Question 7 by Richard Flanagan audiobook review – a bold memoir of life and near-death
At the start of this boldly experimental memoir, the Booker prize-winning author Richard Flanagan visits the site of a Japanese labour camp where his late father was interned during the second world war and where he ends up awkwardly having his photo taken with a former guard, Mr Sato. The war ended weeks after the US launched an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 60,000 people in less than a minute. That bomb also led to Flanagan's father, then days from death, being freed, which in turn allowed him to father a child who would grow up to become a writer. 'How many people need to die in order that you might read this book?' Flanagan asks.
Question 7, named after a riddle posed by Chekhov, is a book about the connections and choices that shape our lives, for better or worse. Flanagan is the narrator, his reading by turns mournful, reflective and quizzical as he plots a path through the lives of his parents, the writer HG Wells, Wells's sometime inamorata, Rebecca West, and the physicist Leo Szilard, who masterminded the nuclear chain reaction that was instrumental in the creation of the bomb. These historical vignettes are intertwined with Flanagan's own childhood memories of life in Tasmania, an island with a troubled history, and culminate in his account of a near-death experience at the age of 21, when his kayak became wedged underwater. As he assesses his own complex heritage and those of pivotal figures from the past, Flanagan reflects that 'there is no memory without shame'.
Available via Penguin Audio, 7hr 47min
FreeAmanda Knox, Headline, 10hr 17min
Knox narrates her memoir detailing her struggles to adapt to a normal life after her wrongful imprisonment in Italy.
Our EveningsAlan Hollinghurst, Picador, 16hr 36minThe Line of Beauty author's latest novel about the diverging lives of two public schoolboys is read by Prasanna Puwanarajah.
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The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
When time finally ran out for the Glasgow Apollo, forty years ago
The venue's peak came during the Seventies and for those of us who were there then, it, and the countless gigs we saw there, remain among the defining images of that decade. Alongside, perhaps, the Old Grey Whistle Test, John Peel's cult radio shows, and enthusiastic reading of the music weeklies – Sounds, NME, Melody Maker for news of the latest vinyl and tour dates. Not to mention, of course, the music of the time, whether it was punk and new wave, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones (below), prog, glam, reggae, heavy metal or soul. The Apollo memories are quite imperishable. The Rolling Stones were one of the biggest acts at the Apollo Many of the bands that played the venue are, like the Apollo itself, no more, having broken up for one reason or another: 'musical differences', frustration over a lack of success, a desire to follow individual dreams. But a gratifying number of groups are still thriving today: Neil Young, the Stones, the Cure, Status Quo, Rod Stewart, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Robert Plant, the Rezillos, Robin Trower, AC/DC, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton, Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison. Santana, too. Led by Carlos Santana, who turns 78 next month, they entertained the OVO Hydro just a few nights ago, nearly half a century after their last appearance in Renfield Street. And then there's Paul Weller, of course; it was his old band, The Style Council, who brought the curtain down on the Apollo on Sunday, June 16, 1985. Time has been busy catching up with other Apollo acts. Black Sabbath, who played Green's Playhouse, the Apollo's forerunner, as long ago as 1970, are bowing out with a huge farewell gig at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. That same night, a few miles away elsewhere in the city, Jeff Lynne's ELO will play the first of five last-ever concerts – two in Birmingham, two in Manchester, and one in London's Hyde Park. Elkie Brooks, who experienced the Apollo on a handful of occasions in the latter years of its existence, is on a Long Farewell Tour. In August, The Who will embark on their North America Farewell Tour. To look through the comprehensive gig listings curated by the people behind the excellent Glasgow Apollo website is to