Books
Cherwell Recommends: Love of all kinds
As Valentine's Day looms, it's not hard to find examples of romantic love. But literature celebrates the expanse of human emotion, so our books editors have picked out two moving illustrations of the other forms love takes.
Literary Loves: What fictional romance has taught me about real-life relationships
For the first 17 years of my life, I felt like everything I knew about love I learned from books. Sure, as a self-conscious...
Review: ‘Breaking and Mending’ by Joanna Cannon
For me, it is Cannon’s complete honesty and authenticity which make this an astounding read ... 'Breaking and Mending' is the perfect book to read as a medical student, a doctor, or anyone who wants to have their heart warmed by tales of genuine compassion and kindness.
Revisiting ‘All The King’s Men’ in the Post-Trumpian Era
Much like the 1920s and 30s, we live in a period of great change when all previously-held cultural norms and precedents seem to be shifting under our feet. All the King’s Men speaks to this time of turmoil, questioning how the individual responds to that, whether they challenge it or become corrupted by it.'
The Most Anticipated Books of 2021
In light of the disaster that was 2020, many of us are looking towards 2021 with hope. Amongst the reasons to be excited about...
Growing Pains: The Development of YA
The YA fiction boom really was its own mini cultural era. Gone are the days of passing a tattered copy of The Fault in Our Stars around your entire friendship group, but how does YA lit hold up today? And how did that cultural era affect the ‘young adults’ at its centre?
Read, Listen, Learn: The Everchanging World of Books
Flash forward 100 years. Surprise! People still read — just not in the same way as we do now, and we can be pretty...
Debating the Preservation of Cultural Infrastructures: the Example of Tolkien’s Property
Fans of J.R. Tolkien have been troubled by the prospects of having Tolkien’s home sold to private buyers. Should it go on the market...
‘Ah, bitter chill it was!’: John Keats, the winter Romantic
If these next months feel dreary and dark, as they undoubtedly will, do seek solace in the strange, mysterious world of Romantics.
Wings and Words: why you should read Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
Recalling the first time I read Grief, on a thankfully empty train, I’m very glad no one was present to witness what must have been a harrowing and confusing parade of expressions as I progressed. It’s a few hours I will never regret.