The Week UK - 04.04.2020

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4April 2020 THE WEEK

The List

TheTwelveCaesarsby

Suetonius, 121 AD;translated

byRobertGraves,1 957

(Penguin£10.99).Iboughtmy

firstSuetoniusinasecond-

handbookshop inAmsterdam,

started readingitonthetram

andmissedmystop thanksto

itsgripping,denseandgossipy

tabloidtakeonancientRome’s

greatestmen.

GileadbyMarilynne

Robinson,200 4 (Virago

£8.99). Robinson’sperfectly

pitchedstory aboutthree

generationsofafamilyof

Congregationalistministers

is,perhaps,closetoaperfect

novel.Aquietandmoving

meditation ongoodness,

centringon aflawed and

constantly seekingman

who finds, inaworldof

sorrow and loneliness,

profoundmeaninginthegift

ofsmallwonders.

PersuasionbyJane Austen,

1818 (Oxford World’s

Classics£4.99). Ilovethis

deeplyaffectingand reflective

novelaboutfirst love,regret

and second chances.Like

Dickens,Austentakes delight

in herminorcharacters,

who donotescape her

criticaleye,and inthis,her

lastnovel,every minor

character issharplydrawn.

FamilyLifebyAkhil Sharma,

2014 (Faber £7.99).Whenhe

realisedthatIwasstruggling

tofinishmysecond book,

my editorgavemethisto

encourageme,tellingmehe

hadwaited 12yearsforit.

Itgalvanised metofinish,

because the idea ofmakinghim

waitthatlongforsomethingI

wascertainwouldnotbehalf

as goodasthisbeautifully

narrated, shimmeringand

heart-breakingworkwasnot

worth thinkingabout.

EquusbyPeterShaffer, 19 73

(Penguin £9.99).The nightI

firstreadShaffer’smasterfully

unsettlingplayscriptabout

buriedtrauma,horses galloped

through mydreams.Ican’t

thinkofthelasttimeIhave

beensomovedand shaken

byaworkof literature.

For out-of-printbooks

visitbiblio.co.uk

Bestbooks... Petina Gappah

Theauthorchoosesherfavouritebooks.Herdebutstorycollection,AnElegy

forEasterly,wontheGuardianFirstBookAwardin2009,andhernew

novel,OutofDarkness,ShiningLight(Faber£16.99),isoutnow

Programmes

TwinTensenew eight-part Norwegiandrama

aboutestranged identical twins. Surferdrop-out

Erik visits his brotherAdamfor the first time

in years, with fatal consequences.Sat4Apr,

BBC421:00and 21:45 (45mins each).

DuFu:China’s GreatestPoetMichael Wood

follows in the footstepsofDuFu, therevered

eighth century poet-historianregarded

as China’s Shakespeare,withreadings by Ian

McKellen.Mon 6Apr,BBC4 21:00 (60mins).

ReturntoBelsenwithJonathanDimbleby

Seventy-five yearsafte rthe liberationof Belsen,

Dimbleby visits the site of thedeathcampthat

his father, Richard Dimbleby, reportedfrom in

April 1945.Tue 7Apr,ITV1 21:00 (60mins).

Alma’s Not NormalUnflinchingnew comedy,

written by andstarring stand-up Sophie Willan

as an unemployed tearawayinBolton. Tue 7

Apr,BBC222:00(30mins).

TheCountess andthe BillionaireFilmed

over five years, this documentaryfoll owsthe

changing fortunes of Alexandra Tolstoyand

her oligarchpartnerSergei Pugachev,asthey

fall from grace with Putin andoutoflovewith

each other.Wed8Apr, BBC221:00 (60mins).

Films

Hail,Caesar!(2016) TheCoen brothers’

all-singing, all-dancing paeanto 1950s

Hollywood has an all-star cast led by Josh Brolin

as astudio bosstryingtokeephis starsinline.

Sat 4Apr,Film416:15 (125mins).

Enough Said(2013) Bittersweetromcom

starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus andJames

Gandolfini as LA divorcéesnaviga tingamid-life

romance. Mon6Apr, C4 00:10(5mins).

Absolutely Fabulous: TheMovie(2016)

Suitablysillyfilm revival of the 1990s comedy:

PatsyandEdina mustflee thecountry after an

encounterwith Kate Moss goes horribly wrong.

Fri10Apr,BBC122:40 (85mins).

New to subscription TV

HitmenThefirstepisodeofthis comedystarring

SuePerkinsand MelGiedroyc asunlikely

assassins had mixed reviews,but TheGuardian

describeditas“funand daft”. On SkyOne.

TheMandalorianThemuch-anticipated

flagship show onthenew Disney+ platform is

the firstlive-action TV seriestobespunoff from

theStar Warsfranchise. It followsabounty

hunterafte rthe fallof theEmpire.On Disney+.

Blinded bytheLight(2019) Gurinder

Chadha’s feel-gooddramaabout ayoung Asian

man in 1980sLutonwho finds escapefrom

familypressures andracial tension in the music

of BruceSpringsteen. OnAmazonPrime.

The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

TheArchers:what

happenedlastweek

AsKirstytriestodistracta

preoccupiedPhilip,Gavin

ringstosaythepoliceare

interviewingBlakeinhospital.

PhoebetellsPipthatRoyhas

concussion;astheydiscuss

rewildingplans,Justinshows

upandgoesthroughtheir

estimates,toPip’sirritation.

GavinfretsthatBlakewon’t

sticktothestoryforthepolice.

PhilipberatesGavinfor

supplyingthepetrol–toclean

thefloors–thatcausedthe

explosion;hetellsGavintolie

low.JoshcomplainstoBrian

abouthavingnothingtodo

sincehisbusinessdriedup.

BriansuggestshehelpAdam

onthefarm,butanannoyed

Adamrefuses.Afterremoving

thefirstfenceontherewilding

land,Rex,PhoebeandPip

celebrateatTheBull.Ascared

BlaketellsPhilipaboutthe

policeinterview.Philip

remindshimhowhegothim

offthestreets,andpresses

himtosticktothefalsestory

aboutthepetrol.Ben,Pipand

Joshplananightoutin

Felpersham.KirstytellsPhilip

she’sangryatBlakefor

causingtheaccidentand

damagingPhilip’sreputation

• she’dtellhimherself,but
  Philipwarnsheroff.Justin
  tellsKirstyhedoesn’twant
  Philip’sfirmtocarryonthe
  workatBerrow.Athome,
  PhilipfindsKirstysearching
  throughhiscompany
  paperwork;hetellsherto
  stop,thoughshe’sjusttrying
  tohelp.RobertthanksFreddie
  forsavingLyndaandgives
  himhisfather’smilitarymedal
  forbravery.Onthewayto
  Felpersham,Pip’scarbreaks
  down,butapassingJoygives
  Benaliftinhertwo-seater;by
  thetimePipandJoshcatch
  up,Benisgone.Accordingto
  Joy,he“gotlucky”.Ruthand
  Jill worry the next morning
  when he’s not home, but his
  siblings cover for him. Ben
  later tells Josh he went home
  withawoman named Chloe.

Coming up online

With theatresgone dark, some

are revivingpastproductions

online: theNationalTheatre

willstream landmark plays

on YouTube eachThursday.

Next up isJane Eyre,at7pm

on 9April(nationaltheatre.

org.uk).Meanwhile, the

Royal Court’s production

of David Ireland’s shocking

dramaCyprus Avenueis

availableonline until 26 April

(royalcourttheatre.com).

Hitmen, on Sky One

©M

ARINA CAVAZZA