Inspired by The Book Show’s competition to win a bookshelf full of books (see the link for details), ArtsWom decided that we should help spread the good word about good books and invite people from across the ‘net to share their recommendations for the last book to read before the end of the world.
Admittedly, this is something of a morbid topic, but when the end comes and this fragile orb finally cracks, it may be too late to panic buy, too inappropriate to copulate, and just too ironic to pray – so what else is there to do other than settle down and read a quality novel.
Industrial chemist, freelance journalist, book reviewer, soon-to-be author, and The Book Show fan, Ali Karim has already enlightened us with his decision. Selecting the yet-to-be-released Child 44, the debut novel by Tom Rob Smith.
If the sky were falling to end our world; I would need to be reminded of the best and worst traits of the human condition. Therefore I select “Child 44” a debut novel by Tom Rob Smith which does just that. This is a novel I need to re-read as it so captivating that it would absorb me completely to ease the anxiety when the end approaches. This debut had me clutching the book with both hands as if my life depended upon me completing the book in a single sitting.
The backdrop is totally original for a crime thriller – Stalin’s cruel regime that enslaved the Russian people in poverty and paranoia. The setting is a most interesting canvas to pitch the hunt of a child-murdering serial killer as the Russian-state refuses to believe that crime exists in the communist nirvana they project to the West. Then there’s the characters themselves. Leo Demidov a respected secret policeman and his wife Raisa who find themselves on the wrong-end of state politics when the case of a murdered child turns to obsession. They discover that the death on a railway-track was not an accident that the authorities concluded. Nor is the death an isolated case for a trail of child murder snakes along Russia’s railway system showing the work of a deranged mind or minds. Then we have the cruelty of the instruments of the state oppressing the people with the threat of the Gulag, contrasted against the compassion and strength of the human spirit. The brutality of this book is shocking but is placed into context of the terrible extremes of the Stalinist era.
The novel is well researched, but the level of detail is not thrown in your face, but rather subtly painted into the plot, enriching the narrative and making the hunt for a serial killer take on a fresh dimension. Child 44 at times is harrowing; at times terrifying; and at times brings you to tears such is the power of the remarkable talent of young Mr Smith.
Re-reading the motif [would be a good epitaph to the end of everything] - In the darkness of the human soul, we also have a light within the human condition that will overcome the tyranny of evil.
Child 44 is written by Tom Rob Smith and is available in the UK from March 3rd
Rather rudely, Sky Arts’ long-running series, The Book Show, continues its brutal assault on the primetime schedules and persists at stealing viewers away from other, far more valuable shows that feature z-list celebrities being followed by a camera for some reason. With a blend of literary discussion, interviews with authors and weekly reading recommendations, The Book Show does nothing to help propagate the fame-hungry, celeb-worshipping culture we’ve come to know and love.
Not content to simply broadcast their book-hugging antics near-nightly on Sky Arts, The Book Show is now threatening to invade your very homes with more paperbound propaganda. Every week, guests of the show are invited to select one book that they wish they had written and all chosen titles will then be given away to one winner when the series ends in April.
Such an abundance of literature is dangerous. Take our advice: don’t click on this link to enter the competition and instead tune in tonight to Celebrities Stars Queue at the Bus-Stop and Try to Make Friends showing on ITV2 at 9pm*.
Or, see below for a clip from The Book Show…
The Book Show is next on tonight at 7pm on Sky Arts channel 267. This week, presenter Mariella Fostrup is joined by Mark Billingham, Melvin Burgess, Oliver James, Katie Fforde and Jacqueline Wilson. Follow the link for full listing details.
Destroyed like so many greats at an early age by the ravages of alcohol, Dylan Thomas is synonymous with great poetry, a remarkable play, and Welshness (see the official web site for in-depth biographical details). The play, Under Milk Wood remains a classic to this day, and the famous narration performed by Richard Burton (who later reprised his role in the film version) is iconic. Inspired by a holiday in New Quay (the Welsh resort, not the Cornish one), the tale of the inhabitants of a sleepy fishing village is told partly as a dream sequence. It was originally recorded for radio in 1945, but Thomas worked on the story for eight more years and delivered a manuscript to the BBC in 1954, before leaving for a tour of America. He recorded a version at the YMCA in Manhattan, but within two months he had died of alcohol poisoning. Whether this was cumulative, or the result of a drinking contest to which he had been challenged by the writer Peter De Vries (upon finding Thomas in bed with his wife) is not known (one account can be found on the excellent BBC site devoted to the poet).
Thomas’s life and death is profiled in a Sky Arts documentary, part of the Great Writers series (on air today at 1.05 pm, and Tuesday 30th at 9.05 am). It contains thought-provoking and revealing interviews with contemporaries and family members, and readings from his poems, Under Milk Wood and other works. Added to this, rare archival interview footage with Thomas is also included. The result is well worth watching for Thomas fans, or if you are just curious about the inner workings of the Welsh poet.
