Tia Armstrong
I bought The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett in Waterstones after months of not being able to go into shops. I wasn’t sure what to read next so picked a book I had seen loads of people talking about and was completely blown away. When identical twins Desiree and Stella go their separate ways, one of them secretly passes for white and the sisters end up living completely different lives. Bennett skilfully explores colourism, familial relationships and the many facets of identity with beautifully entrancing prose. I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to read Brit Bennett’s debut novel THE MOTHERS immediately after.
Having watched the 2009 Watchmen film I thought I knew what to expect from the TV-series but was pleasantly surprised to learn that HBO had completely subverted the classic comic. While the original comic explored people’s fears of nuclear war in the 80s this adaptation takes a look at racism in the US, with the very first episode depicting the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. It is brilliantly acted and introduces a sense of realism to the fantastical world of superheroes.
During lockdown I was lucky enough to come across No Signal Radio. Throughout lockdown the independent radio station started by Black British youth hosted a show called NS10v10, where contestants represent one artist each and play ten of their songs back to back in hopes of winning the clash. Some of my favourite clashes were Mariah Carey vs Beyonce, Wizkid vs Vybz Kartel and Nicki Minaj vs Lil Kim. No Signal continue to provide endless hours of entertainment as well as foster a sense of community and make radio cool again!
Lizzy Attree
Tade Thompson’s Rosewater Trilogy
I loved the way these novels really stretched my imagination to its limits, especially the first book. Set in mid-2060s Nigeria, Rosewater recounts how fifty years earlier, a gigantic alien lifeform dubbed Wormwood crashed into London and sank into the ground. Wormwood re-emerged in Nigeria, where it unleashed alien creatures and bacteria, became a power source and began healing illness and injury once a year. In Thompson’s innovative novel the alien bacteria released into the atmosphere form the “xenosphere”, which connects all living beings on the planet. Some humans are able to sense the xenosphere and manipulate it, giving them psychic powers. The xenosphere functions as a sort of spore-based cyberspace, which rather than destroying the human population, acts as a means for connecting them. This flipside, the benefits of alien bacteria, have rarely been explored with such ingenuity.
Normal People on BBC
So much better than Rooney’s book! Shot in Sligo and Dublin, the music is beautiful, and I think the secret to Marianne and Connell is that they are just such phenomenally great kissers. Their chemistry holds the show together.
Caleb Femi’s Poor
Wow, just wow. London’s first young people’s poet laureate (2016), Caleb Femi’s debut poetry collection is designed and presented as a Penguin classic, and it’s sure to win a few awards. A mix of photography between poetry in praise of concrete on the estates where he grew up, reflecting on “the impact of urban landscapes in impoverished public housing areas; how it shapes the way that people who live in these spaces see themselves and how the world sees them.”
maybe an estate, tall as it is,
is the half-buried femur of a dead god,
and the blue light of dawn
- his son in mourning –
looks on the things we do
when there is one less boy among us.
Next year: Being able to go out again!!!
Kate Burke
TV series: I May Destroy You
This series, written, starring and co-directed by the always-amazing Michaela Cole, was a breath of fresh air this year. Original, dark, compelling and disturbing, it dealt with the themes of sexual assault, sexuality and consent with sensitivity, frankness and humour. It was fearless and bold in tone, and I haven't seen anything quite like it before. I love original stories with strong voices and this series had those and so much more.
Podcast: Wind of Change
As a fan of anything to do with undercover agents/spying/the Cold War, I really enjoyed this podcast which delves into the late 80s/early 90s rock music scene. The podcaster hears a rumour that epic German rock band the Scorpions' biggest hit, Wind of Change (which became the unofficial anthem of the fall of the Berlin wall) was actually written by the CIA as part of an intelligence strategy to end the Cold War between the US and Russia, and he explores the links between the music and politics of the time. Bonkers but very compelling!
Film: The Host
The first and, I think, the best piece of film-making to come out of the pandemic, this low-budget horror film was written and filmed entirely during the hard lockdown of earlier this year. Full of jumps and scares, it's a simple premise of a Zoom call among friends that goes wrong when they hold a séance. Terrifying!
