Ron's rages are sincere and — according to his wife — healthily cathartic. But can these splenetic outbursts loosen the grip of capitalism at its most monstrous?
Sololand
By Hassan Blasim, translated by Jonathan Wright
Comma Press £10.99
SOLOLAND by Iraqi writer Hassan Blasim is a collection of three stories focusing on Iraq’s recent violent history and its devastating consequences.
One of the most established contemporary Arabic writers being published in English, Blasim represents the starkest brutalities through satire and black humour. His long-time collaborator Jonathan Wright delivers the narratives into English idiomatic style.
The book feels like a writer working within his limits and not breaking any new ground, believes KEN COCKBURN
GUILLERMO THOMAS enjoys a survey of the current state of the CIA (aka Langley) from an expert and insider of sorts
DAVID NICHOLSON recommends a dazzling production of Bernstein’s opera set in a world where chaos and violence are greeted by equanimity


