An illuminating new life of the peerless thinker, artist and author of Ways of Seeing
Tom Overton got to know John Berger around 2010, after he gave his archive to the British Library: a kind of homecoming to the city of his birth, after a life lived mostly in self-imposed exile in Switzerland and France. Curious about the origin of a piece of writing or art, Tom would scan something in and email it. Then there’d come a call, very early, very late. ‘Hello? Is that Tom? This is John. John Berger. Can I tell you a story?’ Tom realised he was bringing this archive back into John’s life, peering together through holes in time, remembering things he couldn’t himself. And then, at the beginning of 2017, John died.
In this extraordinary new book, Overton explores the life and work of one of the great cultural figures of the last century, who came of age in a world threatened by nuclear apocalypse, and grew old in a world dominated by the idea that human life should be ordered with the logic of profit, always looking forward, never back. Berger’s work reimagined the relationship between art and technology; charted the disappearance of peasants from the world and documented migrant labour; explored with huge compassion the AIDS crisis; was trenchantly opposed to the new world order that emerged in the 1990s and the War on Terror and passionately committed to the Palestinian cause. There were so many different subjects to his work; so many precisely chosen forms.
Cutting through the reverence that can build around any writer of his scope of achievement and drawing on both personal memory and a vast and previously unseen trove of material, Overton comes face to face with John Berger, showing the continued importance of a figure, whose work focused on the creating and recreating of communities past and present. For at the centre of this book, above all, is the idea that John Berger wants our company, and we need his.
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John Berger 9780241262528 Hardback
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John Berger from Life
An Italian restaurant down a side street close to Trinity College in Dublin, is an uncommon place to come upon a portrait photo of John Berger. The main room is home to a collection of John Minehan’s work, where portraits of Warhol, and Sinead O’ Connor, Edna O’Brien, and Shane Mc Gowen peer cynica…
An Italian restaurant down a side street close to Trinity College in Dublin, is an uncommon place to come upon a portrait photo of John Berger. The main room is home to a collection of John Minehan’s work, where portraits of Warhol, and Sinead O’ Connor, Edna O’Brien, and Shane Mc Gowen peer cynically from the wall at diners, eavesdropping into the chat, while Beckett rests aloof, pen in hand. If one wanders in the wrong direction to the bathroom and ends up in the Pantry area, a small rectangular black and white portrait of an elderly man with oversized round spectacles looks out questioningly beneath a wall of wines, Barolo and Barbera, mostly. “Who is he?”, many ask “John Berger”, a passing waitress might respond And the customer is left alone which their wonderings. I too wondered, empty answers surrendered to time. I thank The Guardian for affording me just enough time to keep in tune with the world outside of the restaurant with daily emails to my phone and so it happened and I ordered John Berger from Life by Tom Overton. “Something arrived for your today” my husband called from his office as I came in through the hall door, jaded and longing for a cup of tea. My husband is Italian and refuses to make tea. “Sciaqua budelle”, his grandmother called tea, “an intestine wash.” The package seemed large for a book and as I pulled away the brown paper packaging a nice bulky book with a black cover revealed the portrait of a very handsome man. I settled into an armchair with the book and a cup of tea with the intention of flicking through the thick pages. The first chapter title “The Invitation” draws the reader in describing a drawing of Berger’s head, deceased, by his son - “Eyes closed, head tipped back, as though looking for the right words…” and I was lost to time. Berger’s life unfolds from his childhood through his academic and culture focussed life, his strong left-wing beliefs, his interest in the ordinary man, their plights and daily bread, a man who made the world a better place. Tom Overton’s words are beautifully crafted. Never have I read words depicting a myriad of worldwide political arena spun around social justice and injustice, written with sheer refinement. Overton quotes John Berger as saying to him over the phone “This is John, can I tell you a story.” Overton’s word could also be titled “This is Tom, can I tell you a story.” Take the book to your best place, tell someone where you are, because you won’t emerge until you arrive to page…………………………
- Authors:
- Overton, Tom
- Year Published:
- 2026
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Format:
- Hardback
- ISBN:
- 9780241262528
- Number of Pages:
- 400
- Place of Publication:
- London
- Publication Date:
- 27/08/2026
- Publisher:
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Language:
- English
- Imprint:
- Allen Lane
- SKU:
- 9780241262528