Looking forward to in 2021: I miss the cinema and theatre so I'm looking forward to seeing blockbusters such as Wonder Woman 1984, Dune and the new Bond film on the big screen, as well as going back to the theatre and maybe seeing Hamilton (again!).
Isobel Dixon
Film: Parasite
I caught up with Bong Joon-Ho’s 2019 black comedy in January, after it was garlanded with praise and prizes (including the Cannes Palme d’Or, a Golden Globe and the Oscar Best Picture win, many South Korean firsts). Always risky, hitting Play under the weight of such expectation, but the film’s wild brilliance soon swept away such concerns. Surprising, thrilling, packed with twists and turns, visually and choreographically engaging, I thought it was flawless. A darkly funny, moving and unsettling examination of greed and class prejudice, of lives of buried servitude and what erupts from that oppression. As we approach the end of this strangely static yet also insane rollercoaster year, I think it’s calling for a second viewing.
Of books and bookshelves (again!)
Last year I wrote how after house renovations I still had to make the most of my new study bookshelves and browse through my library – rediscovering old friends now freed from their boxes. Little did I know quite how much time I’d be spending in their company, working from home! Not as much time free for actual reading as you might imagine, but much more than a Zoom background … Doing Zooms/Teams calls about poetry with schools in the UK and Argentina recently I loved being able to pull down well-thumbed collections when asked about favourite poets, and I’m still looking forward to the charmed quiet of the Christmas break for further reacquaintance. Though many more new books are vying for space – and thinking of recent arrivals it seems to me that one of the humble highlights of 2020 has been that welcome landing ‘thunk’ as another book parcel pops through the letterbox…
Place: Madeira
As 2019 turned into 2020 my husband and I were in Madeira, a second trip after our summer discovery of a place that so beautifully answered my love of islands – far out in the Atlantic Ocean, off Africa’s west coast. Also, with so many familiar plants indigenous to South Africa – strelitzia, plumbago, flowering aloes – we felt very much at home in the landscape. The capital, Funchal, seemed at times like a hybrid of Durban and Cape Town’s Sea Point, with echoes of the vegetation of my Eastern Cape home ground all around. We stayed in peaceful hotels and there, as predicted in this list last year, I relished reading both for my poetry project linked to D.H. Lawrence’s nature writing, as well as a glorious meeting at last with Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge.
2021 outlook
No expectation matches the intense wish for reunion with family. I’ve never been away from South Africa for as long as a year before and can’t wait for return to Cape Town and the Karoo, to be with my wonderful in-laws and my precious sisters for long conversations surrounded by more shared books and stories.
Sian Ellis-Martin
Television: The Undoing
I’d love to pick television in general as one of my highlights this year; whatever mood I was in, I turned to the TV. (Special mention to bingeable reality shows Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Below Deck, and Bake Off and Strictly which filled me with joy and festive cheer.) But the show that had me hooked was The Undoing. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant drew me in, but the stellar acting of the entire cast, and the totally gripping storyline, is why I stayed. I truly couldn’t work out the killer, and I was a weeping mess of emotions by the end.
Book: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
In the Dream House is Machado’s agonising, but beautiful, account of the abuse she suffered in a toxic relationship. The book itself is so cleverly written, borrowing from different conventions of genre and telling the story through multiple lenses. Despite the gravity of the content, it’s so readable, and I found myself unable to put it down.
Theatre: Hamilton
Okay so I didn’t see it in the theatre, but I watched the recording they put out online and it is SO. GOOD. I really didn’t think it would be up my street (not sure why – I love a musical) but it so was. The writing, the acting, the singing, the dancing; all sheer perfection. I’m in awe of everyone involved in creating it, and I’ve had the soundtrack on repeat ever since. If you’re a fan, I really recommend watching the Hamilton Song Exploder (Netflix) episode which gives an in-depth insight into the writing of ‘Wait for It’.
In 2021, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) hugging my friends.
Julian Friedmann
All my contributions are largely due to lockdown, which led to numerous domestic improvements.
I spent some time researching the consumer magazine WHICH for the best buys for the smallest and best handheld vacuum cleaner (brill for catching flies in summer, who knew?) and the smallest coffee pod machine with a selection of decaf pods. Both have greatly improved my domestic life.
