Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

Famous Soviet classical pianist Sviatoslav Richter performing, USSR, 1970s.

notebook

The profound elegance of Haydn’s piano sonatas

A 1987 performance by the great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter reveals Haydn's exquisite, often overlooked piano sonatas.

Paul Lay August 12, 2026

A painting illustrating a scene from the war in the Vendée.

notebook

Victor Hugo’s 1793

The valedictory novel of Victor Hugo, newly translated into English, recounts the Terror and traces its legacy down the generations. It shows why the French still argue about the m..

Boyd Tonkin August 12, 2026

notebook

Powell and Pressburger’s eternal England

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1944 film 'A Canterbury Tale' is a meditation on Englishness that transcends its wartime-propaganda origins to become one of cinema's most b..

Guy Stagg August 11, 2026

A painting of Otto von Bismarck in military uniform with a giant Prussian eagle above him.

notebook

Kissinger’s debt to Bismarck

For the master of 20th-century realpolitik, Klemens von Metternich and Otto von Bismarck – two titans of 19th-century diplomacy – were ultimately tragic figures whose triumphs sowe..

Sam Spound August 10, 2026

The ASML booth at the 6th CIIE in Shanghai, China on 6 November 2023.

notebook

ASML and the West’s technology dilemma

Imposing restrictions on tech exports to China may prove an effective geo-economic tool in the short term, but could spur Beijing towards innovation that strengthens its own AI and..

Duncan Weldon August 7, 2026

Monica Vitti in Michelangelo Antonioni's l'Avventura. Credit: Entertainment Pictures

notebook

Antonioni’s adventures with Monica

Michelangelo Antonioni's film 'L'Avventura', a classic study of modernity's moral coldness, found its supreme embodiment not in an abstraction but in an actress: the enigmatic Moni..

Pratinav Anil August 6, 2026

Scene from 'The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor' directed by Rod Lurie (2020). Credit: Collection Christophel

notebook

The Outpost: a Homeric world of warfare

Rod Lurie's 2020 film provides a visceral, harrowing depiction of one of the most brutal battles of America's war in Afghanistan.

Paul Lay August 5, 2026

notebook

Classical music’s enduring allure

The rise in the number of classical music festivals testifies to a growing demand for the timeless beauty of the western musical canon, especially among the young.

Elisabeth Braw August 4, 2026

Protesters hold placards during a demonstration on the first day of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment, in Manila, on May 18, 2026.

notebook

The cost of the Philippines’ clan politics

Whoever comes out on top in the bitter clash between the country's political dynasties, it is ordinary Filipinos who will pay the price.

Imran Shamsunahar August 4, 2026