DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
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Clarion call from the underclass
Darren McGarveys experience of poverty in Glasgow, and the political lessons hes learned from it, make for a gripping and essential read, says GORDON MUNRO
STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
The bard invites readers to a gig, raps for Clacton, and lays out the Burnham-Hurzeler conundrum
RON JACOBS recommends an important book that enhances the oppositional theories put forth by Fanon and, in doing so, remakes psychology itself
Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain's Underclass
by Darren McGarvey
(Luath Press, £7.99)
THIS is an unflinching and courageous insight into Darren McGarvey's personal life and the social conditions which crushed him, until an epiphany led to a radical change in his outlook and approach.
Growing up in Pollok, the south-west Glasgow housing estate where physical and verbal violence was the norm – and where debt was incurred by “acting like we had more money than we did” because the price of looking poor “was always far higher” – is an experience, McGarvey says, that is very rarely represented, reported and discussed.
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RON JACOBS recommends a book that charts the disparate circumstances that defined the lives of two prominent black Afro-Americans — one a communist, the other an anti-communist
The Prime Minister’s hamfisted promotional video promising to go ‘further and faster’ coincides with Angela Rayner’s resignation over tax dodging and Mandelson’s long overdue departure over Epstein — incredible timing, writes MATT KERR
Deep disillusionment with the Westminster cross-party consensus means rupture with the status quo is on the cards – bringing not only opportunities but also dangers, says NICK WRIGHT