Latest news with #Autocracy
Tatler Asia
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Tatler Asia
Your next read: 8 provocative books curated by Natalie Portman
'Autocracy, Inc.' by Anne Applebaum Above 'Autocracy, Inc.' by Anne Applebaum uncovers how authoritarian leaders share propaganda techniques to maintain power. (Photo: Doubleday) Pulitzer Prize-winner Anne Applebaum delivers a chilling exposé that reframes our understanding of modern dictatorship. Rather than viewing autocratic regimes as isolated entities, this meticulously researched work reveals a sophisticated global network of collaboration. Applebaum's investigation uncovers how authoritarian leaders share strategies, resources and propaganda techniques to maintain power against democratic nations. For readers comfortable with traditional geopolitical narratives, this book presents a disturbing alternative reality where dictatorships operate as a unified, calculated force—a revelation that demands urgent attention and action. 'Saving Time' by Jenny Odell Above 'Saving Time' by Jenny Odell dismantles our fundamental assumptions about productivity and progress. (Photo: Random House Trade Paperbacks) Portman describes her pick as 'an exploration of how we can revise our relationship with time to inspire hope and action'. This radical critique by Jenny Odell dismantles our most fundamental assumptions about productivity and progress. Building on her acclaimed book How to Do Nothing , this work challenges the very foundation of our clock-driven society, arguing that our temporal structures serve profit rather than human flourishing. Odell draws from pre-industrial cultures, ecological rhythms and geological timescales to propose revolutionary alternatives to capitalist time consciousness. This isn't merely lifestyle advice—it's a comprehensive reimagining of how we might structure existence itself, demanding readers question everything they've been taught about efficiency and value. Now read: 7 inspiring wellness books for a grounded, mindful life 'The Safekeep' by Yael Van Der Wouden Above 'The Safekeep' by Yael Van Der Wouden explores the unreliable nature of memory. (Photo: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster) Van Der Wouden's stunning debut operates as both psychological thriller and historical reckoning. Set in post-war Netherlands, this tense narrative explores the unreliable nature of memory and the buried traumas that shape entire communities. Through the unsettling relationship between Isabel and Eva, the novel forces readers to confront how personal and collective histories can be manipulated, hidden or conveniently forgotten. This isn't comfortable historical fiction—it's a probing examination of how we construct truth from fragments of experience, challenging readers to question their relationship with inherited narratives. 'Saving Five' by Amanda Nguyen Above 'Saving Five' by Amanda Nguyen is an unflinching account of fighting to pass the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act. (Photo: AUWA) Portman thanks author Amanda Nguyen 'for sharing your truth, your light and for writing your story'. Nguyen's memoir transcends typical survivor narratives to become a blueprint for systemic change. Her unflinching account of fighting to pass the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Act exposes the failures within America's justice system whilst demonstrating the power of individual activism. Uniquely weaving her personal trauma with imagined conversations with her younger selves, Nguyen creates a work that's simultaneously intimate and politically urgent. This book challenges readers to move beyond sympathy toward action, questioning their role in perpetuating or dismantling unjust systems. 'The English Understand Wool' by Helen DeWitt Above 'The English Understand Wool' by Helen DeWitt asks whether cultural preferences reflect learned class signalling. (Photo: New Directions) DeWitt's deceptively sharp novella dismantles our assumptions about cultural sophistication and good taste. Through the story of a young woman raised with impossibly high aesthetic standards, this work exposes how markers of refinement often function as instruments of social control. The protagonist's confrontation with New York's cultural sharks becomes a broader examination of authenticity versus performance in contemporary society. The author challenges readers to question whether their cultural preferences reflect genuine appreciation or learned class signalling, making this brief work surprisingly unsettling in its implications. Natalie Portman sums up the novella best: 'darkly funny but honest look at the exploitation of trauma within publishing'. 'The Coin' by Yasmin Zaher Above 'The Coin' by Yasmin Zaher presents a protagonist whose moral complexity defies easy categorisation. (Photo: Catapult) Zaher's bold debut refuses to provide a comfortable immigrant narrative. Following a young Palestinian woman navigating New York's cultural and economic landscapes, this novel presents a protagonist whose moral complexity defies easy categorisation. Through her eccentric teaching methods and involvement in luxury goods schemes, the narrator challenges conventional expectations about assimilation and ambition. Zaher forces readers to sit with discomfort, presenting a character who embodies contradictions rather than resolution. Portman lauds the author's writing, especially 'about the tension between the body and mind.' 