THIS WEEK I HAVE BEEN…

READING:

Shiva Naipaul’s Black and White, a study of the 1978 Jonestown Massacre in Guyana in which he sets the terrible events in the context both of what was happening in South America and in California, from which Jim Jones and his ‘People’s Temple’ church had come to set up their new home. Naipaul is a great journalist and – certainly in its observations on what we now would call ‘New Age’ philosophies – brings humour to this grimmest of subjects.

LISTENING TO:

To The Wilds by Henry Jamison, a young songwriter from Burlington, Vermont. These are great songs with strong, clever lyrics and a pleasing view of human relationships. The whole album, though it’s not always about happy things, is imbued with a summery feel – try Real Peach.

WATCHING:

The Russian film Loveless directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. The title is a clue as to the tone of the film, which is about a married couple who hate each other and who, in the middle of a ghastly divorce, try to deal with the disappearance of their only son. Maryana Spivak, as the mother, is brilliant as a feckless, doomed person lost in her own pleasure-seeking. Watch it, then see Paddington 2 to restore your faith in humanity.