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Category Archives: Review
Film Review: East is East (Channel 4 catch-up) (1999)
This film is so brilliant it’s hard to know where to begin. Humour It’s a northern film (Salford) replete with hard hitting wit. There are no ‘no-go’ areas. The film is set in appalling housing with seven children and two … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Humour, Review
Tagged British-Asian humour, Culture clash, Pakistani's in Britain
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Police ‘Mafia’ in Baltimore, USA
Sergeant Wayne Jenkins1 and his officers didn’t just take drugs and money from the criminals they caught: they planted drugs and guns on people who weren’t criminals (or who weren’t doing anything criminal); they broke into the homes of people … Continue reading
Book Review: Curtis Sittenfeld ~ American Wife (2008)
This book is 635 pages long and a long read. Is it worth it? Unfortunately as I began this review I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t. This makes me feel stupid. The book isn’t a novel it’s a … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Review
Tagged forced authenticity, George W Bush, Laura Bush, Too long
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Book Review: Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R Sunstein ~ Noise: A flaw in human judgment (2021)
Reviewing this book puts me in a difficult situation. All I want to do is swoon at the feet of the authors proclaiming their genius. This makes me a groupie. However I’ll try to write something that looks like a … Continue reading
Posted in education, Philosophy, Review, Technology
Tagged biases, flawed judgment, idiosyncratic judgment, understandable prejudice
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Book Review: Jo Nesbo ~ Nemesis (2002) (Translator: Dan Bartlett)
The job description of fictional Detective Inspectors is that they should be alcoholics, mavericks, insightful, very persuasive, and yet, curiously, trusting. They get into scrapes where everything says, ‘Don’t do it’. But they do. They lure colleagues into committing crimes … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Review
Tagged detective inspector thrillers, usual tropes, Well written and exciting
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Book Review: Leif G W Persson ~ The Dying Detective (Translator: Neil Smith) (2016)
Fans of BBC’s New Tricks* enjoy the idea that decades of experience can resolve unsolved crimes. Intuition, which can’t be taught, and informed common sense triumph over derided ‘modern’ methods. The Swedish author of this brilliant novel takes the genre … Continue reading
CD Review: Various Artists ~ We Out Here (2017)
My son despairs of my musical taste which is roughly ‘I know what I like and like what I know’.* Now and then he buys a cd to widen my tastes. Mostly he fails. On this occasion he triumphed. Like … Continue reading
Book Review: Stefan Ahnhem ~ Motive X (Translator: Agnes Broome) (2019)
Scandi-Noir emerged about twenty years ago and powered across the world with a series of brilliant writers. Their stories were tightly written and usually contained ultra-violent scenes. A strong stomach is recommended for readers. Ahnhem stands in this tradition. His … Continue reading
Book Review: G D Abson ~ Black Wolf (2019)
Thrillers should thrill. Novels set in Russia/Soviet Union are a familiar sight on book shelves and there are some outstanding examples. Abson is competing with Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44; Martin Cruz Smith’s Wolves eat Dogs; and Lionel Davidson’s Kolyma … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Review
Tagged corrupt police, Putin's Russia, Russian thriller
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