We imagine war is tough. We know it puts great strain on soldiers. But is war a drug? Even ‘the supreme drug of human…

In Fictional Absence, Pete Lowman considers the presence and absence of God in English literature. It has been slightly revised for…

A review of the TV series Spooks.

“It takes a worried man to sing a worried song.” So croons popular singer Paolo Nutini in a song on his latest album Sunny Side…

What would the world be like if no one had ever lied? Ricky Gervais's new film, The Invention of Lying, explores this question with the…

A review of the film Juno.

The act of reading is an act of decoding. Until our everyday habits are disrupted, we don’t realize how complex a process it is. How…

A review of the film Les Misérables.

M (Judi Dench) is nothing if not pragmatic. Before the opening credits of Skyfall have even rolled, she has allowed not one, but two of her…