E. M. Forster was a humanist who tried to promote equality among races, classes, and nationalities through his masterpiece, A Passage to India. Set against the backdrop of the Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s, the novel highlights racial tensions and the oppressive prejudices of the colonising British towards the indigenous population. Based once more on his personal experiences, the novel also highlights the difficulties at the time of an Englishman befriending an Indian. For more information and a good discussion on the novels, The Literature Network is a good place to start.
The post-graduate life of Edward Morgan Forster was spent travelling round Italy and Greece with the woman who dominated his life - his mother. The experience gave him the inspiration for one of his better known and earliest novels, A Room With A View. Never one to shirk major issues, Forster tackled the subject of money versus culture in Howard’s End, a story of two families, one interested in business, one in culture. He went on to confront homosexuality in the novel Maurice (said to detail his unrequited love for a male pupil in India), which underwent continual revision throughout his life, and was published posthumously. For synopses of all his novels, character lists and interpretations, there is a German site written in excellent English, Aspects of E. M. Forster, which provides a lot of information.
For the views of his official biographer, friends and critics, the Sky Arts series Great Writersprofiles Forster this week. Showing today and tomorrow (Mon 22 Oct 2007 1:05pm, Tue 23 Oct 2007 9:05am), the programme includes some previously unheard views and is well worth checking out.
With a stellar list of contributors including Dustin Hoffman, Patrick Stewart and Cynthia Nixon, this Sky Arts programme delves deep into the language of Shakespeare, and culminates in some dramatic interpretations of classic scenes. The workshop sessions come under the beady eye of John Barton, the leading Shakespeare oracle at the RSC (a high accolade indeed), and he eases the actors into the world of the Bard via the medium of his intricate, often innovative language. By immersing the actors in such a way, they become as one with their character, and some breath-taking performances come as a result.
As they penetrate the language of the text, cast members find hidden messages and tricks to help them with their presentation of the chosen scenes. Getting as close to the intended diction and intonation as possible, the actors feel the language of Shakespeare lifts the scenes and brings them nearer to the perfect performance.
Did you know that there is only one television programme in the UK that is dedicated entirely to books? Well, there is. It’s called The Book Show and is returning to Sky Arts with a new series on October 18th.
The Book Show had a popular run last time around, featuring top international authors, a wide variety of books and the gruff-voiced charms of Mariella Fostrup, who presents the show. Some of the authors due to be interviewed over the coming months include Martina Cole, Sue Townsend, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Morpurgo and Sir David Frost.
Don’t stop reading, lit’ fans, coz there’s more.
Sky Arts are inviting you to ask your own questions via the medium of film. Simply record yourself directing a question to your favourite featured author (a full list of authors appearing throughout the series can be found here) and upload it to the SkyCast website and you could be interrogating Alastair Campbell on national TV.
Get in quick though, as the deadline for the first set of authors is at 12 noon on Mon 15th. Follow this link to find out more info and see an example question posted by the Sky Arts team….
ArtsWom would imagine that most readers of this blog would be familiar with Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Tell-Tale Heart – even if it’s simply through watching The Simpsons or Spongebob Squarepants, both of which spoof the classic horror story. Hopefully, in that case, you are as excited as us to learn that Steven Berkoff’s stage adaptation of the great American writer’s legendary Gothic tale of dementia and murder will be broadcast this evening on Sky Arts.
Berkoff’s adaptation of the short story was originally presented on British TV as part of the acclaimed series Without Walls and has been roundly praised by the critics – particularly for Steven Berkoff’s powerful performance.
This definitely looks worthy of a viewing, and is off particular interest to a certain ArtsWom writer who used to dare himself to read a version of this story when he was young. This particular publication of the tale included illustrations of the vulture-eyed man, which was freaky enough to ensure just a modicum of empathy for the narrator - which is worrying in itself.
Does The Tell-Tale Heart have any special relevance to you? Leave us a comment and let us now.
By the way, the rather cool-looking collage decorating this post was fashioned by Jonathan Motilall from the blog Nightlit. Click on the blue text to visit his blog.
Poet, Benjamin Zephaniah wrote his first collection of poems, titled Pen Rhythms at the tender age of 22. Now aged 49, the British-Jamaican has emerged as one of this nations most established of black writers and social commentators.
Currently sitting pretty as both Writer in Residence at the Africa Arts Collective in Liverpool and Creative Artist in Residence at Cambridge, Zephaniah was able to find time to take control of your airwaves, featuring as tonight’s guest on Sky Arts’ Friday Night Hijack series.
