SwayBlog

Australian book reviewsAustralian booksReviewSilvey’s first novel since Jasper Jones is a compassionate tale about overcoming trauma to find family and self-acceptance, narrated by a trans child The characters that populate Craig Silvey’s novels are highly sensitive, acutely perceptive and imaginative – people hovering on the edge of childhood and the cusp of adulthood and struggling to find or understand their place in the world. This is as true of Charlie Bucktin, the 13-year-old at the centre of Silvey’s bestselling novel Jasper Jones, as it is of Eleanor and Ewan, the blind and reclusive (respectively) young protagonists of his debut, Rhubarb.

Climate crisis This article is more than 1 year oldHundreds of yoga teachers call out lululemon over coal-powered factoriesThis article is more than 1 year oldClimate campaigners say pollution from multibillion-dollar clothing company’s production is inconsistent with its ethical branding The company motto is “Be Human, Be Well, and Be Planet”, a harmonious ideal in line with the yoga world where sports clothing mega-brand lululemon got its start. “We are deeply connected to ourselves, each other and our planet; each part elevating one another,” the Canada-based company says on its sustainability website.

Ali Smith does an opus a month, Tony Hall saw Fidelio on Robben Island, and Lady Brenda Hale used to march to his Grosse Fuge. As the Proms celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, stars reveal a favourite work Published: 16 Jul 2020 ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKuklrSme8uarKuZXayupbE%3D

LostprophetsWhen lead singer Ian Watkins pleaded guilty to 13 child sex offences, his former bandmates went into a state of shock. Now, still angry and confused, they are trying to pick up the pieces with their new band No DevotionMost musicians who've been in big bands, launching a new project, will only talk about how excited they are to be moving forward, how their new music has put them back in touch with what first excited them about music.

Lenin speaking to the workers of the Putilov factory in Petrograd in 1917. Detail from painting by Isaak Brodsky (1883-1939). Illustration: Leemage/Corbis via Getty ImagesLenin speaking to the workers of the Putilov factory in Petrograd in 1917. Detail from painting by Isaak Brodsky (1883-1939). Illustration: Leemage/Corbis via Getty ImagesTop 10sHistory booksA century after the Bolsheviks seized power for communism, Tariq Ali chooses some of the best books about an uprising that changed the world forever

The ObserverWalking holidaysIf the winter has left you feeling sluggish, shake off the cobwebs with a ramble through stunning scenery followed by a cosy bed and a well-earned dinner in one of Britain's best rural hidewaysRustic luxe1. Monachyle Mhor, Lochearnhead, Perthshire 1At the end of a single-track road on Loch Voil, this gem of a hotel is in the heart of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (lochlomond-trossachs.org). There are 14 rooms in the old stone farmhouse and its outbuildings, all with cutting-edge funky design.

FictionReviewThe illicit affairs of a Republican congressman and a 19th-century taxidermist are mirrored across the centuries in an ingenious political satire Who would have guessed that a satire about an oily Republican congressman, 19th-century taxidermy and a creature so ugly it resembles “a pig screwed by a donkey” would be the perfect tonic for testing times? This is what Jessica Anthony’s insouciant and ingenious novel delivers in fewer than 192 achingly funny pages.

Life and styleI wanted kids and once was ashamed not to have them. But things changed when I began asking myself new questions “Perfect for families,” read a sign next to a pizza fridge in the supermarket. “Get lost,” I thought. I walked past, tears welling, and headed for frozen fish instead. Right at that moment, I was at the peak of what I look back on as my “fertility freakout” – a period when I struggled most with not having become a mother.

Charlie Stemp: ‘The energy and strength required to be a dancer surpasses that of a football player, without question.’ Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The GuardianCharlie Stemp: ‘The energy and strength required to be a dancer surpasses that of a football player, without question.’ Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The GuardianTheatreInterview‘If you get your phone out, I’m going to lose it’: Charlie Stemp, Britain’s musicals megastarArifa AkbarHe’s a West End fixture who’s already been compared to Fred Astaire.