The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
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Patterns of Russia: History, Culture and Spaces
Accessible and informed insights into the ‘lands of the Rus’
ENGAGING ACCOUNT: (L to R) Isaak Levitan, Eternal Peace, 1894; Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir, detail of the surprisingly unthreatening Last Judgement fresco by Andrey Rublyov and Daniil Chorniy, 1408; St Petersburg, south bank of River Neva, with the do
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SYLVIA HIKINS applauds a polemic against “cleanfluencers” and considers radical alternatives to current inequalities of housework
RUTH AYLETT admires the blunt honesty with which a woman’s experience is recorded, but detects the unexamined privilege that underlies it
IAN SINCLAIR draws attention to the powerful role that literature plays in foreseeing the way humanity will deal with climate crisis
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A SERIES of reflections on the interrelationships between culture, history and place, Patterns of Russia makes no attempt to be comprehensive. It is a surprisingly personal account but nonetheless interesting for that.
Its author, Robin Milner-Gulland, writes in a relaxed and conversational style, covering the huge subject matter in a pleasurably engaging and jargon-free fashion.
Influences from different civilisations over the past two millennia are skilfully referenced throughout, highlighting the multicultural areas of influence that eventually created the “lands of the Rus.”
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