Books
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The late anthropologist on how an 18th-century Madagascan microstate provides a model for egalitarian living -
Audiobook of the week Marple: Twelve New Stories by various authors review – the sleuth reimagined
A dozen acclaimed authors, including Val McDermid and Naomi Alderman, create new mysteries for Agatha Christie’s detective to solve
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Rhinos race on roller skates; a footballer finds his feet; magic goes wrong; and an influencer embraces life offline -
I grew up in Florida, but Jeffrey Eugenides’s story of five doomed midwestern sisters felt intensely familiar. What is it that makes me return to this bleakly comic novel again and again? -
Opening in Sarajevo as the first world war is triggered, this magnificent globe‑trotting, century-spanning novel mingles fact with the fabulous
Books of the year
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From Hanya Yanagihara’s epic novel to a brilliant memoir by Bono … Tell us about your favourite books in the comments -
Authors and Observer critics choose the books they will be giving as gifts this year – and the one they’d like to find in their own stocking -
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 brilliant new paperbacks, from a remarkable study of food to an exhilarating short story collection -
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A posthumous collection of essays, sparked by old photos of her Czech refugee family and friends, lucidly sketches a lost world -
The first and presumably last Briton ever to lead European foreign policy gives us a glimpse of a collaborative approach now sadly lost -
The writer and former BBC producer offers absorbing portraits of his Windrush generation family, and reflects on the legacy of trauma -
A reformed wellness addict isn’t entirely convincing as she constructs a grand theory to explain some bizarre behaviour
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A new Janice Hallett mystery, a pair of post-apocalyptic locked-room spine chillers and a shadowy death in a sun-kissed Greek resort are among this month’s highlights -
The fictionalised account of the meeting between medieval anchoress Julian of Norwich and Christian mystic Margery Kempe is a vibrant portrait of female courage -
Family dynamics are well observed in a Falling Down-inspired tale of a mother’s menopausal rage
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The author of The Appeal compiles a dossier of evidence with dramatic results in this dark tale of Satanic rituals -
A divorced lesbian fights for access to her son in this sinewy French autofictional novella -
Based on conversations with a horse trainer, this extraordinary novel is unsentimental and humane
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Two high school murder mysteries, one all-female detective agency, and an audacious heist on the Titanic -
Pupils investigate a murder at school in this entertaining noir lite for young readers -
The story of the Earth; an A-Z for language lovers; pop-up Egyptian mummies; an enslaved man’s journey to freedom; and the best YA
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The Sarajevo-born author on his new historical novel’s multilingual sensibility, screenwriting for The Matrix sequel and pretending to be Kevin Keegan -
Six years after her acclaimed debut Stay With Me, the writer is back with a novel that shines a light on the social inequalities of her homeland. She talks about motherhood, politics and marriage -
The writer on switching from rock to poetry and how Sonnets for Albert explores his relationship with a missing parent who became an almost ‘mythological figure’
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She was a successful defence barrister from a grand French family. Then she came out, and found herself in a fierce custody battle. As she publishes her first book in English, the author talks about motherhood, love and attitudes to gay life -
The provocative novelist on looking back at his teenage self, the sales generated by a hostile Q&A and his obsession with Marilyn Monroe -
The award-winning poet on his painful and funny new memoir about growing up in Dundee, how he’s a ‘vile separatist’ and why music is his first love
Regulars
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The Irish novelist on the thrill of Marguerite Duras, the rawness of Janet Frame, and not reading Things Fall Apart until her 40s -
A century after her death, Mansfield’s stories still feel adventurous and sharp, and Virginia Woolf’s great rival makes sure her modernism remains engaging -
How the wisdom of Homer Simpson can teach us important lessons about progress
You may have missed
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Ever since Truman Capote, writers have struggled to both honour the victims and protect themselves. Novelist Janice Hallett investigates -
Joseph takes £25,000 prize for Sonnets for Albert, which weighs the impact of growing up with a largely absent father -
The book, which so far has no title or publication date, was announced by publisher William Collins, who did not reveal how much Johnson will be paid -
Following the closure of Al Saqi Books, Maqam, founded by a former staff member, aims to offer a new ‘home for people who love the Arabic language’
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The books of my life Audrey Magee: ‘Reading The Bell Jar at 17 was immersive, thrilling and exhausting’