63 m. ago Seven by Joanna Kavenna review – a madcap journey to the limits of philosophy

With its cast of thinkers, gamers and artists, this romp across Europe explores our desire to define reality – even as it slips from our intellectual graspJoanna Kavenna’s two decades as a writer have seen her beat a gorgeously unconventional path through a plethora of subjects and genres, from polar exploration to motherhood to economic inequality, and from travelogue to academic satire to technological dystopia. “I like genre,” Kavenna said in a 2020 interview, “because there’s a narrative and you can kind of work against it, test it.” That being said, her seventh published book, Seven, is a curiously uncategorisable, protean thing: a slim, absurdist novel, but chunky with ideas.Of all the genres Kavenna has worked within – or, more accurately, vexed the boundaries of – Seven (Or, How to Play a Game Without Rules) is probably closest to an academic satire. We first encounter the novel’s thoroughly anonymised first-person narrator in Oslo in the summer of 2...

Politics

2 h. ago ‘Act of family vengeance’: French defamation case highlights perils of writing autofiction

Complaint against Cécile Desprairies over Nazi collusion novel alleges that ‘resentment permeates the entire work’The Polish poet Czesław Miłosz is famously credited with the line: “When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished.” In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms.Such was the case with the French historian Cécile Desprairies, who on Wednesday was sued for defamation by her brother and a cousin over the depiction of her late mother and her great-uncle in her 2024 novel La Propagandiste. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Scots charity shop staff stunned to uncover rare edition of The Hobbit

The much-loved classic was tucked among a pile of old children’s books

Politics

3 h. ago Scots charity shop 'thrilled' after rare edition of The Hobbit sells for £3,000

An extremely rare copy of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit sold for a record £3,000 after it was donated to a charity shop.

Economics

4 h. ago Aimee Lou Wood stuns in a black ballgown as she makes a rare red carpet appearance with her boyfriend Adam Long at the Golden Globes

The actress, 31, looked sensational as she stepped out on The Beverly Hilton Hotel red carpet wearing an asymmetrical, off-the-shoulder dress.

Politics

5 h. ago Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser is roasted after she awkwardly butchers Priyanka Chopra's name live on air

Things turned uncomfortable when host Glaser, 41, introduced Chopra as a presenter... and pronounced her name wrong.

Society

5 h. ago Brazen Facebook fixers selling UK visas to illegal migrants for as little as £12,000

Brazen Facebook fixers are selling UK visas to illegal migrants for as little as £12,000, an undercover Mail investigation has found.

Economics

7 h. ago London homeowners more likely to sell at a loss than any others in the UK

Homeowners in London are more likely to sell at a loss than any other part of the country, new analysis by property firm Hamptons has revealed.

Politics

8 h. ago London homeowners are now the most likely in the UK to sell for less than they paid

One-in-seven London sellers took a hit when they sold last year – with flats owners bearing the brunt

Politics

8 h. ago Average home seller last year ‘gained £91,260 more than they paid’

Rising gains in the North have helped offset shrinking returns in the South, property firm Hamptons said.

Economics

8 h. ago Woman who lost vision from rare condition hails ‘phenomenal’ new treatment

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Politics

8 h. ago Experts use ‘filler’ treatment to restore sight in people with rare condition

The new treatment can help with hypotony – which affects about 100 people in the UK each year.

Science

8 h. ago Charity shop staff ‘thrilled’ as rare edition of The Hobbit fetches £3,000

The edition of JRR Tolkien’s much-loved classic was among a pile of old children’s books donated to the Oxfam bookshop in Stirling.

Economics

8 h. ago London Now Most Likely Place to See Homes Sell at a Loss in UK

London Now Most Likely Place to See Homes Sell at a Loss in UK  Bloomberg.com

Politics

8 h. ago Woman blinded by rare condition can see again after breakthrough treatment ‘pumped up’ her eye

A WOMAN blinded by a rare condition can see again after breakthrough treatment which “pumped up” her eye. Nicki Guy, 47, suffers from hypotony — low eye pressure — and was the first patient injected with a low-cost gel. Londoner Nicki said results of the pioneering procedure at the capital’s Moorfields Eye Hospital were “phenomenal”....

Economics

8 h. ago Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas can't keep their hands off each other as they ooze glamour at Golden Globe Awards

A parade of showbiz luminaries flooded into the Beverly Hilton for the ceremony, which is being hosted by comic Nikki Glaser for the second year in a row.

Events

8 h. ago New ‘filler’ treatment brings hope to people left blind by rare condition

Specialists injected the eyes of hypotony patients with HPMC – hydroxypropyl methylcellulose – a clear and colourless gel

Politics

8 h. ago Where in the UK the average home seller gained the most last year

The proportion of loss-making sales in the North East fell to 13.9% in 2025

Politics

11 h. ago Lauren Silverman reveals rare insight into 'interesting' life with Simon Cowell

Lauren Silverman, who recently changed her name to Lauren Cowell, has praised her partner, Simon Cowell, while answering questions from her fans on social media

Politics

11 h. ago Leeds come from behind to beat Derby in FA Cup action as West Ham earn rare win

League One side Mansfield caused the cupset of the day with a win over Championship club Sheffield United

Politics