In light of the Capitol riots, Odile Heynders claims that we have to reflect on fiction and its development in time, in order to understand how the concept is used and functions in today’s society.
Human Minds and Animal Stories, or How Narratives Shape Attitudes (Malecki, Sorokowski, Pawlowski, Cienski)
Review
Luiza Dubicka
07/12/2020
12 minutes to read
Human Minds and Animal Stories takes a look at how stories can change human attitudes towards other species. A change in attitudes can lead to change in our current practices involving animals. Can an academic publication reach a broader audience?
Kurdish journalist / philosopher Behrouz Boochani spent nearly 5 years in a detainee camp on Manus island texting messages from a hidden mobile phone. The messages were composed to a literary novel, winning a prestigeous prize in 2018.
Why Voices from Chernobyl is a must-read you will never forget (Svetlana Alexievich)
Review
Nataliia Vdovychenko
28/04/2020
14 minutes to read
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster is one of the most tragic events in European history. Nobel prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich covers the event in her book Voices from Chernobyl giving voice to multiple victims' perspectives through interviews.
What do Knausgård and Instagram travel bloggers have in common? How do social media and contemporary literature inspire and influence each other? The answer lies in this article, where Knausgård is compared to young 'Western' travel bloggers.
In the last years, literary writer Edouard Louis articulated the voices of the gilets jaunes in a series of books and pamphlets. His message, according to Odile Heynders is that ''The writer in 2018/19 has to radically be involved in the present'.
The recent publication of a new Dutch translation of Mein Kampf has sparked a debate on how (if at all) to read the book. Odile Heynders offers one possible reading of the work in this column.
Why you should read "Darkness at noon" (Arthur Koestler)
Review
Nataliia Vdovychenko
12/02/2018
7 minutes to read
Certain kinds of literature cannot be forgotten. Darkness at noon is a must read for everyone who values high quality novels and wants to learn more about the Soviet Union, revolution and history in general.
