Intermezzo
by Sally Rooney; audiobook read by Éanna Hardwicke (Faber & Faber, 2025)
Damaged protagonists, minimal plot. Rooney alternates between viewpoints, earmarking a few moral quandaries but mostly just letting the characters follow their thoughts, nosing unfiltered towards self-diagnoses and eventual catharsis. The result is immersive but not especially mind-blowing, for all the literary trappings.
Chess: Master the Moves
by Leonard Barden; ill. G. Domenech (Chancerel, 1977)
A bizarre if collectible primer aimed at beginners but intelligible only to experienced players, its wisdom delivered through fine-detailed comic-strip illustrations where mediaeval knights discuss strategy, and condescending coach Steve wows chess groupie Sonya (and then an entire harem!). Oh, the 1970s…
Bobby Fischer Against the World
dir. Liz Garbus (2011)
Replete with archival footage, this layman’s documentary cogently examines and contextualises both American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer’s 1972 (cold war) world championship match against Boris Spassky, and Fischer’s unstable genius, which drove him firstly to success, then to reclusiveness and abject derangement.