Anyone who watched Dopesick or Painkiller, or who watched the news or followed the People vs. Purdue Pharma case will be familiar, to a degree with the world of Demon Copperhead, its still there, the Purdue case didn’t make the opioid crisis go away. I can’t remember which of the two series began each episode with a real life interview with someone who had been affected by opioid addiction, and the devastating effects it had on lives. Those snips were heart wrenching, it guaranteed I’d start watching with tears in my eyes and in a way, the whole of Demon Copperhead was a bit like that, I felt on the verge of tears for much of the book.
 
Simply presented it is a biography of the traumatic young life of the books namesake Demon. From day one he was dealt a rough hand tainted by addiction, violence, abandonment, despair, neglect… my goodness this is not an easy read. But it is a beautiful read, Barbara Kingsolver’s writing is nothing if not beautiful, even when it is about ugly things. Filtered through all that hardness are almost unbelievable yet tenacious hope, moments of joy, an aching sense of the beauty of rural Appalachia which even Demon, clouded by everything bad in his life, still sees and still holds on to.
 
The opioid crisis is there as a theme and an actual palpable demon that plagues young Demon’s existence but the book is not ‘about’ the opioid crisis. That is a lens, one of several, that the book might be seen through, or rather that Demon is looking out through. Family, the ones you chose, the ones you don’t, adoption, fostering etc that’s one strand, but the book is not ‘about’ that either, again its part of Demon’s life but one doesn’t ever feel that that is the focus. The decline of rural America another – and one particularly poignant today with all the noise around Trump who I imagine is disproportionately supported in these rural communities today, and who does absolutely diddly squat to actually address the mine-deep troubles that run through these areas. The book is authentically about Demon Copperhead and he is the focus, at no point does it read like a morality tale about those other bigger issues, though they are right there loud and clear. This focus on the main character and his world view kept the story at a very human scale and the main character’s observations and unique voice drew me along, almost crying yes, but rooting so strongly for him to pull through even when it seemed like it couldn’t possibly come right.

I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!
 
I’m clearly way behind in reading this book – three years since publication - but should any of you have missed it I strongly recommend you steel yourself to pick it up. Have some happy-go-lucky fluff to read on the side, but it is entirely rewarding to plunge into this book. Just have your tissues at the ready!

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For the uninitiated, this is the R4 comedy show hosted for an extraordinary 35-year tenure by Humphrey Lyttleton, and in its illustrious past having featured comedy giants Willie Rushton, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer and Jeremy Hardy.

The premise is that two 2-person teams "are given silly things to do" by the host, who in the show's current incarnation, is Jack Dee.

They've taken it on tour, which might have always been a thing, or might be a recent development. Anyway this gave me and an old friend a chance to experience it live at the Bristol Beacon ("In the incredibly unlikely event that the Bristol Beacon should catch fire [beat] again, please head for the exit doors you can see clearly signed, and wait for the old lady to unlock them.") The panellists were Miles Jupp, Ade Edmondson, Rachel Parris and Henning Wehn.

I can't really do much more than share with you the words of my companion, who declared it "a lot of fun". But I was heartened when the city lived up to being "a city so woke even the foxes are vegan" when the audience were invited to suggest a subject for a letter of complaint, and the man who suggested "people who live in vans" was roundly booed. (Dee, selecting a different topic: "We'll choose the non-racist option, shall we?" [hearty cheers])

I also enjoyed the comparison of JD Vance with a particular stage on the Bristol Stool Chart (Google is your friend if you've not heard of this before).

Not sure if either of these moments will make it to air, so I feel confident sharing them with you good folk of the Palimp.

Has there been any progress on getting the activation email thing working? I see Ang is now in the member list but shows as account not activated.

Sinners begins with twins Elias and Elijah (both played by Michael B Jordan) returning to the Mississippi Delta from Chicago ("Is it true they ain't got no Jim Crow in Chicago? A man's free there to do what he wants?") with mysteriously acquired wealth with which they intend to open a local juke joint.
Very usefully it transpires that their cousin Sammie (played by Miles Caton, with beautifully sonorous voice) is becoming an accomplished bluesman, and will likely be an asset in their coming venture. But just to be sure, they conscript local drunken stalwart Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo, in typical scene-stealing mode) by promising him as much Irish beer as he can drink.
On opening night it looks like some locals have heard the music coming over the breeze, and just want to join in "'cause we're musicians too." They are, ahem, strongly encouraged to find what they're looking for elsewhere, but they stick around, and there comes a point where it no longer seems such a bad idea to relieve them of their cash - which comes in the form of unsettlingly gleaming gold coinage.
From here on it's something of a wild ride, with the juke joint patrons ending up fighting the enemy without and within - but who is compromised and who remains to be trusted? From here on, they've serious reason to be grateful for local wise woman Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) an old flame of Elijah, who's well versed in the ways of the occult.

I'd recommend Sinners, but I'll stop just short of a five-star rating - although if I was rating just the music, it would be five stars all the way. Bloody rollicking entertainment with a justifiably unsubtle metaphor at its heart.

Just wanting to check if the old Palimpsest logo is appearing for users, rather than the default MyBB logo. I changed it earlier in the week but had to refresh browser cache to get the image to change/show.

This is a cold war thriller bang slap in the middle of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy territory. It has a fantastic cast, including Brian Cox as the patriarchal Head of Department (literally codenamed Daddy), Tom Hughes as our handsome, morally ambiguous lynchpin, Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Aris as the established couple who trust each other with their lives (or do they?) and the much-missed Simon Ritter as the ambitious middleman who wants Daddy's job.

Oh and I just remembered Rachael Stirling's in it as well, and is it even possible to tell which side she's on? 

There's a doomed love affair with a Russian asset, discovery of a plot by the Soviets to trigger WW3 by having an American nuclear missile detonated in Britain, attempts to unearth a mole (of course), and lots of delicious moral compromise along the way. 

Seriously, if you haven't watched this already, do. You won't regret it. It's still on iPlayer right now.

*****

I'll include streamed movies here if for any reason they seem significant.

3. Sinners ****
2. The Amateur **
1. Black Bag ***

All the films I've watched in 2025

07. A Real Pain (2024, dir: EISENBERG, Jesse)
06. The Woman in the Yard (2025, dir: COLLET-SERRA, Jaume)
05. Grand Theft Hamlet (2024, dir: CRANE, Sam; GRYLLS, Pinny)
04. Conclave (2024, dir: BERGER, Edward)
03. The Brutalist (2024, dir: CORBET, Brady)
02. Vivarium (2019, dir: FINNEGAN, Lorcan)
01. Better Man (2024, dir: GRACEY, Michael)

This is going to also include plays that we are watching this year via a subscription to National Theatre at Home, because many of them are also shown in cinemas as 'National Theatre Live'.



15. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
14. The Sound of Music
13. Amadeus (NT@H)
12. Under Milk Wood (NT@H)
11. Godspell
10. Paddington in Peru
9. The French Connection
8. Fiddler on the Roof
7. G20
6. Present Laughter (NT@H)
5. Vanya (NT@H)
4. The Other Place (NT@H)
3. Nye (NT@H)
2. The Crucible (NT@H)
1. Conclave