THE SECRETS WE KEPT
★★★★★ THIS debut delves into the Cold War world of CIA involvement in distributing Boris Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago– banned in the Soviet Union for being “not just a book, but a weapon”.
Starting in 1949, the novel covers the next decade by alternating from East to West, following both Pasternak and
THE INSTITUTE by Stephen King Hodder & Stoughton, £20 (ebook £10.99)
★★★★★
THE ‘King’ of American horror’s latest offering, The Institute, contains everything you would expect from Stephen King – an all-American hero ex-cop, a bright, supernatural young child, and an evil doctor.
But it reads more like a ‘greatest hits’ mash-up his muse as well as the women in the CIA typing pool, such as spy-intraining Irina and receptionist and agent provocateur Sally.
Slightly slow to start, the novel draws the reader into the emotional lives of the characters’ ever-changing roles and personas.
This is no mere spy thriller. As the typists say of Dr Zhivago, it is both “a war story and a love story... but it was the love story we remembered most”.
than a new masterpiece from him.
The “institute” in question is a sinister government facility which locks up children and exploits their paranormal talents. It draws obvious links to the current scandal of America’s immigrant children locked up in cages.
However, it could have done away with the laboured Trump references.
It feels oddly slow and does not pick up pace until around the 250-page mark and the horror is believable, if a bit tame for King.
The Institute does not compete with his previous triumphs, but is a firmly middle-of-the-road read that hardened King fans will enjoy.
NON-FICTION
MARCH OF THE MODERATES
★★★★★
ACADEMIC Richard
Carr traces how both the UK’s New
Labour and the US Democratic Party found their way out of political wildernesses in the 1980s.
His “top-down” account focuses on individuals and intellectual development: only politicos will follow every name-drop, but the narrative remains readable.
Carr aims to distil the benefits of ‘Third Way’ politics, awkwardly shrinking the financial crash and putting Iraq into wider context.
It makes an engaging history, but it remains to be seen whether his centrist lessons hold in an age when public opinion is polarised.