Fiction – War Watch

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Desolation by Hossein Asgari review – an accomplished exploration of love, truth and the cruelty of fate
ByCatriona Menzies-Pike September 11, 2025

A storyteller who lies in service of truth meets a writer who doesn’t believe in true stories in this sophomore work set in Adelaide and post-revolutionary IranGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailDoes a novel need a factchecker? Not for the kind…

Read More Desolation by Hossein Asgari review – an accomplished exploration of love, truth and the cruelty of fate
Australia news | Australian books | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Fiction | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | JM Coetzee | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices

Desolation by Hossein Asgari review – an accomplished exploration of love, truth and the cruelty of fate
ByCatriona Menzies-Pike September 11, 2025

A storyteller who lies in service of truth meets a writer who doesn’t believe in true stories in this sophomore work set in Adelaide and post-revolutionary IranGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailDoes a novel need a factchecker? Not for the kind…

Read More Desolation by Hossein Asgari review – an accomplished exploration of love, truth and the cruelty of fate
Africa | Awards and prizes | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Fiction | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Islam | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | PEN literary prizes | Petrol prices | Religion | Sudan

Leila Aboulela wins PEN Pinter prize for writing on migration and faith
ByElla Creamer July 9, 2025

Judges praised the Sudanese author for centring Muslim women, describing her writing as “a balm, a shelter, and an inspiration”Leila Aboulela has won this year’s PEN Pinter prize for her writing on migration, faith and the lives of women.The prize is a…

Read More Leila Aboulela wins PEN Pinter prize for writing on migration and faith
Africa | Awards and prizes | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Fiction | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Islam | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | PEN literary prizes | Petrol prices | Religion | Sudan

Leila Aboulela wins PEN Pinter prize for writing on migration and faith
ByElla Creamer July 9, 2025

Judges praised the Sudanese author for centring Muslim women, describing her writing as “a balm, a shelter, and an inspiration”Leila Aboulela has won this year’s PEN Pinter prize for her writing on migration, faith and the lives of women.The prize is a…

Read More Leila Aboulela wins PEN Pinter prize for writing on migration and faith
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Simon Majaro obituary
ByBen Pilgrim June 23, 2025

My grandfather, Simon Majaro, who has died aged 95, led a life rich in reinvention. A marketing professor at Cranfield University, he was also a management consultant, author, translator, luthier and patron of chamber music. From consulting to craftsma…

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