Books
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This muddled feminist reworking of Coetzee’s celebrated novel fails to grasp his book’s ambiguities -
This powerful institution is filled with brilliant people – but is it holding Britain back?
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The author emerges from this compelling biography as a difficult outsider whose twin passions were feckless men and drink -
Spanning three generations, this novel deftly navigates the emotional minefield of a clan at war -
This portrait of a sleepy adolescent at breakfast is intensely affectionate – without ever sentimentalising youth
What to read
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From Ukrainian history to Putin’s kleptocracy and Gogol’s stories, author and former Russia correspondent Oliver Bullough chooses the best titles -
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some enticing new paperbacks, including illuminating biographies and a women’s prize shortlisted novel -
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Architecture books Bold Ventures by Charlotte van den Broeck review – architects of their own demise
A poetic tale of 13 flawed buildings that spelled catastrophe for their designers -
One of the best-known public intellectuals of the pandemic gives her account of two years that shook the world -
An study of the factors behind economic growth attempts to reveal the ‘great cogs’ that drive development -
These profiles of ageing rockers ponder whether it’s better to burn out, fade away or buy a house in London
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This unnerving debut novel about emotional scars being inflicted down the generations reads like witness testimony -
A remarkable portrait of the remorse that followed a difficult marriage, and gave birth to great poetry -
This tale of a Soviet mathematician working in rural 50s Ireland is bogged down by a lack of narrative impetus
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Ward follows her inventive debut with a wayward blend of adolescent trauma and police procedural -
The novelist shows her expertise in the briefer format in tales of sexual power, self-delusion and flawed personality -
As the lives of a physician, an SS officer and his wife intersect at Buchenwald, so too do their lies and self-deceits, in this lucid and careful novel
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A journey into space and some serious monkey business portray bedtime in a whole new light, while a tiny dot gives a kindly lesson in understanding emotions -
Astral phenomena, Greek goddesses, deadly family curses and the best new YA fiction -
Jacqueline Wilson returns with a novel about teen pregnancy, while tales of arranged marriages, a killer super-flu and girls who turn into dragons all impress
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The DJ and writer on coming to terms with being a novelist, the appeal of middle-aged men and the book that broke her heart -
The author of the acclaimed The Secret Life of Church Ladies on the Black American Christian community, sexual shame and coming to terms with her queerness -
Oded Galor’s ‘Sapiens’-like history of civilisation predicts a happy ending for humanity. But should we trust him?
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The gay writer who was banned from visiting a London school discusses why young LGBT+ people need representation more than ever -
The Shakespeare critic and author on her new history of books and readers, and how it’s made her think about the contents of our shelves -
Eight years after her vision of a mythical beast, the author is about to publish the first novel in the Skandar Smith trilogy. She talks about childhood and taking a chance on a dream career
Regulars
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The author on being inspired by Nina Stibbe and taking comfort in the works of Nancy Mitford -
Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys’s prequel to Jane Eyre, is a set text in schools but are you familiar with the rest of the Dominica-born writer’s work? This handy guide from her biographer will help you find a way in -
This powerful institution is filled with brilliant people – but is it holding Britain back?
You may have missed
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From the ad executive turned charcoal burner to the woman who built a new life in the woods, a new genre of books about radical reinventions is proving a runaway success -
Monique Roffey, the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, on the lit-boom that’s happening on the Caribbean island -
Bored of the online book readings brought on by Covid, the writer saddled up to see how many independent book stores he could visit in a week on two wheels -
Ashley Tisdale admitted she’d bought all her books for a photoshoot – and as Adele and Gwyneth Paltrow will attest, her hankering for a brainy backdrop is anything but novel
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