The Week - UK (2020-09-12)

36 The List

TheOdysseybyHomer,

translatedbyEmilyWilson,

2017 (W.W.Norton£13.99).

IhavelovedHomer’sstories

sinceIwasabouteightyears

old;histalesofOdysseus

findinghiswayhomestill

swirlaroundmyhead.And

thistranslationisperhaps

myfavourite.Thefirstbya

woman,itprovidesafresh

takeonthestories,fullof

gorgeous,vividlanguagethat

makesthemsparkleagain.

TheManWhoPlantedTrees

byJeanGiono, 1953 (Peter

Owen£6.95).Thisbeautiful

littleparable,abouta

shepherdwhosingle-handedly

transformsanentire landscape

intheaftermathof theFirst

WorldWarbyplantingacorns

bythethousand,isoneofthe

loveliestthingseverwritten.

Imusthavereadthestorya

hundredtimes.

HiroshimabyJohnHersey,

1946 (Penguin£9.99).Thisis

oneofthegreatesteverpieces

ofreportage.Aslimbookthat

tellsthestoriesofthepeople

wholivedthroughthefirst

nuclearbombdetonatingin

1945 .Itisaremarkablework

ofliteratureandareminderof

what“great”journalistic

writinglookslike.

TheOldManandtheSea

byErnestHemingway, 1952

(Arrow£6.99).Thisbook

changed mylife,becauseI

pickeditup asaverybored

16 yearoldand itblew me

away. Theold man wasmy

grandfather,and Iwas the

loyalboy,and within20 pages

Ithoughtit wasthe finestthing

Ihadever read,and Iknew

IwouldnotsettleuntilIhad

written abook.

TheRiverbyJaneClarke,

2015 (Bloodaxe£9.95).

Thesebeautifulpoemsabout

Clarke’sfarmingfamilyand

herchildhoodinthe west of

Irelandliveonthetable bymy

bed.Thebatteredpages show

that Ilovethesepoems,and

readthemagainandagain.

Theyaregentle,understated,

andcaptureruralpeoplethat

ourworldtendsto ignore.

Bestbooks... James Rebanks

TheLakeDistrictshepherdandwriterpickshisfavouritebooks.Hisfirst

book,TheShepherd’sLife,wasaSundayTimesNo.1bestseller.Hislatest,

EnglishPastoral:AnInheritance(AllenLane£20),isoutnow

Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop on theweekbookshop.co.uk. For out-of-print books visit biblio.co.uk

Programmes

BBC Proms 2020 :LastNightoftheProms

This mostunusualofProms seasons concludes

withaperformance featuring soprano Golda

Schultz and violinist Lisa Batiashvili, live from

the AlbertHall. There is music from Mozart’s

Marriageof Figaroand VaughanWilliams’sThe

Lark Ascending,and it endswith theLast Night

favourites. Sat 12 Sep, BBC120:00(105mins).

The Singapore GripPlaywright Christopher

Hampton adapted J.G. Farrell’s satirical novel

for this new six-part period drama. It’s 1941

in Singapore and, far from war-torn Europe,

ex-pat rubber barons have little to worry

about, until the Japanese invasion looms.

Sun 13 Sep, ITV1 21:00 (60mins).

MoscowNoirStylish thriller from Walter

Presents.Ayoung investment banker gets in

over his head selling shares foraRussian oil

company. In Russian, Swedish and English,

with subtitles. Sun 13 Sep, Channel 42 2:55

(60mins); full series available on All 4.

Britain’sBiggestDigLong-buried–literally

–stories of Georgian London are revealed in

this documentary about the excavation of a

cemetery in Euston, prior to HS2 construction.

Tue 15 Sep, BBC2 21:00 (60mins).

CatTales: In from the WildGeneticists,

archaeologists, historians and others answer

some of the big questions about the world’s

most popular furry pet, including how did wild

cats come to be domesticated, and can cats be

trained? Tue 15 Sep, BBC4 21:00 (60mins).

Lost at Sea:MyDad’sLastJourneyPeter

Bird, the first person to row solo across the

Pacific Ocean,disappearedonavoyage in 1996.

In this poignant film, his son Louis pieces

together his lifeandtries to come to terms with

the painful legacy of his father’s death. Wed 16

Sep, Channel 42 2:00 (65mins).

Films

Casablanca(1942) Almost 80 years on,

Casablancastill shines, thanks to some fine

performances, from Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid

Bergman, Claude Rains and others, and the

sharpness of its script. Round up the usual

suspects! Sun 13 Sep, BBC2 16:20 (100mins).

Fill theVoid(2012)Aportrait ofayoung

woman in Tel Aviv’s Orthodox Hasidic

community, who must balance the fallout

of afamily tragedy with her own hopes for

marriage. Thur 17 Sep, Film4 01:35 (115mins).

Bait(2019) Network premiere of this bleakly

beautiful family drama, shot in black and white

onahand-cranked camera, about two brothers

and the tensions between locals and tourists in

aCornish fishing village. Thur 17 Sep, Film4

23:20 (105mins).

The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Book now

TheCheltenhamLiterature

Festivalhasjustunveiled a

hybridprogramme of live and

digital events, running2-11

October.Caitlin Moran and

John Lanchesterwill bethere

in person;there isalso alive

debate onthefutureofthe US,

withpanellistsincluding the

former ambassadorto theUS,

KimDarroch. Live eventswill

be freetostream, and there

will also be digital-onlyevents

featuringEdnaO’Brien and

Malcolm Gladwellamong

others. Early booking for

liveevents is advised;

cheltenhamfestivals.com.

LostatSea:PeterandLouisBird

THE WEEK 12 September 2020

TheArchers:what

happened last week

There’s discord when Tracy

asks Susan to look after Bert

for acouple of weeks and

Susan refuses. Alice is

job-sharing with Adam at

Home Farm; when she hears

he’s not planning anything

for Ian’s 50th, she plans to

organiseasurprise herself.

Ed’s concerned that Alice

hasn’t mentioned last week’s

incident–when he tries

to tell her she can always

talk to him, she mistakenly

thinks he’s making advances.

Gavin’s happy to be back

after spending lockdown in

the flat with Phil’s workers.

Phil is preoccupied with

building his business back

up afteraterrible year. After

initially blaming Gavin for

his problems, Phil softens

towards his son and they

agree to look forward. Later

they’re shocked to hear Tracy

is suing them following

the Grey Gables explosion.

Meanwhile, things get

complicated between Alice

and Ed: she doesn’t believe

him when he assures her

she’s misunderstood his

intentions. Ed explains things

to Emma, and says he thinks

Alice hasadrink problem;

Emma thinks he should tell

Chris. Phoning in to Susan’s

Radio Borsetshire show, Tracy

puts her sister on the spot

for not helping out with their

elderly father. Alice’s party

plans are ruined when Adam

plansagetaway for Ian. When

Emma tries to voice concerns

to Chris over Alice’s drinking,

Alice butts in, telling Emma

that Ed fancies her. In the

ensuing row,afurious Emma

calls Alice an alcoholic, and

Chris, defending his wife,

turns on her. They’ll keep their

lives separate from now on.