Oxford's oldest student newspaper

Independent since 1920

Books

A literary map of Oxford

Below is the perfect afternoon dawdle, chasing the ghosts of literary greats through the town.

Should we judge a book by its cover?

Maybe we need to start giving a chance to the books we wouldn't usually take a second glance at. 

Reinventing the epistolary novel

It looks like, then, the epistolary novel isn’t dying out completely—just reinventing itself.

Review: May We Be Forgiven by A.M Homes

Weird and wonderful. Heavy at times, strange throughout, but uplifting to the end. An incredible read.

The best books I read this summer

In a desperate attempt to extend the holiday, here are the best books I read this summer...

Hartnell’s ‘Bodies’: Hugely readable

A review of Medieval Bodies by Jack Hartnell (Wellcome Collection, 2019, 352 pages)

Some New Angles on Perspective

A preview of Thinking 3D (Treasury Room, Weston Library), on from March 21st 2019 until February 9th 2020.

A tapestry of living and dead: Max Porter on his new book, ‘Lanny’

An exploration of Max Porter, in conversation with Ali Shaw, and his new novel, Lanny.

The Epilogue of a Lifetime

Julian Barnes’ third of three essays 'The Loss of Depth’ is an epilogue in form and in subject-matter, trapping the pulse of his wife’s memory in his intimate and moving portrait of grief.

Othering Ourselves

Hazy memories and complicit passivity allow Ishiguro’s characters to construct a protective outsider status

Would you risk your life on God? Reflections on Professor John Lennox’s ‘Can Science Explain Everything?’

Prompted by Professor John Lennox's new book, Jack Sagar grapples with questions about science, God, and the faith that binds us all together.

Urban Decay

Exploring the metropolis in 1890s Decadent literature and its origins in Baudelaire and Huysman

Reality check: the power of relatable crises

"Conflicts in literature don’t work when they fail to resonate". Regardless of genre, books are most impactful when their crises are rooted in everyday human experience.

The Crisis of Creon

'Peripeteia', reversal of fortune, for Sophocles' Creon in 'Antigone' is a wincingly fatal consequence of his tragic decision.

Satiating Sá-Carneiro

Exploring the life and work of an acclaimed Portuguese writer, at the heart of which lies the desire to discover.

Resisting bodily urges: extreme asceticism in medieval female saints’ lives

The modern-day 'anorexia memoir' has its origin in the genre of medieval saints' lives

Why do we write?

We write for ourselves, for the reader, and for wider society.  And I think that’s probably a good enough reason to write an article for Cherwell.

The anxiety of envy

"Big names dominate the industry, and yet their fiction feels incredibly same-y."

Knight Of: read the one percent

Juliet Garcia covers the launch of Knight Of's crowdfunding campaign, centred around BAME children's literature.

Follow us