Another lockdown change is that I started competing with University Challenge teams. Jonquil helps greatly with physics and astronomy and music. We do quite well in the early stages - sometimes beating the losing team - but the questions seem to get harder as the series gets to the knockout heats. When we first came to live in England my parents and I competed vigorously, and with my mother’s Latin and English and my father’s medical/science we did rather well. Good memories.
Cooking. Experimenting with a random new recipe almost every week. Current one is chicken thighs roasted skin side up on top of a bed of thinly sliced potatoes and red onions and some pancetta, all lightly covered with olive oil, seasoned, cook for an hour medium high, then add some double cream for another 15 minutes. The new family favourite.
What I am looking forward to next year is finishing the rewrite of my original long-out-of-print book on the business of screenwriting. It will be about 1/3rd longer and I am probably going to self-publish. The royalties will go to a fund for indulgent holidays for Jonquil and myself. So far we have Masai Mara (Little Governor’s Camp) and the Himalayas on the list. I have also cheated and got my birthday present from Jonquil (which is next year) already: the latest Apple Watch. It is a great toy, a bit like a Swiss Army knife. I am sure there will be things it can do I will never find out.
Samuel Hodder
Book: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
I’m often wary of looking forward to things too much, but I went ahead and pre-ordered Shuggie Bain way back in January, immediately after reading Douglas Stuart’s magnificent story ‘Found Wanting’ (remarkably, his first published story) in the New Yorker. Needless to say, Shuggie Bain really is as good as everyone – including the Booker judges – says it is. It’s remarkably powerful and vivid storytelling, and wonderfully descriptive – there are images in the novel that I think I will remember all my life. Although it was painful to read at times, I found that I missed it the moment I’d finished reading. A new modern classic.
Place: Kerameikos, Athens
The Acropolis will always be the iconic, unforgettable image of Athens but of all the city’s ancient sites, I found that it was Kerameikos which I most enjoyed exploring. It’s a sprawling site, nearly deserted when I was there, which meant I could wander its winding lanes alone. I felt transported back millenia as I passed through the remains of the Sacred Gate and walked a little along the Sacred Way towards Eleusis, following the route of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Strolling down the Street of the Tombs, I took in the relief of Dexileos, who died aged 20 in a war with the Spartans four centuries before the birth of Christ. His parents wanted him remembered, and he still is. When I sat down beside the road – the Dromos – that once led to Plato’s Academy, a friendly and peaceful white cat approached and promptly and confidently sat in my lap. Given Plato’s belief in reincarnation I was sure to treat him very respectfully, just in case.
Television: I May Destroy You
Simply the best drama I’ve seen on TV for a long time. So fresh and sharp and distinctive and inventive. Despite the darkness of some of its themes, it’s full of life and love and friendship and humour – sometimes it’s wickedly funny, despite the pain. The whole series is brilliantly plotted and layered, the acting is wonderful, and Michaela Coel is obviously a genius. Chewing Gum was fantastic but I May Destroy You is even better. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
In 2021 I’m looking forward to… Dune. Epic science-fiction storytelling starring Timothée Chalamet (who I missed out on seeing on stage this year) and Oscar Isaac. What’s not to love?
Louisa Minghella
Television: Gravity Falls (Alex Hirsch)
I never had any access to Disney’s Television landscape until I downloaded Disney Plus and I found Gravity Falls, and wow did it blow my mind. It is nothing like any ‘kids’ show I’ve seen, and from the moment it started I was glued to it. The animation is gorgeous, the story is a wonderful blend of adult dystopia and kids’ fantasy, and the writing is fantastic, sharp, witty, and brilliantly nuanced. Little things, even the title sequence of the last series, show just how much care went into every part of the show. Chef’s kiss.
Film: Kajillionaire (Miranda July)
This film is fantastic. I saw it on a just-before-second-lockdown cinema trip and even paid for the comfy seats (winner!). It follows Evan Rachel Wood as a lifelong scam artist with her parents, and what happens when they meet Gina Rodriguez who they invite into the fold. I love gay romance and this is an excellent new art-house exploration of love in all its forms. The use of cinematography and subtle character development is perfect, and Miranda July restrains nothing from the dysfunctional family relationship in the centre of the plot. I highly recommend!