be reminded the astonishing wealth of gigs that took place there, across so many genres. Read more: The names of some of the acts – Renaissance, Rare Bird, drummer Ginger Baker's group Baker-Gurvitz Army, the all-female US rockers Fanny, Gentle Giant, Kokomo, Glencoe, Golden ('Radar Love') Earring, the Groundhogs, Traffic, Japan's Sadistic Mika Group – are familiar to fans of a certain vintage today. Less familiar, possibly, are Tea, who supported Baker Gurvitz Army in 1975; Dave and the Mistakes, who opened for Elvis Costello and the Attractions in 1981; and Sandii & the Sunsetz, another Japanese group, who were the support act for (of course) Japan in 1982. It's interesting to look back at the music weeklies and see what they made of certain concerts. Here's a small but vibrant selection: * 'Heat, dust, smoke, lasers and Genesis combined to turn the Glasgow Apollo into a replica of Dante's Inferno when the band descended on the city on Friday night' – Melody Maker, July 1976. * 'Rory G[allagher] made it however, and played an undeniably proficient over two-hour set to the most rapturous reception I've seen in ages. The audience was crazy, drunken, happy, and collectively about as intelligent as the average tree-stump: in short, all the jolly working-class virtues that made me leave Glasgow in the first place' – Sounds, April 1978. * 'Fred Turner [of Bachman Turner Overdrive] is a real sweathog of a bass player. Whether he's hungrily engulfing chip sandwiches in a Glasgow hotel under the lights of a documentary film crew, or bouncing all over the Apollo stage until the lighting towers begin to develop major instabilities, you gotta admit the dude is, like, heavy, man. He ought to do a seesaw act with Leslie West' – NME, May 1975. Lynyrd Skynyrd were a hugely popular attraction at the venue (Image: Unknown) * 'As a unit [Lynyrd Skynyrd, above] peaked with 'Tuesday's Gone', which took on a church atmosphere – in Glasgow the audience even started the Terrace Sway.... In Glasgow, the entire audience sang 'Free Bird' in its entirety. That's freaky (good-freaky), 3,000 people singing homage to a guitarist [Duane Allman] they've never seen' – Sounds, February 1976. * 'Backstage at the Apollo the theatre photographer is taking a group shot of the Rolling Stones receiving their trophies earned by selling out the three shows there. 'More ANIMATION pleeeze,' Jagger shouts good naturedly to the nervous photographer. 'When the Faces played here they could only afford one trophy', Woody [Ron Wood] informs the gathering, 'so we gave it to Tetsu [Yamauchi] to make him feel wanted'. Tonight each band member gets their own special souvenir. Just another memory. Keith gives his to Marlon [his son]' – Sounds, April 1976. * 'For Scotland, the Pretender changed tactics. Wearing a tartan wool scarf, he concentrated on rock 'n' roll. It was such good rock that it made me think maybe the Eagles aren't the best American rock 'n' roll band. Maybe the best American rock 'n' roll band is Jackson Browne ... Browne's initial self-centred introspection gently fades away. The Glasgow Apollo was cold, and Jackson Browne wanted to warm the place up with some powerfully generated rock. I almost thought he'd do 'Whole Lotta Shakin'' – Sounds, December 1976. The Apollo was noted, then, for many things: for its unassailable place on the Scottish gig circuit, for the rampant fervour with which many groups were greeted, for the less-than-salubrious nature of its backstage facilities. It all added up to a brilliant, authentic venue. The Apollo was living on borrowed time 40 years ago, however. The outcry that had greeted an earlier closure date, in 1978, when the venue's operators were granted a licence to turn it into a bingo hall, was decidedly more muted in the run-up to the Style Council farewell in 1985. As to why, David Belcher, the Herald's music writer, had this to say: 'The answer on everyone's lips is the Scottish Exhibition Centre, which has been bruited as having the ability to stage five to 10 10,000-seater per year along with up to 40 annual 2,000-seater shows'. Belcher also noted that the Apollo was damp and crumbling and that its fabric had deteriorated alarmingly over the last five years – not surprisingly, perhaps, given that the place had opened, as Green's Playhouse, back in 1927. The Apollo's time was up, then. But who could possibly have guessed in 1985 that its absence would be mourned, four decades later?
