GOD: AN ANATOMY, by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (Picador, $37.99)
Yes, you read the title correctly. This is a study of the shape of God’s body, from the feet up, and it is a gripping read. I imagine that the audio was superb, too, for the book began as a series of lectures on Radio 4 in the UK. I propose it next be a TV documentary, as the coloured illustrations in the paperback I found just a bit small. It also made me yearn to get back to tourism. I want to see the shoes of God, the hands of God, the torso of God preserved in the museums of the ancient Near East and in the museums that pillaged the sites. Sadly, I will be too late to see the footprints left by a giant god in a temple in Aleppo in Syria, because in 2018 it was bombed to smithereens.
This story is from the February 18-24 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 18-24 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The rest is history
Rest - both sleep and non-sleep - is essential to help our overstressed bodies and minds repair themselves. But many of us remain in a constant state of 'fight, flight or freeze'.
Right and power
Israel is profiting financially and extending its global technological influence in response to the October 7 massacre, says investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein.
Dolphins be damned
Is SailGP's future in this country really under threat because of an at-risk marine mammal?
Orwellian irony
Our thinking about one of the 20th century's best-known writers is being challenged by the 'smelly little truths' Anna Funder uncovered about George Orwell's marriage.
The alchemist
Talent and a little magic have taken state-house kid Moses Mackay to the heights of Italian opera. He's coming back to sprinkle some of his gold dust around.
Good Lord, he was scandalous
Lord Byron still fascinates 200 years after his death, but more for his bohemian lifestyle than his poetry.
Stars in their eyes
Debut novel a heady mix of grief, astronomy and love.
Dark matter
Ngaio Marsh-style whodunnit set among academia attached to the Mt John Observatory.
Mirren's mirror on Meir
Dame Helen talks about playing Golda Meir, Israel's iron lady, during a pivotal chapter in the controversial politician's long career.
Game, set and match
Love, sex and great tennis take centre court in this highly charged drama.
