Fiction
The devil comes calling
The sinister Sergeant Bertrand arrives in a ‘provincial, mediocre’ Russian town to wreak havoc in the lives of a couple mourning the loss of their son
What have we been missing?
Ge’s short stories set in China are her most adventurous, ranging from politics in the time of Confucius to sex in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
Too close to home
Life in a comfortable modern flat with her husband and two young sons leaves Natsumi so depressed she thinks she’s losing her mind
A doomed affair: Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck, reviewed
A young woman and an older, married man fall passionately in love in the last days of the GDR – but abuse and jealousy soon turn things sour
A study of isolation: The Late Americans, by Brandon Taylor, reviewed
A group of students in Iowa City meet in bars and seminar rooms, but, separated by class, race and wealth, their connection is only fleeting
Lorrie Moore’s latest novel is deeply troubling, but also consoling
A corpse comes back to life and goes on a road trip. Lorrie Moore’s powerful new novel leaves Philip Hensher shaken, troubled, but also consoled
Divine revelations: I, Julian, by Claire Gilbert, reviewed
The pain – and ultimately serenity – Julian of Norwich experienced throughout her series of violent visions are vividly captured in this fine fictional autobiography
Tuscan chiaroscuro
A trio of formidable British women are enjoying peaceful retirement in Italy – until their idyll is disrupted by a series of unforeseen events
Secrets of the couch
When a sex therapist arranges for his clients’ sessions to be secretly recorded, there are life-changing consequences for two women involved
The twists keep coming
Murray’s immersive, beautifully written mega-tome about a family in a small town in Ireland is as funny as it is deeply disturbing
Chance encounters
The fates of members of a Jewish family depend on accidental meetings, the boarding of a ship or the ring of a phone in this complex fable woven from 20th-century history
An unstable world
Adapted from interviews with a trainer from Iowa, Scanlan’s novel is a disturbing portrait of violence and squalor behind the scenes at racing stables
Double trouble
Elsa, a concert pianist, is starting to panic. Her adoptive father is dying, and she keeps meeting her doppleganger, fuelling an obsession with her origins
A troubling Eden
Scandal engulfs a female rector when her chief bellringer is accused of child-molesting and paintings in the parish church are judged sacrilegious
Literary charades
Blending fact and fiction, France combines a tale of antics on a creative writing course with episodes from her family life
Was it murder?
In a beautifully told novel, O’Callaghan focuses on the mysterious death of the footballer Matthias Sindelar in 1939 – possibly as a result of defying Hitler
An eye for the absurd
Come for the satire, stay for the one-liners, and take succour from the hope Walter finds in a world where everyone needs an angel from time to time
The view from on high
Sixteen-year-old Kit floats free from her body at night and circles invisibly over family and friends – not always liking what she sees
Caught in a web of lies: The Guest, by Emma Cline, reviewed
Moving among the rich of Long Island, an upmarket prostitute grows increasingly desperate as her many misdemeanours are exposed
The horrors of lynching: The Trees, by Percival Everett, reviewed
Percival Everett’s 22nd novel The Trees was that rare thing on this year’s Booker shortlist: a genre novel. Only which…
Who needed who most? The complex bond between Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby
Claudia FitzHerbert explores the complex bond between two remarkable writers in the interwar years
Horribly described sex: The Last Chairlift, by John Irving, reviewed
Some time ago I was a guest at a book festival in France where we were invited to dinner in…
Mitfordian mischief: Darling, by India Knight, reviewed
It takes chutzpah to tackle a national treasure as jealously loved and gatekept as Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.…
An avian allegory: Dinosaurs, by Lydia Millet, reviewed
Adapt or die. That brutal Darwinian dictum is too blunt to serve as the motto of Dinosaurs, Lydia Millet’s slim,…
Reworking Dickens: Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, reviewed
Putting new wine into old wineskins is an increasingly popular fictional mode. Retellings of 19th-century novels abound. Jane Austen inevitably…
