Mania by Lionel Shriver review – we need to talk about stupidity
The US author’s novel about a cancelled lecturer in a parallel dystopia that prizes ignorance is missing her usual verve
The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey review – a deft saga of Ireland’s evolution
A pregnancy leads to the unearthing of a mother and daughter’s secrets and struggles in this skilful debut novel
I’m F*cking Amazing by Anoushka Warden review – a filthily frank, funny and moving debut
The British playwright’s first novel is sweary and saucy but also tender and soulful once it reveals its true heart
In brief: The Illusionist; The Borrowed Hills; Second Self – review
A fascinating biography of a true British army maverick, an ambitious Cumbrian western and a nuanced novel about a classic modern dilemma
Sunjeev Sahota: ‘I’ve always been in labour movements – but I’m critical of identity politics’
The Booker shortlisted novelist on writing his first significant non-working-class character, the literary critics who inspired him and why he’s not on Facebook
How to Make a Bomb by Rupert Thomson review – a stark study of male rage
The destructive desires of an inoffensive family man drive this subversive satire of existentialism
John Barth obituary
American postmodernist novelist whose experimental approach challenged literary conventions
Maryse Condé obituary
Writer whose novels trace the complexities of a globalised world and the fortunes of families across continents and generations
Latin American authors on rise in International Booker prize lists
Today’s boom in Latin American literature is spearheaded by women, from Fernanda Melchor, Mariana Enriquez to Samanta Schweblin, who engage with femicide, trauma and violence through horror and speculative fiction
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup
Calypso by Oliver K Langmead; Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell; The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo; The Underhistory by Kaaron Warren; The Universe Delivers the Enemy You Need by Adam Marek
Tremor by Teju Cole audiobook review – colonialism’s long shadow
Atta Otigba and Yetide Badaki narrate a sprawling, multifaceted exploration of the entrenched hierarchies within the worlds of art, literature, history and pop culture
The Work by Bri Lee review – satirical art world romp tries to tick too many boxes
A novel that’s torn between two books – one is a half-hearted skewering of money and power, the other a modern romance
James by Percival Everett – Huckleberry Finn reimagined
A bravura rewriting of Mark Twain’s classic from the enslaved Jim’s point of view
Bernardine Evaristo joins calls to save Goldsmiths’ Black British literature MA
Booker-winning author says course ‘shouldn’t be seen as dispensable’ as university seeks to cut 130 academic jobs
Where to start with: Patricia Highsmith
Thanks to Netflix’s moody adaptation, Ripley, there’s more awareness of Highsmith’s skills as an expert writer of guilt, ambivalence and moral dilemmas at odds with reality