MY CULTURAL LIFE

MARITA CONLON-MCKENNA

Marita Conlon-McKenna’s first novel Under the Hawthorn Tree is an Irish children’s classic and part of the bestselling Children of the Famine trilogy. Her adult novels include The Magdalen and Rebel Sisters. Her latest novel The Hungry Road is an epic story based on real-life heroes during the Great Famine.

ART: HENRI MATISSE

A stand-out exhibition worth a visit by going online to the Centre Pompidou website is the big Henri Matisse 150th Retrospective in Paris. It has gathered a stunning collection of Matisse’s work from his debut in 1890 right up to the 1950s, bringing us through his changing style, influences and development. To move through rooms full of his vibrant work and colours and shapes is pure joy. (centrepompidou.fr/en/)

BOOK: GIRL BY EDNA O’BRIEN

This is a book that few would expect an Irish writer to even contemplate, let alone travel to Nigeria to research, given the heroine is a schoolgirl kidnapped by Boko Haram, abused and married to a Jihadi fighter, who grabs her little daughter and manages to escape. I found it an absolutely unforgettable novel, beautifully written. Why the moon travels by Oein DeBhairduin, is a book by a Traveller, writing about Travellers and Traveller folklore stories in this incredible collection of short stories. A fine writer with a lyrical style and amazing imagery.

FILM: NEWS OF THE WORLD

I couldn’t resist the lure of News of the World, a new Paul Greengrass film starring Tom Hanks and on Netflix. Hanks plays Civil War veteran Captain Kidd who travels from town to town entertaining people by reading news stories. A western, it has gun fights and suspense but it is the growing relationship between two lonely people that make this another Hanks masterpiece.

COVID COMFORT

I’m really enjoying Call My Agent!, set in a Parisian talent agency, funny and wise, with a great script and plenty of élan. Perfect lockdown fare.