Podcast: Parental Guidance (Rose and Rosie Daughton)
This podcast from beloved youtubers Rose and Rosie takes on the struggle of a lesbian couple trying for a baby. They delve into the process of choosing a donor, insemination, miscarriage, and many more. I have no interest in having children, but this side of the world of LGBT+ people is so rarely explored in such detail and Rose and Rosie are both wonderful people to get to know. It’s weirdly lovely to see them discuss such complex and serious issues. I wish them every good fortune in their journey.
Hana Murrell
For a while my first experience of lockdown was structured around the weekly drop of a new National Theatre play online, which anyone could watch for free for that week. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in Frankenstein were particularly spellbinding. I could probably not have afforded decent tickets to see the plays in real life, and I’m thrilled the NT is starting pay-on-demand and subscription services – so for 2021 I’m looking forward to catching up on more great performances online, until the theatres reopen!
In late August I was lucky enough to stay with friends on the Italian island of Ponza, to which Romans escape for the crystal-clear waters and a slower pace of life. According to Greek myth it was the home of the witch Circe during her exile! We swam at a different beach every day, and tried the specialty cactus parmigiana (tasted like green pepper).
I devoured the novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, published in 2017. A multi-generational epic family novel, that encompasses a century of history and movement between Japan and Korea. Aside from the absorbing characterization and profound observations about human nature, it resonated hugely with me as a mixed-race Japanese national. I could understand the characters’ conflicted feelings about Japan, both love for the only home they knew, and hurt and anger that they would never be fully accepted as Japanese citizens.
Juliet Pickering
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
I was late to the party – as ever – and I regretted it. I LOVED this book, for everything it did and everything it told. The layers of narrative, the mix of experience, age, sexuality, mood, style. What a book to hold in your head and then transport to the page, and what a (overdue) tribute to Black women. Extraordinary and very special.
My Town by David Gentleman
I bought this for my dad for his birthday, as he likes sketches of places (he’s been everywhere!), and I picked it up and read it after him. Having not been to London for months myself, it made me really miss the city and long to get back there. It’s a beautiful way to tell a story of a city you call home, and made for a strangely soothing read.
Crazy Rich Asians
On yet another very tame evening at home, I messaged a friend to ask if CRA was worth watching, and her reply was ‘I LOVED IT, it’s just perfect escapism. Gorgeous to look at, funny, amazing food, high melodrama.’ Sold. It lived up to all that, and then some; I can’t wait to watch it again.
James Pusey
Dante’s Inferno. The only opportunity to experience schadenfreude this year.
Art: Artemisia Gentileschi at the National Gallery. ‘I’ll show you what a woman can do,’ she wrote to a (male) patron. And how!
Food: Uber Eats. Masters of the contactless delivery.
Roya Sarrafi-Gohar
Exhibition: Artemisia, National Gallery
Visiting an exhibition under COVID restrictions is awkward, but it was worth the inconvenience to see more of an artist who many only know as a rape victim painting revenge. As impactful as it is to see Judith beheading Holofernes full size, I was most glad to see a little of the influences and pressures that formed the ‘real’ Artemisia Gentileschi, including paintings by her father, who’d taught her to paint; the transcript of the trial where, under torture, she confronted her rapist; and frank letters to her lover in Italian she’d only taught herself to write in her twenties.
Television: Gossip Girl
When all my school friends were watching Gossip Girl in the late noughties, I couldn’t see why they loved to immerse themselves in the lives of outrageously wealthy and vain Manhattan teenagers. But I’m glad I saved the programme for lockdown in 2020, as watching one episode – or three – each night helped preserve my sanity and introduce some routine to the monotony. In that context, I was able to vicariously enjoy the freedom these socialites’ privilege offered them, and their self-obsession and duplicity allow intrigue that is addictive in a way you just can’t get with likeable characters.
Book: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
I picked up this book for its striking cover, wholly unaware of the subject matter or controversy. It was disturbing then to find the account of woman who had been groomed by her teacher aged 15, and to see her insist, for much of the novel, that she had not been abused, but had entered the relationship freely and enthusiastically. But the novel is so powerful because of the courage with which Vanessa, and the author, pick apart this idea: it illustrates the pervasive harm of this abuse, but also lays bare the hypocrisy of a culture which enables it.
