The author draws upon ‘sense memories’ of the land of her ancestors, where her latest novel is also set
Mathijs Deen’s affectionate study of Europe’s second-longest river has the measure of a geographic and cultural force
Themes of karma, fame, sexual experimentation and familial trauma are explored
Anne Lamott has written 20 books, including the enormously popular ‘Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life’. Today, she’s on the show
With the French capital poised for the Olympics, two new books seek to expose the social challenges that have long existed at the margins of the city
The late author’s debut novel from 1959 has all the pleasure and tantalising mystery of her greatest short stories
The ‘City on Fire’ author returns with a full-blown tale of a troubled teen and her equally troubled father
A deftly told tale of dysfunction across continents and generations
The demand to ban a satirical novel underlines the shrinking space for free expression under Putin
From the bustle to the corset and the thong, under garments reveal a lot about society and ourselves
Chinese-British novelist Xiaolu Guo chooses East Sussex to explore themes of migration and memory
Hillbilly elegy; polygraphs; The American right’s love for Russia
Robert Blackwill and Richard Fontaine give an authoritative, if bureaucratic, take on American foreign policy’s slow pivot to the east
Two very different but compelling books explain how the complex international supply chain works and affects the things we actually care about
Sparrow gender politics; rueful Ruffer; Zynpocalypse; Norwegian parenting
From gothy pop to witchy reads, 20 tastemakers share their favourite recommendations
A radical approach to the international economy; empowering local governance; and lessons from Poland and Vietnam
Susan Doran’s scholarly inquiry offers a new perspective on an overstudied period
The crime novelist on leaving Venice after 30 years — and why there will be no afterlife for detective Guido Brunetti
There’s an art to inventing a whole portable self
A debut novel set in Mussolini’s Italy expands into more timeless themes of adolescence and rebellion in a male-dominated world
The follow-up to ‘The Incendiaries’ is an inventive, if sometimes too florid, examination of sex and societal expectations
Part nature notes, part kitchen memorandum, this small notebook documents her daily life in a style that is economical, poetic and precise
A young woman becomes increasingly jealous of her boyfriend’s ex-partner in Bea Setton’s unsettling, risk-taking novel
Medical historian Beth Linker provides a timely account of 20th-century America’s obsession with good posture
