Naomi Joseph

Oct 18, 2024 | theconversation.com | Naomi Joseph

I didn’t seek out The Vegetarian when I first read it. I was on a book buying ban and in the lucky position to be living with a fellow hoarder. As I perused our combined stacks, a slim volume by an author I hadn’t heard of caught my eye, and I am glad it did. The Vegetarian by Han Kang, is exactly my sort of story: dark, disturbing and beautifully wrought. Yeong-hye is, as her husband charmingly says, “completely unremarkable in every way” – that is, until she becomes vegetarian.

Sep 6, 2024 | theconversation.com | Naomi Joseph

To paraphrase some of the very first words grumbled out of the mouth of crotchety leader of rejects, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), “another series has dawned of MI fucking useless”, also known as Slow Horses. Yes, the funny, fast-paced spy thriller is back and the ragtag crew of undistinguished spies has more on its plate than ever. The Apple+ series has been a bit of a sleeper hit. The streaming platform doesn’t do a lot of marketing – an odd business move in this day and age.

May 31, 2024 | theconversation.com | Naomi Joseph |Doris Rohr

This article was first published in our email newsletter Something Good, which every fortnight brings you a summary of the best things to watch, visit and read, as recommended and analysed by academic experts. Click here to receive the newsletter direct to your inbox. You might not know this, but the team at The Conversation is spread out across the UK and that includes the arts team. We curate your cultural content from Yorkshire, London and the rural environs of Glasgow.

Feb 23, 2024 | theconversation.com | Naomi Joseph |Penny Spikins

This article was first published in our email newsletter Something Good, which every fortnight brings you a summary of the best things to watch, visit and read, as recommended and analysed by academic experts. Click hereto receive the newsletter direct to your inboxI am very particular about horror films. I want films with a meaty story that haunts, unnerves and, of course, scares me but is not a total gore fest. I don’t like to see people slashed to pieces, especially if there’s no real plot.

Feb 9, 2024 | theconversation.com | Naomi Joseph

Rudolf and Hedwig Höss are a couple who “strive to build a dream life for their family”, as Zone of Interest’s official synopsis goes. In the film, we watch the mundane patterns of their lives: the children being sent off to school, the family sitting down to meals, Hedwig tending her garden and Rudolf fishing. However, Rudolf Höss is not any man, he is the commandant of Auschwitz and these scenes of domesticity take place in a house bordering the camp.