Thoughts on our Rafael Behr event
Team member Ellen shares her thoughts on our recent Rafael Behr event
One of our members called him “One of the best political commentators around now and an excellent writer too” so it is no surprise that we were thrilled to host a talk with the awarding winning journalist, Guardian columnist and author, Rafael Behr, in the shop on Saturday 9th September. Rafael joined us to talk about his new(ish) book, Politics, A Survivor’s Guide.
Rafael uses the backdrop of his heart attack on New Year’s Eve 2019 and subsequent cardiac rehabilitation to discuss and analyse the toxic atmosphere that has pervaded politics in recent years. As some politicians have deliberately stoked division and crisis after crisis has rocked the country and Government, it is understandable that many people have switched off the news and tuned out of the day to day melodramas. But democracy only works if enough people stay engaged and this exquisitely written book (you get the feeling Rafael picks every word he uses very carefully) tries to answer the question in the book’s subtitle, how do we stay engaged without getting enraged?
As someone who has spent much of recent years enraged (and often apoplectic) by the state of our politics and politicians I can assure you that this book will bring your heartrate down. Grab the hardback now (preferably from us!) or the paperback when it is out next Spring and I promise the run in to the next general election will be a little less stressful.
As well as being beautifully written, the book is insightful, witty, absorbing, and ultimately ends with a message of hope.
“The guide to surviving politics consists in making as many of those connections with as many people as possible. We carry on reading, writing, talking, sharing through the grim times. We feel the rage but do not surrender to it or let it deactivate our reason. Our anger at the state of politics is proof we have not given up hope of something better.”
This message particularly resonates with me because it speaks to a large part of the October Books ethos and mission. We want to be a space where our community can carry on reading, writing, talking, sharing through the grim times and work together towards better times for us all.
WANT TO HEAR MORE: I would also highly recommend Rafael’s regular Guardian column and his podcast, Politics on the Couch, which “looks at the way our minds respond to politics and the way politicians mess with our minds” and tends to be long form interviews with experts from the fields of psychology, politics or philosophy.
CALL TO ACTION: Rafael very generously agreed to come to do this talk as a result of a request from a random (me) on the app formerly known as Twitter. So, if there are any other authors you would like to hear speak in our community space then don’t be afraid to ask – either them directly or let us know! We can’t promise we will get this lucky again but if you don’t ask, you definitely won’t get….
