DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
Barnhill
by Norman Bissell
Luath Press, £12.99
THIS partly factual and partly reimagined account of George Orwell’s final years is a surprisingly satisfying read for those of us who are the inheritors of his slurs against so-called “Stalinists.”
There are imagined conversations between Orwell and various intimates, self-justifying accounts from his second wife Sonia Brownell and excerpts from some of his letters and novels.
FIONA O’CONNOR questions the achievement of this year’s Orwell prize winner for political fiction
Driven by anti-fascism and anger at Britain’s policy of non-intervention, thousands volunteered to fight in the Spanish civil war. Historian RICHARD BAXELL reflects on their sacrifices and enduring significance
JULIA THOMAS unpicks the mental processes that explain why book-to-film adaptations so often disappoint
KEN COCKBURN relishes the memoir of a translator, but wonders whether the autobiography underlying the impulse would make a better book