Emma Shercliff, Laxfield Literary Associates
Book: An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie (NYRB, 1983)
Kpomassie, a young Togolese man, finds an illustrated book about The Eskimos of Greenland in a missionary bookshop in Lomé, and resolves to travel to this ‘land of ice’. It takes him six years to work his way up through West Africa, and another six to reach Denmark (via Paris), where finally he boards a boat to Greenland. He stays amongst the Inuit for 16 months. Kpomassie is a superb companion, and the charm and candour with which he narrates his adventures makes this a joy to read. Categorically one of the best travel books ever written!
Podcast/Book: The Stubborn Light of Things by Melissa Harrison (Faber, 2020)
Despite growing up in the countryside, I had never consciously dedicated time to identifying birdsong, flowers and trees, and this podcast proved an inspiration to do so during lockdown. Melissa lives in a small Suffolk village similar to my own, so her local explorations resonated greatly; her unadulterated joy at seeing a barn owl in episode 3 lifted my spirits for a week! A beautifully-produced book of the same title, compiled from her Nature Notebook column in The Times, contains perhaps my favourite line of the year: “This week I found a dead weasel and put it in my stocking.”
Opera: Fox Mykata by Ivan Nebesnyi (composer) & Vasyl Vovkun (Libretto)
I visited Ukraine in February to undertake a review of the publishing sector for the British Council. During my trip, I was lucky enough to visit the majestic Lviv National Opera for the premiere of Fox Mykata, based on a folk legend by famed poet Ivan Franko. Sung in Ukrainian, with a futuristic mise-en-scene and stunning costumes, this was a cross between Aesop’s Fables and Game of Thrones. Wily Fox Mykata cheats, charms, lies and kills - and eventually comes out on top! Having outwitted the other animals, Fox Mykata is appointed Chancellor by King Lion, there apparently being no moral to this tale…
Daisy Way
Fiction: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett I read this unforgettable novel in the summer and immediately knew it’d have to feature as one of my cultural picks for this year! The lives of the Vignes twins, once inseparable, take very different turns as they grow up: Desiree returns with her black daughter to her hometown after an abusive marriage to “the darkest man she could find”, whereas Stella lives a middle class lifestyle where she and her daughter secretly pass as white. Despite these differences however they are inextricably and inescapably linked. Bennett deftly explores the intricacies of race, family and identity across decades and generations.
TV: This is Us (Amazon Prime)
There was so much amazing TV this year, fortunately for us, that it’s difficult to whittle it down to one highlight. I finally came across This is Us at the beginning of lockdown (I know, so late to the party!) and I think it’s the only series I’ve ever watched that has made me both laugh and cry in every. Single. Episode. I lapped up the first few seasons and now am eagerly awaiting the new episodes to arrive early next year.
Podcast: Table Manners with Jessie Ware
I’ve enjoyed dipping in and out of this podcast over the last couple of years but this year especially I found it was the perfect way to switch off for an hour or so on my daily lunchtime walks. There’s something about listening to Jessie and her mother nattering away, talking over one another and their guests, that felt comforting and engaging and something I looked forward to each week.
Conrad Williams
Debussy: Preludes CD played by Dennis Lee
Dennis is a Malaysian pianist whose Debussy is very special. You will hear all the layers and events in the sound spectrum, beautifully recorded, and an unerring sense of tempo and movement. His ‘Feux d’Artifice’ is the most evocative (of fireworks against a velvet black sky) I have heard, and such pieces as ‘Voiles’ and ‘Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest’ are wonderfully imagistic and atmospheric. A must-buy for lovers of Debussy piano music.
Serge Babayan’s Rachmaninov recital on DG is unbelievable. I think it will go down as one of the greatest Rachmaninov CDs: wonderfully impassioned, impulsive, detailed, noble, delicate, powerful. It swept me away.
The late Jan Morris’s book Wales was scarcely mentioned in her obituaries, but it is a magnificent survey of the history and culture of my adoptive country and makes me feel proud to live here.