Usually, ArtsWom would delve into the particular artist’s selection (in our traditionally insightful and witty manner). This time, however, Sky Arts are seemingly trying to trump our efforts through the medium of sheer flashiness - and, interestingly, clicking on lightbulbs. Traverse eagerly over to the Sky Arts website to find out more about the poet with a short interview, bio, his choice of programmes and a chance to discuss his work.
The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize has been announced, and it pits a former winner against five newcomers to the competition. Having won in 1998 with Amsterdam, Ian McEwan is back in the mix, his fourth shortlist inclusion, with his latest On Chesil Beach. At fewer than 200 pages, this work is strictly a novella, and as such would not be eligible for the prize, a point that has not gone unnoticed in the literary world. The debate continues, and ArtsWom would not be surprised if some of his fellow competitors were feeling a little aggrieved at this apparent breach of convention.
When the longlist was announced, Mister Pip, the work of Kiwi wordsmith Lloyd Jones was the rank outsider. With its inclusion in the shortlist, however, it has now leapt to become 2/1 favourite, pushing McEwan to second in the betting. These two face competition from Nicola Barker, Mohsin Hamed, Anne Enright and Indra Sinha. It is Barker’s second inclusion in the competition, having been longlisted three years ago for Clear: A Transparent Novel. Whether Darkmans, the chronicle of a girl transfixed with the work of Charles Dickens, will out, only time will tell.
The others in the list include a tale of a Pakistani man living in the US who is fundamentalised following 9/11, the story of a large Irish family coping with the suicide of one of its members, and a fictionalised account of a victim of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. Chair of the judges, Howard Davies, hopes the list will attract interest and comment after the judges spent many hours of ‘passionate and careful consideration’ to narrow the number down to six. ArtsWom awaits the announcement of the winner of the £50, 000 prize in October with bated breath.
The weird and wonderful (Disc)world of legendary author Terry Pratchett is opened up in this extremely singular and revealing interview. Ever wondered where the idea for a world carried by four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle floating through space came from? Maybe hints and clues can be found in the mis-en-scene as the viewer is invited into the previously reclusive author’s home. Amongst a wealth of other topics, Pratchett shares his thoughts on the Sky One dramatization of Hogfather, discusses possible new novels and the explores the direction his writing is taking.
Starting as a parody of the fantasy genre, the Discworld series has evolved into a satire on everything from religion to the opera, Christmas to the police in an evocative and wonderfully well crafted style that garners fans from all ages and backgrounds, creating annual UK sales of 2.5 million. From humble beginnings (writing a manuscript for first novel Carpet People whilst working as a journalist in 1971), Pratchett’s massive back catalogue includes 35 Discworld novels (with a few more in the planning and pipeline stages) and 10 non-Discworld works, including 3 for younger readers. Some might say this is a cynical way to ensure future sales, but Artswom reckons it is a canny and gentle way of introducing youngsters to his literary voice.
And what a voice it is! The beautifully crafted town of Ankh-Morpork is so vivid the reader can almost catch the whiff of the streets as they are whisked through them (often at breakneck speeds) by a panoply of wonderfully diverse characters (zombies for Town Guards, anyone?) As the reader is taken on a tour of this ‘flat earth’, on hair-raising tales of derring-do, Pratchett never misses an opportunity for a sly jibe or full on side swipe at something that has obviously narked him. Think thinly veiled commentary on the futility of religion, or the stone-aged pace of officialdom and the establishment with wit so sharp it hurts.
Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary authors, Mariella Frostrup delves into the mind of Pratchett to discover the influences (listed variously as Kenneth Grahame, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke. P.G. Wodehouse, Tom Sharpe, Jerome K. Jerome, and Mark Twain) and the genius behind the ever-popular novels, and is not to be missed by the devoted fan or curious viewer alike (Sky Arts Thurs 06 Sep 00:30)
Blogging the production of a film as it happens is a fantastic way to engage with your fan-base and attempt to build some pre-release buzz. In fact, it’s surprising that Hollywood hasn’t picked up on, what could potentially be, a cheap and incredibly effective tool to help stimulate some conversation (of course, if anyone knows of any other productions being blogged about let us know).
The award-winning novel, Triomf, written by Marlene Van Niekerk is being translated into film, directed by Michael Raeburn. Apparently still in pre-production, progress is being monitored in the Triomf blog (click here). This is definitely worth a read if you are a fan of the book or are simply interested in following the creation of a movie.
For the past few weeks, John Baker - writer of such novels that perch atop the ArtsWom bedside cabinet as The Chinese Girl – has seemingly been enjoying the delightfully punishing British weather (either remorseless rain or hellacious heat), but has not neglected to keep his readers entertained with an imaginative means to keep his blog updated…
The industrious author targeted a number of writers - “Some famous names. Others little-known. And still others, unknown outside of quite specialist circles” – and asked them for their thoughts on the question: “What phases are involved in the creation of a text?” The insightful and informative responses have been posted, one every day, on John Baker’s blog.
