russell, 1999
Not a partisan pick, I promise! So pithy, and it describes an enduring truth – that liberalism is in essence about power, and how to disperse it and make it accountable. It is somewhat out of step with our populist times, obviously, but all the more important for it.
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop
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Nnela Kalu’s historic Turner Prize winTalking Point Glasgow-born artist is first person with a learning disability to win Britain’s biggest art prize
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Bridget Riley: Learning to See – an ‘invigorating and magical ensemble’The Week Recommends The English artist’s striking paintings turn ‘concentration into reverie’
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‘Stakeknife’: MI5’s man inside the IRAThe Explainer Freddie Scappaticci, implicated in 14 murders and 15 abductions during the Troubles, ‘probably cost more lives than he saved’, investigation claims
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‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
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Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secretsfeature Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, through Feb. 22
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Homes with great fireplacesFeature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
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Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
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Wake Up Dead Man: ‘arch and witty’ Knives Out sequelThe Week Recommends Daniel Craig returns for the ‘excellent’ third instalment of the murder mystery film series
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Zootropolis 2: a ‘perky and amusing’ movieThe Week Recommends The talking animals return in a family-friendly sequel
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Storyteller: a ‘fitting tribute’ to Robert Louis StevensonThe Week Recommends Leo Damrosch’s ‘valuable’ biography of the man behind Treasure Island
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The rapid-fire brilliance of Tom StoppardIn the Spotlight The 88-year-old was a playwright of dazzling wit and complex ideas
