Reviews Archive

Portrait of the author Boris Pilnyak (1894-1938)

Review

Great Books: Boris Pilnyak’s The Bare Year

Boris Pilnyak's lyrical and surreal account of life in post-Revolutionary Russia brings vividly to life the all-pervading turbulence of war and its harrowing impact on the individu..

Jade McGlynn February 24, 2023

Review

In defence of architecture

Witold Rybczynski overturns familiar Modernist orthodoxies and gives due weight to older but still vibrant traditions.

Clive Aslet February 24, 2023

Poster depicting the degeneration of blood cells.

Review

Are we ready for the new humans?

Siddhartha Mukherjee tells the story of cells, those fundamental units of life, mixing trademark reflections with historical vignettes and scientific lucidity.

Kevin Davies February 17, 2023

An interior view of Monk's House, East Sussex, the writer Virginia Woolf's country home and retreat.

Review

Great Books: Virginia Woolf’s Flush: A Biography

The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s spaniel is the subject of this unexpectedly profound and witty book.

Daisy Dunn February 10, 2023

A young Chinese boy on skates stops to check out a newly painted mural depicting ancient Roman and Greek motifs at a new, international shopping plaza in Beijing on July 7, 2013.

Review

How Classics captured the Chinese imagination

This original and provocative book explores contemporary China’s love of Greek and Roman classics — and their unexpected use in supporting the regime’s political agenda.

Michael Sheridan February 10, 2023