CATHERINE STEEL relishes a compelling novel about Augustus’s right hand man, but misses the politics, the cultural shifts, and more detail about his restoration of Rome
Latest editorial
A multidimensional world of seers, dreams and prophecies
Nagaland shawl with tiger and lion motiv
[Atcelsius/Creative Commons]
TONY BURKE speaks to JOEL McIVER, co-author of the biography of bluesman John Mayall
A misfit couple unhappily ever after, a dead man walking, dodgy journos, and trench art trucking
New releases from Javon Jackson, IZE Trio, and Mal Waldron Trio
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an intriguing multi-layered depiction, dominated by a stunning impersonation of Marilyn herself
EWAN CAMERON marvels at the impossible ambition, realised with dreamlike finesse of translating Italo Calvino to the stage
Spirit Nights
by Easterine Kire
Barbican Press, £9.99
SPIRIT NIGHTS is a challenging yet compelling read, but one likely to fully reward the persistent reader by its close.
Both set in and inspired by the rich cultural history of Nagaland, the remote state in north-eastern India, author Easterine Kire offers an immersive experience that certainly can be classified as part mythology and part an ethnographical study.
Yet, in so many more respects, it is far more than the combination of these two genres, as it also explores the universal themes of love, loss, courage and the tension between individual and collective responses to existential threats.
Similar stories
CATHERINE STEEL relishes a compelling novel about Augustus’s right hand man, but misses the politics, the cultural shifts, and more detail about his restoration of Rome
PAUL FOLEY revels in the coolest, most joyful piece of theatre you’ll get this summer
MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
KEVIN DONNELLY accepts the invitation to think speculatively in contemplation of representations of people of African descent in our cultural heritage