66 m. ago John Updike: A Life in Letters review – the man incapable of writing a bad sentence

Friends, enemies and lovers animate more than 60 years of the author’s remarkable correspondence John Updike had the mind of a middling middle-class postwar American male, and the prose style of a literary genius. Such a lord of language was he that even the notoriously grudging Vladimir Nabokov afforded him a meed of praise. A reviewer, musing on the disproportion between the style and content of Updike’s fiction, likened him to a lobster with one hugely overgrown claw. It was a comparison Updike was to remember – for all his bland urbanity, on display from start to finish in this mighty volume of his letters, he could be prickly, and did not take slights lightly.As a novelist he aimed, as he once put it, to “give the mundane its beautiful due”. Apart from a few rare and in some cases ill-advised ventures into the exotic – the court at Elsinore, Africa, the future – his abiding subject was the quotidian life of “ordinary” Americans in the decades between the end of the second world...

Politics

70 m. ago Trump defends Tucker Carlson after interview with white nationalist splits Republican Party

Three years ago, Trump hosted Fuentes at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, along with the rapper Ye

Politics

76 m. ago American football club take on Christmas cycling challenge in aid of Wishaw church's toy drive

Clyde Valley Blackhawks, who play their home games at the town's Belhaven Park, will be getting on their bikes for a 24 hour ‘cycle’ to Lapland while raising funds for Wishaw’s Pathway Church toy drive to help children across the region.

Sport

91 m. ago UKHSA issues 'rise in death' health alert as Arctic weather coming

The alert activates at 8am on Monday

Events

2 h. ago Holyrood election 2026: 'I will not fight dirty', says Scotland's only Reform MSP

Graham Simpson says he ‘won’t indulge in that kind of behaviour’ despite criticism of Reform UK advertising during the Hamilton by-election.

Politics

2 h. ago Davy Russell: 'I knew I was going to win', says Scotland's newest MSP

The Scottish Labour MSP has also blasted the moniker of ‘invisible man’ as untrue.

Politics

2 h. ago Scotland's universities urged to show 'mettle' in supporting asylum seekers with scholarships

Scotland’s universities already work to support people seeking asylum but a new report says they must work together

Events

2 h. ago Falling in love again, and again: Inside the rise of the circular relationship

Romances on repeat – or put simply – getting back with your ex – is all too common among those sharing their love lives online. But is delving back into your dating archives ever a good idea? Surprisingly, yes, argues Lydia Spencer-Elliott, who found her happily-ever-after with her own ‘circular’ boyfriend

Politics

2 h. ago Will Scotland beat Denmark and reach the World Cup? Monday Jury returns a unanimous verdict

All the big questions are addressed by our top team

Politics

2 h. ago Logic defying Scotland feel like a team whose fate is already set and that's the terrifying bit – Keith Jackson

When Belarus are saving your bacon then maybe there’s a weird juju going on here

Events

3 h. ago What happens when housing supply is driven by markets not Main Street

Home prices in America won’t come down without systemic reform

Politics

3 h. ago Not OK? Booker winner Flesh ignites debate about state of masculinity

Toxic male behaviour of David Szalay’s protagonist reflects real-world concerns about a ‘crisis of masculinity’In the immediate aftermath of David Szalay’s book Flesh winning the Booker prize, one feature of the novel stood out: how often the protagonist utters the word “OK”.The 500 times István grunts out the response is part of a sparse prose style through which the British-Hungarian Szalay gives the reader few insights into the inner workings of a man whose fortunes rise and fall. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Rape victims in Scotland will be protected when giving evidence, says lord advocate

Supreme court ruled ‘rape shield’ laws to limit intrusive cross-examination may breach men’s right to fair trialScotland’s most senior law officer has moved to reassure victims of sexual abuse that they will be protected after a supreme court ruling warned that Scottish laws designed to limit intrusive cross-examination could be breaching men’s right to a fair trial.In a strongly worded statement, the lord advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, said: “I would like to make clear that I understand sexual abuse inflicted upon women and children to be the single greatest challenge our justice system faces. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Russell Tovey on pride, sexual power and politics: ‘The Green party slogan – make hope normal again – is what we need’

One of the most prolific and popular actors of his generation, he reflects on therapy, homophobia, why he suspects now is the worst time in history for trans people, and his secret life as a geekRussell Tovey’s best characters often seem to have it all together, typically as a barrier to further interrogation. Take his recent projects: in surreal BBC sitcom Juice, Tovey plays Guy, a buttoned-up therapist with a seemingly perfect life, hobbled by an aversion to recklessness. Then there’s the closeted Andrew Waters in award-winning American indie film Plainclothes, a well-respected married man of faith who secretly cruises New York shopping mall toilets. Even in the forthcoming Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, Tovey’s character, Barclay, is an ordinary office clerk who is swept up into a planet-saving mission while trying to keep his family from falling apart. In each performance, Tovey anchors his characters with a beguiling mix of strength, empathy and vuln...

Politics

3 h. ago With neonicotinoid pesticide ban, France’s birds make a tentative recovery

Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decadesInsect-eating bird populations in France appear to be making a tentative recovery after a ban on bee-harming pesticides, according to the first study to examine how wildlife is returning in Europe.Neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticides, widely used in agriculture and for flea control in pets. By 2022, four years after the European Union banned neonicotinoid use in fields, researchers observed that France’s population of insect-eating birds had increased by 2%-3%. These included blackbirds, blackcaps and chaffinches, which feed on insects as adults and as chicks. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Emotional Craig Gordon makes Scotland promise as Hearts veteran still believes in fairytale ending

The 42-year-old kept the score down during a first half Athens and will be on duty again for decisive Denmark blockbuster

Politics

3 h. ago Families who lost young boys to suicide say Scotland is still failing its youth

Helen Mitchell was told her ­struggling son Jack, 18, was just your “typical teenager” before he cut his life short.

Events

3 h. ago Scots can end Keir Starmer's time in Downing Street by voting for the SNP in May

In his regular column for the Record, First Minister John Swinney says he will tell Keir Starmer what people in Scotland expect him to deliver.

Politics

3 h. ago Rise in synthetic opioid use across Scotland equivalent to 'America's fentanyl crisis'

Official reports warn “contamination of drugs with toxic substances was both common and widespread" across Scotland.

Events

4 h. ago Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta urged to sign ‘most gifted’ Real Madrid ace as injury crisis worsens

Mirror Football brings you two of the latest news stories surrounding Arsenal as Mikel Arteta received a major injury blow this weekend

Events