AYOUSH LAZIKANI introduces her guide to the many ways in which the Moon was interpreted in medieval times
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Love and politics
JENNY FARRELL welcomes that rare thing - an authentic account of life East Germany that is both gripping as a novel and politically sentient
ART EVERYWHERE: A mural by GDR artist Martin Schmidt on the side of the school building in Weischlitz, Saxony
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An analysis of the choices facing the US left has to reach beyond the confines of the Democrat party, suggests RON JACOBS
FRANCIS BECKETT introduces his new play that aims to give its audience a taste of what a far-right triumph would be
KENNY MACASKILL welcomes an outstanding biography that gives full context to the life of Scotland’s greatest early 20th century novelist
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Ackroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism, The Lost Bus, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, and Happyend
MARY CONWAY relishes the spectacle of a domestic implosion in a setting strangely divorced from any social, political or cultural context
Kairos
Jenny Erpenbeck, Granta, £16.99
TO read Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel is an eye-opener for those who wish to find out more about life in East Germany (GDR) in the final years of its existence and beyond.
Unprejudiced readers will discover a highly cultured society, a place where everybody has free access to education, training and a job. For readers who remember the GDR, the book includes a wealth of references to a dizzying array of fine artists who lived there or those who were part of the anti-fascist tradition.
The novel spans the years 1986 to 1992, with the final section depicting the dissolution of the state, mass redundancies, unemployment, unaffordable rents and cultural hollowness.
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