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I’m trying to actively work on knowing and understanding my own mind. One of the routes I’m attempting is to write thoughtful reviews on books, films, theatre and culture that I have ‘consumed’; to be intentional about not merely being amused or entertained by the culture around me but to engage and critique that culture.

On this page, you can find a growing collection of my reviews. I hope you find them as enlightening as I did when writing them, whether you agree with my assessments or not! Please feel free to add to the discussion at the bottom each review with your own thoughts.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty – Book Review

In Book Reviews, Reviews
4 Min read
T

The Sellout is a deftly woven tale of one man who tries to put his hometown, Dickens (a little-known region of Los Angeles) back on the map after it is removed in a wanton act of gentrification. I’m not sure I’m qualified to write a review of The Sellout. It’s a book that made my head spin; full of eloquently written insanity, contradictions and tangents that lead you through a...

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Finish by Jon Acuff – Book Review

In Book Reviews, Reviews
4 Min read
F

This week I read Jon Acuff’s Finish. Unlike an earlier book of his (titled Start), Finish is aimed at people who have no trouble starting projects, but struggle to reach the end of their goals, for myriad reasons. (Hello!)
It’s a motivational book which has at its heart a simple premise; perfectionism is the enemy.

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Hamilton! – Theatre Review

In Reviews, Theatre Reviews
5 Min read
H

It’s tough growing up as the only boy with three sisters. (Tough for them, they might say). We had a tradition where, usually at Christmas or other large dinner occasions, we kids would be tasked with doing a huge amount of washing up and drying. One would wash, three would dry, usually standing around impatiently waiting for the washer to do a single glass or knife or fork. The tradition became...

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Isle of Dogs – Film Review

In Film Reviews, Reviews
6 Min read
I

I’ve seen the film, and here’s my Isle of Dogs review… I can remember feeling vaguely irritated when I was first introduced to the director Wes Anderson in an incredulous manner by a friend, ‘duh, you don’t know Wes Anderson?’. Wait, what do you mean; you don’t know who Wes Anderson is? Okay, that’s hypocritical of me. But rest assured he’s worth looking into, and once you know...

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Black Panther – Film Review

In Film Reviews, Reviews
6 Min read
B

Black Panther is the latest in the ever-growing collection of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) taking over $13bn at the box office and with a total of 18 films including Avengers, Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy. Black Panther was referred to by the Guardian as “the first major black superhero movie” (hmm, not sure they’ve seen Blade). It’s a strong move by the studio though...

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