The Herald - The Herald Magazine
An Arab world view
one page, it is both eloquent and provides just the right amount of background and context for those unfamiliar with the Magnum photo agency.
So, who is this book for? Well, those who have passion for photography will get much from it. While there are some images aficionados might already be familiar with, another welcome surprise is that these are few and far between.
As an avid collector of photography books, and more than familiar with the work of Magnum, there are images in this collection new to me.
Those with an interest in art and art history will find this book a gem, too. As I alluded to earlier, having
GEMMA McLAUGHLIN
connection to a visiting old student Léo Martin.
Who is it aimed at?
From the age of around 15.
What was your favourite part?
the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Inge Morath, Philippe Halsman, Robert Capa, Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse and many more great photographers and artists face to face is a treat. Indeed, if I have one small grumble about this book it’s that I would have wished for even more images.
Too often such collections are simply dubbed coffee table books. Yes, they can look “cool” lying around, but already I’ve found myself picking up this book over and over again, each time getting something new and inspiring from it.
Yes, I am that child in the sweet shop, and if you like your art and photography you will be too.
ADRIFT
Amin Maalouf
World Editions, £12.99
Once, people tended to believe they were transient beings passing through an immutable world. Maalouf, however, sees the world crumbling around him and a turbulent, unpredictable future beckoning. This isn’t an uncommon view, but it’s fascinating to see it presented from an Arabcentric perspective. Maalouf argues that the collapse of progressive society is directly related to events in the Middle East which, interacting with Cold War politics and a conservative resurgence, led to increased inequality, surveillance culture and the failure of the USA and Europe to provide leadership. Born in Lebanon, he mourns the passing of its diverse population’s peaceful co-existence and regards it, along with mid-century Cairo’s liberal and cosmopolitan culture, as an example that could be followed were we not “hurtling” in the opposite direction. An unavoidably personal and sometimes contentious account, it’s born of a post-War liberal worldview that has been unfashionable for some time but still holds much of value.
AFTERLIVES Abdulrazak Gurnah
Bloomsbury, £13.99 Zanzibar-born Gurnah follows up 2017’s Gravel Heart with an equally accomplished novel set in the early-1900s in what is now Tanzania, but was then under German control, and where the European powers mercilessly put down revolts and used Africans to fight their wars for them. Frustrated clerk Khalifa, whose father was Indian, is part of the
Gujarati community in a coastal town far from the conflict. But his life doesn’t remain untouched by it, as First World War veteran Hamza comes to town looking for work and meets Khalifa’s ward, the 19-year-old Afiya. Gurnah assembles his cast slowly, taking the time to develop each of his main characters before throwing them together, in a vibrant and vivid novel that shows human beings in all their generosity and greed, pettiness and nobility, so that even minor characters seem capable of carrying entire novels all by themselves.
LAKE OF URINE
Guillermo Stitch
Sagging Meniscus, £12.99
Stitch’s absurdist comedy takes place in a timeless neverland that somewhat resembles the rural 19th century, albeit equipped with mobile phones, Facebook and underwater cameras. Although it is kicked off by the gormless Willem Seiler’s attempts to measure the depth of a lake using Emma Wakeling’s daughters, Naranbole and Urine, the bulk of the story chronicles Emma’s comically dysfunctional upbringing in Tiny Village and her many strange husbands. There isn’t a character here who doesn’t display some weird eccentricity, including Naranbole, who escapes to the city intending to reshape a powerful corporation into the world’s first Gothic conglomerate. Stitch has such a talent for world-building that he can’t resist loitering in various corners of his creation, slowing the pace down at times, but he peppers the text with an abundance of funny, imaginative touches.
ALASTAIR MABBOTT