For every aspiring creative writer out there, the answers are fantastic fuel for thought and the range of replies from such differing personalities, as to allow those keen enough to read through all the posts a chance to disseminate and draw all the relevant advice they need to aid their writing efforts. More experienced writers can enjoy seeing how the methodology of their peers differs from their own.
Take heed of this noticeably different text – if you click on it, allow yourself to be whisked away to John Baker’s blog and read through all the fine articles in this series.
Amongst Harry Potter fervour it often upsets ArtsWom that more is not written about the absolute, but understated genius of Phillip Pullman, arguably author of the greatest trilogy ever published. His Dark Materials comprises of the three novels, The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass that follow the epic journey and coming of age of central characters Lyra and Will.
Pullman’s sprawling tale has a backdrop of parallel universes, diverse characters of phantasmagorical heritage and is heavily influenced by Milton, Blake and an essay by a man named von Kleist! Before continuing, there is a real danger of this article growing to a disproportionate size as ArtsWom gets lost among daemons, warrior bears and gyptians. So, instead of writing reams of one-sided praise let’s just point you in the direction of this Literary Review interview with Pullman that came via the Guardian arts blog. Pullman is one of those remarkable people who when he speaks makes impeccable sense due to his ability to make even the most complex of subjects seem relevantly simple.
As an aside, there is also a brief mention of his current work The Book of Dust that will have readers rejoining Lyra a couple of years on and will deal with theological issues raised by the previous novels, plus the film The Golden Compass based on The Northern Lights is due out before the year end. ArtsWom literally can’t wait!
George Melly featured recently as one of Sky Arts’ most invigorating of guest curators for their popular Friday Night Hijack series. As a tribute to the late jazz and blues singer, who passed on earlier this month, the channel will be airing his favourite shows (interspersed with his commentary) again tonight, starting at 8pm.
The shows picked by George Melly are: Cinema Dali – a revealing documentary film on Salvador Dali’s little-known film works. Distant Voices, Still Lives – an autobiographical and elegiac meditation on the childhood of the post-war working class. Literary Classics: Lord of the Flies – an informative look at William Golding’s hugely popular novel. The Secret Policeman’s Ball – the first major incarnation of the legendary charity comedy-fest, including greats such as John Cleese, Peter Cook and Michael Palin.
Have you heard of Harry Potter? You know, the magical, bespectacled youth with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead? Well, chances are this question is entirely redundant as the world’s most famous orphan (sorry Annie) is generating a buzz louder than a Golden Snitch.
Boonbloggle portrays our fanciful words in an easier-to-understand graphical format, showing how the Boy Who Lived seemingly lives to kick WOM ass, leaving the hype-generating behemoth that is the iPhone appear out-of-touch (pun intended). Boonbloggle shows how, at the height of the mania, 4% of all blog posts discussed Harry Potter. For the record, the other 96% of conversation broke down into 21% of people who had nothing to say, 17% who were speculating about the latest Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohan gossip, 5% who simply rofl’d, 7% telling people to add them on Facebook/MySpace/Twitter and 46% offering pictures of cats.
In other news, Potter author JK Rowling has announced that she has begun work on two new novels – one for children and one for adults. We believe this is very brave of her, as these new titles will undoubtedly face a deeply critical audience. We also respect the fact that the only motivation for her continued writing is a love of the craft – we look forward to finding out where her bountiful imagination takes us next.
Yes! Return of the terrible puns! Those of you who have yet to finish The Deathly Hallow or are going mad with the seemingly ceaseless Potter coverage, have no fear as this is not going to be a long one….merely a warning of what’s to come.
As only one person in the ArtsWom studio was able to socially exclude himself to an extent sufficient enough to allow the time needed to complete the book by early Sunday afternoon - we thought it would hardly be fair to gather together the best of the post-Harry WOM until the last of the die-hards turn over that last page.
And so, with a wave of our wand and a cry of “Accio relevant articles!” we shall quickly collate and analyse Potter chatter from across the ‘net and even test our knowledge of Divination and predict what’s next for Rowling’s world of witchcraft and wizardry…
If you can detect a faint whiff of garlic in the air, it’s because the French Film Festival UK has invaded our shores with the typically-French intention of mocking our dainty, English sensibilities and seducing our spouses. That’s just the price we p
Image courtesy of snagglehim at 
E. M. Forster was a humanist who tried to promote equality among races, classes, and nationalities through his masterpiece, A Passage to India. Set against the backdrop of the Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s, the novel highlights racial tensions and the oppressive prejudices of the colonising British towards the indigenous population. Based once more on his personal experiences, the novel also highlights the difficulties at the time of an Englishman befriending an Indian. For more information and a good discussion on the novels, 
Image by friede on 
The shortlist for this year’s 