'Consider Yourself Kissed' by Jessica Stanley Above 'Consider Yourself Kissed' by Jessica Stanley examine love's survival against unglamorous reality. (Photo: Riverhead Books) Stanley's novel transcends typical romance to examine love's survival against unglamorous reality. Set against a decade marked by Brexit and Covid, this work asks challenging questions about commitment in an era of constant disruption. Rather than offering fairy-tale conclusions, Stanley presents the complicated negotiations required for long-term partnership, acknowledging both love's resilience and its frequent failures. For readers accustomed to romantic fantasy, this book provides a more truthful—if sometimes uncomfortable—exploration of what sustaining love actually requires in our fractured contemporary world. For Natalie Portman, the book is 'a look at how relationships shift over time as Coralie navigates motherhood, love and her own desires'. NOW READ Female action heroes: 8 women who redefined courage long before 'Ballerina' pirouetted in From screen to your stove: 6 star-studded celebrity cookbooks worth trying 'Mission: Impossible': 7 stunts that redefined high-stakes action cinema Credits This article was created with the assistance of AI tools
The Guardian
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Neneh Cherry and Anne Applebaum longlisted for Women's prize for nonfiction
The Buffalo Stance singer Neneh Cherry, historian Anne Applebaum and Labour MP Yuan Yang are among those longlisted for the Women's prize for nonfiction. 16 authors, 11 of whom are British, are in contention for this year's £30,000 prize, which was launched last year to redress the gender imbalance in nonfiction prizes in the UK. Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum (Allen Lane) Embers of the Hands by Eleanor Barraclough (Profile) The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor (Allen Lane) A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry (Vintage) The Story of A Heart by Rachel Clarke (Abacus) Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Canongate) Ootlin by Jenni Fagan (Hutchinson Heinemann) Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller (Pushkin) Agent Zo by Clare Mulley (Weidenfeld) By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle (William Collins) Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux (Faber) What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales (Atlantic) The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury) Sister in Law by Harriet Wistrich (Transworld) Tracker by Alexis Wright (And Other Stories) Private Revolutions by Yuan Yang (Bloomsbury) The longlisted titles 'boast so many different disciplines and genres', said journalist Kavita Puri, who is this year's judging chair. 'What unites them all is the quality of the writing, the authority of the voice and the originality of their storytelling, and just the depth and incisiveness of the research.' Cherry was longlisted for her memoir A Thousand Threads, while Yang was chosen for Private Revolutions, her portrait of modern China told through the lives of four young women. Applebaum appears on the list for Autocracy, Inc., which explores the kleptocratic financial structures that underlie autocracies. While the selected books are 'all quite different', said Puri, themes that emerged were 'power and control – how it's used, how it's abused', injustice, human connections 'with each other, but also the natural world' and climate change. There are also books featuring 'perspectives that have been overlooked', said Puri, including Indigenous voices, such as By the Fire We Carry by Native American activist Rebecca Nagle which looks at the 'battles of the Muscogee people', while Tracker by Australian writer Alexis Wright is a 'very personal' story of an Indigenous Australian leader. Other 'striking personal stories' include Ootlin by Jenni Fagan, about her experience growing up in care, and The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke, 'an exquisite story about one family giving the heart of their child, so that another can live, and the wonder of science and medicine'. The shortlist of six books will be announced on 26 March, with the winner revealed on 12 June, alongside the winner of the fiction prize, which turns 30 this year. Also on the longlist are What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales, Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux, Embers of the Hands by Eleanor Barraclough, The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller, Agent Zo by Clare Mulley, The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale and Sister in Law by Harriet Wistrich. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion The nonfiction prize was announced in 2023 following research which found that only 35.5% of books awarded a nonfiction prize over the prior decade were written by women, across seven UK nonfiction prizes. Given that 'female writers in the nonfiction area don't do as well' as their male counterparts in terms of book advances and newspaper coverage, Puri sees this prize as an opportunity to 'elevate brilliant female writing in a whole array of genres'. Women's perspectives on the 'most pressing' issues of the day 'need to be heard', she added. 'So there is a huge need for this prize today'. This year's prize was open to books published in the UK between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. Alongside Puri on the judging panel are the writers Leah Broad, Elizabeth Buchan, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett and Emma Gannon. The inaugural nonfiction prize was won by Naomi Klein for her book Doppelganger.
