10. The Sacrifices – Alexander Kattke
Underground writer Alexander Kattke is back with another piecing compendium of pieces looking at/imagining the mindsets of serial killers, victims, God, soldiers, writers and optimists, wrapped up in a literary style that is hectoring, confessional, delusional and disturbing. All very much fertile grounds for exploration in the manner we’re accustomed to with Kattke and, unsurprisingly, he doesn’t miss.
9. The Capitalcyst – Craig Podmore
It’s been a few years since Your Misery is for Entertainment Purposes Only and now we get this new collection of poems and stories which Podmore has described as “…an onslaught, an assault, an examination of the futility of modern man.” Lofty heights to reach for, but Podmore does it. The opening essay sets out the terrain: poets are pornographers, writing is fornication and we should abandon all pretence and indulge.
8. A Condescending Wound - Benzo Monroe
Described as an “…artist, poet, and author from Michigan”, Benzo Monroe’s new collection nails the self-absorbed and deadpan monotone that often accompanies depressive thoughts and aggravates those who do their best to be sympathetic. Some poems are only two lines long, implying that the narrator is at the end of his tether and found it taxing to hammer these demons to the page.
7. Race the Undead – Jonathan Traynor
Post-apocalyptic/survival tales thrive when you care for the band of misfits who would never be friends in a normal setting and must now survive while trying to make sense of what has happened to the world. We certainly get plenty of this material throughout as Greg grieves the death of his family at his own hands due to zombification while struggling with his advancing years and resenting the mantle of leader.
6. Everyday Jews: Why the Jewish People Are Not Who You Think They Are – Keith Kahn Harris
Opening with a recollection of a trip to Poland which took in baseball, the Holocaust and a Kinder Surprise egg, Kahn-Harris tells the reader that the endless focus on the bleakest moments in Jewish history made him feel like a museum artefact. Thus begins a work that, with a tone that is both gently humorous and sternly academic acknowledges that Jews can be as boring as everyone else.
5. Far From EUtopia: How Europe is Failing – And Britain Could Do Better – Ross Clark
At times quite heavy on statistics, this is a skilful, entertaining and provocative piece of propaganda that isn’t afraid to criticise the various Tory and Labour governments failing to utilise the opportunities on offer due to no longer being tied to the EU. Hence why some have ‘Brexit regret’. One that will provoke many a pointed argument and should be read by those who wish to see an Irexit: England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity.
4. 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times - Ross Benes
A freelance journalist as well as a market research analyst, Ross Benes has put together a fascinating tome that intricately dissects this period, makes connections that you may not have considered before and all with the gusto and enthusiasm of a lifelong fan of pop culture. Written with a critical love of the period and the culture, Benes offers up plenty of thinking points and laughs along the way.
3. ‘Preparing for Power’: The Revolutionary Communist Party and Its Curious Afterlives, 1976-2020 - Jack Hepworth
Telling the story of how three members of the Revolutionary Communist Group split to form their own organisation, Hepworth does a solid job at narrating the various twists and turns as well as discussing the party’s pariah status among left wing activists in a time where it was felt that radical change was in the air before they declared class politics moribund and began a slow transition into libertarianism via spiked online.
2. The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s - Jason Burke.A lot has been written about events since October 7th. But few have really sought to understand the history, the nuances and the missed opportunities that have come and gone over the years. Quite the tall order and it’s a task that journalist Jason Burke has clearly relished as he has given us a tome that tells the story of Palestinian resistance but also how secular Marxism ended up being replaced with theocratic Islamism.
1. Strangers And Intimacies: The Rise and Fall of Private Life - Tiffany Jenkins
This book from sociologist and Scotsman columnist Tiffany Jenkins not only proves to be an excellent call for the return of a private life for us all but also demonstrates how hard-won victories have been frittered away in the face of technological advancement and disintegrating social bonds. Believe it or not, it all starts with the Reformation, and it concludes with a defence of private life. An enthralling and stimulating read.
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist and is the author of A Vortex of Securocrats and “dethrone god”.
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