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
When time ran out for the Glasgow Apollo
The venue's peak came during the Seventies and for those of us who were there then, it, and the many gigs we saw there, remain among the defining images of that decade. Alongside, perhaps, the Old Grey Whistle Test, John Peel's cult radio shows, and enthusiastic reading of the music weeklies – Sounds, NME, Melody Maker for news of the latest vinyl and tour dates. Not to mention, of course, the music of the time, whether it was punk and new wave, the Eagles, the Stones, prog, glam, heavy metal or soul. The Apollo memories are imperishable. Many of the bands that played the venue are, like the Apollo itself, no more, having broken up for one reason or another: 'musical differences', frustration over a lack of success, a desire to follow individual dreams. But a gratifying number of groups are still thriving today: Neil Young, the Stones, the Cure, Status Quo, Rod Stewart, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Robert Plant, the Rezillos, Robin Trower, AC/DC, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton, Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison. Santana, too. Led by Carlos Santana, who turns 78 next month, they entertained the OVO Hydro just a few nights ago, nearly half a century after their last appearance in Renfield Street. And then there's Paul Weller, of course; it was his old band, The Style Council, who brought the curtain down on the Apollo on Sunday, June 16, 1985. Time has been busy catching up with other Apollo acts. Black Sabbath are bowing out with a huge farewell gig at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5. That same night, a few miles away elsewhere in the city, Jeff Lynne's ELO will play the first of five last-ever concerts – two in Birmingham, two in Manchester, and one in London's Hyde Park. Elkie Brooks, who experienced the Apollo on a handful of occasions in the latter years of its existence, is on a Long Farewell Tour. In August, The Who will embark on their North America Farewell Tour, To look through the comprehensive gig listings curated by the people behind the excellent Glasgow Apollo website is to be reminded the astonishing wealth of gigs that took place there, across so many genres. The names of some of the acts – Renaissance, Rare Bird, drummer Ginger Baker's group Baker-Gurvitz Army, the all-female US rockers Fanny, Gentle Giant, Kokomo, Glencoe, Golden ('Radar Love') Earring, the Groundhogs, Traffic, Japan's Sadistic Mika Group – are familiar to fans of a certain vintage today. Less familiar, possibly, are Tea, who supported Baker Gurvitz Army in 1975; Dave and the Mistakes, who opened for Elvis Costello and the Attractions in 1981; and Sandii & the Sunsetz, another Japanese group, who were the support act for (of course) Japan in 1982. It's interesting to look back at the music weeklies and see what they made of certain concerts. Here's a small selection: * 'Heat, dust, smoke, lasers and Genesis combined to turn the Glasgow Apollo into a replica of Dante's Inferno when the band descended on the city on Friday night' – Melody Maker, July 1976. * 'Rory G[allagher] made it however, and played an undeniably proficient over two-hour set to the most rapturous reception I've seen in ages. The audience was crazy, drunken, happy, and collectively about as intelligent as the average tree-stump: in short, all the jolly working-class virtues that made me leave Glasgow in the first place' – Sounds, April 1978. * 'Fred Turner [of Bachman Turner Overdrive] is a real sweathog of a bass player. Whether he's hungrily engulfing chip sandwiches in a Glasgow hotel under the lights of a documentary film crew, or bouncing all over the Apollo stage until the lighting towers begin to develop major instabilities, you gotta admit the dude is, like, heavy, man. He ought to do a seesaw act with Leslie West' – NME, May 1975. * 'As a unit [Lynyrd Skynyrd] peaked with 'Tuesday's Gone', which took on a church atmosphere – in Glasgow the audience even started the Terrace Sway.... In Glasgow, the entire audience sang 'Free Bird' in its entirety. That's freaky (good-freaky), 3,000 people singing homage to a guitarist [Duane Allman] they've never seen' – Sounds, February 1976. * 'Backstage at the Apollo the theatre photographer is taking a group shot of the Rolling Stones receiving their trophies earned by selling out the three shows there. 'More ANIMATION pleeeze,' Jagger shouts good naturedly to the nervous photographer. 'When the Faces played here they could only afford one trophy', Woody [Ron Wood] informs the gathering, 'so we gave it to Tetsu [Yamauchi] to make him feel wanted'. Tonight each band member gets their own special souvenir. Just another memory. Keith gives his to Marlon [his son]' – Sounds, April 1976. * 'For Scotland, the Pretender changed tactics. Wearing a tartan wool scarf, he concentrated on rock 'n' roll. It was such good rock that it made me think maybe the Eagles aren't the best American rock 'n' roll band. Maybe the best American rock 'n' roll band is Jackson Browne ... Browne's initial self-centred introspection gently fades away. The Glasgow Apollo was cold, and Jackson Browne wanted to warm the place up with some powerfully generated rock. I almost thought he'd do 'Whole Lotta Shakin'' – Sounds, December 1976. The Apollo was noted, then, for many things: for its unassailable place on the Scottish gig circuit, for the rampant fervour with which many groups were greeted, for the less-than-salubrious nature of its backstage facilities. It all added up to a brilliant, authentic venue. The Apollo was living on borrowed time 40 years ago, however. The outcry that had greeted an earlier closure date, in 1978, when the venue's operators were granted a licence to turn it into a bingo hall, was decidedly more muted in the run-up to the Style Council farewell in 1985. As to why, David Belcher, the Herald's music writer, had this to say: 'The answer on everyone's lips is the Scottish Exhibition Centre, which has been bruited as having the ability to stage five to 10 10,000-seater per year along with up to 40 annual 2,000-seater shows'. Belcher also noted that the Apollo was damp and crumbling and that its fabric had deteriorated alarmingly over the last five years – not surprisingly, perhaps, given that the place had opened, as Green's Playhouse, back in 1927. The Apollo's time was up, then. But who could possibly have guessed in 1985 that its absence would be mourned, four decades later? RUSSELL LEADBETTER
