Speed reading: on the move

16 July 2026, The Tablet

War is hell. Those who survive are changed utterly. A journalist friend of mine founded a think tank; another became a political activist. Anna Badkhen gives voice to the voiceless, the undocumented victims of catastrophe

“All theory is grey but the precious tree of life is green,” is a truth Wisława Szymborska Award winner Małgorzata Lebda takes to heart in Mer de Glace (Fitzcarraldo Editions, £12.99; Tablet price £11.69). She runs the length of the Vistula in Poland, bearing witness to the passing flora and fauna of the Anthropocene, whilst stoically keeping a record of her own fragility. Discreet in form, strong in content, a notable exception in the generally dismal eco-lit genre.

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