More from Books
A woman’s lot is not a happy one in: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 reviewed
‘Buy pink baby clothes,’Kim Jiyoung, the protagonist of this bestselling South Korean novel is told at the obstetrician’s surgery. Jiyoung’s…
A dark journey into a fanatical underworld
Two years ago, the counter-extremist analyst Julia Ebner decided she needed to delve deeper into the extremists trying to disrupt…
The Renaissance in 50 shades of grey
The Mediterranean-centred era spanning a century or so either side of 1492 is filled to the brim with stories. There…
Tales from behind the veil: Moroccan women talk about lies and sex
The Moroccan-born Leïla Slimani has made her name writing novels of propulsive intensity. Lullaby, the story of a nanny who…
If you haven’t read Louise Erdrich, now’s the time to start: The Night Watchman reviewed
Louise Erdrich’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, was tribal chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa when the US Congress imposed…
The Big Three who ended the Cold War
Historians argue endlessly and pointlessly about the extent to which the human factor rather than brute circumstance determines the course…
Adam Mars-Jones’s protagonist has disarmingly low self-esteem: Box Hill reviewed
Short, fat and shy, the protagonist of Adam Mars-Jones’s latest novel doesn’t have much going for him; even his name…
Rescued by the Goldberg Variations
Were this a less good book than it is, it would be called How Bach Can Help You Grieve. As…
The inside story of working for Carmen Callil
Forty-seven years ago, Virago paperbacks, with their stylish green spines and hint-of-the-transgressive colophons of a red apple with a bite…
A book that could save lives: Adam Rutherford’s How to Argue with a Racist reviewed
In the award-winning musical Avenue Q, filthy-minded puppets sang about schadenfreude, internet porn, loud sex, the uselessness of an English…
The children’s hour: first novels brim with close family observations
Kiley Reid’s Philadelphia-set debut, Such a Fun Age (Bloomsbury, £12.99), is a satire on white saviour syndrome, woke culture and…
Carve his name with pride: Andrew Ziminsky rebuilds the West Country
Andrew Ziminski is the man who rebuilt the West Country. For 30 years, this skilled stonemason has renovated some of…
The scars of public school: English Monsters, by James Scudamore, reviewed
‘James Scudamore is now a force in the English novel,’ says Hilary Mantel on the cover of English Monsters, which,…
Let’s leave philosophers to puzzle over the reality of numbers
The reality (or lack thereof) of numbers is the kind of problem some philosophers consider overwhelmingly important, but it’s of…
The good boy of jazz: Dave Brubeck’s time has come round at last
On 8 November 1954, Dave Brubeck’s portrait appeared on the cover of Time magazine, accompanied by the words ‘The Joints…
Too plain or too pretty — are we still prejudiced against professional women?
In Ladies Can’t Climb Ladders, the social historian Jane Robinson — whose previous books include histories of suffragettes and bluestockings…
How close is humanity to destroying itself?
Humanity has come startlingly close to destroying itself in the 75 or so years in which it has had the…
Rambert's latest uses the migrant crisis for superficial intrigue: Aisha and Abhaya reviewed
The January dance stage can be a site of naked contrition. Like a tippler grasping at green juice after a…