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Iconic WWE star's twins, 15, are being 'groomed for family business'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video WWE Hall of Famer Booker T is well versed in training the stars of the future, and his teenage kids could be next. The 60-year-old retired wrestler and current NXT commentator is a mentor on US network A&E's LFG reality show – which returns for a second season this weekend – and it's no surprised his 15-year-old twins are primed to follow in his footsteps. He exclusively told Metro: 'Never say never. My son, he loves professional wrestling. My daughter, she's very, very athletic. I never knew what I was going to do until I got into it, you know?' However, Booker – whose wife is fellow WWE Hall of Famer Sharmell – admitted he might be happier if they work behind the scenes instead, taking over his Reality of Wrestling promotion. 'I'm grooming them to be able to take over the business one day,' he said. 'From a behind the scenes perspective. That's where the money is! Less bumps as well [laughs]. No man, never say never!' If the twins did decided to get into wrestling, they'd have the best coach, with Booker having trained rising star Roxanne Perez, while there have been plans for him to work with Travis Scott to help him prepare for an eventual match. However, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching someone the ropes. 'The first time I got in the ring, it was like deja vu. It seemed like I had been in the ring my whole life,' he recalled. 'Being in the business for 35 years, I got so much like wasted knowledge in my head, I could just pull it up, boom. 'I expect for them to be able to do it as well, and it's just not like that. Everybody is so different as far as the learning curve… When I teach it, I try to have so many different philosophies.' For WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats), that variety is on full display as Booker joins Bubba Ray Dudley, The Undertaker and Michelle McCool on the panel for the second season in search of WWE's next megastars. Last series, Bubba Ray clashed with his loudmouthed protege BJ Ray, who showed a lot of fire and overconfident. 'It might work out for them on the show, but it's not going to work out in the long run,' Booker said, arguing the need for 'great matches' as well as a strong personality. He added: 'If you can figure that out – BJ Ray, he might have a chance, but if he doesn't figure that part out, he has no chance in hell of making it in this business.' Booker knows his stuff, as his protege Jasper Troy was the men's winner, and has already impressed in the ring with NXT Champion Oba Femi. 'I hate to use the old cliche from from Rocky Balboa, but he had that 'eye of the tiger,'' the veteran chuckled. 'He took it very, very serious. And that's what a lot of these guys don't do.' He explained: 'They're not looking at it like this could be a lifetime job… [or a] once a lifetime opportunity… But Jasper, I'm so proud of that kid.' That's not to say Booker doesn't embrace the larger than life characters, as he noted how the theatrics are the beating heart of the business. 'I'm always performing. It's Shakespeare, it's Romeo and Juliet, it's Phantom of the Opera,' he smiled. 'That's I think about when I think about professional wrestling.' That drama will certainly shine through on the new season of LFG – which is only available in the US, with clips being shared on X worldwide, and the winners already appearing on weekly NXT TV. What can fans expect? 'A lot more drama,' he laughed. 'We're trying to work with these young guys and get them where we need them to be. It's not as easy as one would think.' He added: 'The physical side is is relatively easy, but the mental side of the business is very, very taxing. And I think you guys will see a lot of lot of that this season.' In light of that, Booker shared the best piece of advice he was given by Escape From New York actor and wrestler Ox Baker. More Trending He recalled with a smile: 'He said, 'Kid, you got a lot of talent, but you're going to come up against a lot of obstacles in this business.' And I think he was talking about me being a young black man in the business. 'He didn't say that, but he said, 'You got to figure out a way to go over, around, under, and sometimes you have to go straight through those obstacles.' 'Wow. That was the best advice I've ever could have gotten as a young kid getting into this business.' View More » WWE LFG (Legends & Future Greats) returns to A&E on Sunday, June 22. Fans in the US can tune in from 10pm ET/PT. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: How to watch 'captivating' true crime series A Body in the Snow after Karen Read's trial MORE: Netflix drops all 8 episodes of dark TV series 'compared to Ozark' MORE: Disturbing documentary about 'most evil reality show ever' now streaming on BBC
