Crescendo

The theme is enticing. A massive Sapphic crush at an elite girls’ boarding school, with lashings of sex and agonised longing. The debut from K Patrick, one of this year’s Granta best of young British novelists, Mrs S promises classic hothouse drama then segues into an experiment with form that frequently converts expectation to bemusement.A nameless 22-year-old teacher from Australia arrives at a nameless posh school where the nameless girls worship a nameless dead author. The narrator, a lesbian woman, has taken on the…

Ludwig van Beethoven in portrait by Carl Jaeger. Over two centuries after Ludwig van Beethoven’s request to disclose his progressive hearing loss upon his death, researchers have partially fulfilled his wish by analyzing DNA from locks of his hair. Published in the journal Current Biology, the study offers insights into the famous composer’s health struggles.In 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven asked his brothers to request that his doctor, J.A. Schmidt, describe his malady—his progressive hearing loss—to the world upon his…

Cryptocurrency, which not too long ago carried the notion of something to do as a hobby or seen as unrealistic, unsustainable etc., today has evolved into a whole new dimension. With the option of being fast and secure, cryptocurrencies have made the process of transferring money across borders far more convenient. Having said that, 2022 was a terrible year for cryptocurrencies, when the crash of now-bankrupt FTX caused the prices of several top cryptos to take a nosedive. But it may not be the crypto-apocalypse as it…