Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
Phil Mongredien admires Vasily Grossman's classic novel about life under Stalin
The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe's engaging tale of a solitary man says much about modern society, writes Jeremy Paxman
Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik
The far-from-obvious parallels between Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin are teased out in this fine book, says Robin McKie
Blood Knots by Luke Jennings
Luke Jennings's beautiful memoir about fishing casts a line into deep waters, writes Ruaridh Nicoll
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas
Scarlett Thomas explores life, death and the after life in her challenging new novel, writes Alice Fisher
Burley Cross Postbox Theft by Nicola Barker
Nicola Barker's epistolary novel about a rural community recalls the droll genius of Alan Bennett, writes Olivia Laing
Peter Pan
King's, GlasgowDespite a feral, sinister hero, the National Theatre of Scotland's Peter Pan revival is underpowered, writes Lyn Gardner
Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits by Barney Hoskyns
Hoskyns has produced a meticulous investigative work that reveals the man beneath the myth, says Tim Adams
A Year in the Woods: The Diary of a Forest Ranger by Colin Elford
These memoirs of a gun-toting forest ranger tell the secrets of the wild with powerful intimacy, says Olivia Laing
Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
This moving, beautifully illustrated account of the author's childhood subtly captures the repression of the 1950s, says Rachel Cooke
The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew O’Hagan
This dog's-eye view of Marilyn Monroe riffs on fame, loneliness and death but gives only impressionistic glimpses of the actress herself, says Sarah Churchwell
Tony and Susan by Austin Wright
William Skidelsky welcomes the reissue of a neglected American novel
Peace by Richard Bausch
Richard Bausch's finely wrought war story explores the territory between brutality and forgiveness, writes Simon Baker
Wild Romance: The True Story of a Victorian Scandal by Chloë Schama
Lettie Ransley enjoys a scandalous biography of Theresa Longworth – 19th century author, wronged woman and globetrotting adventurer
Dangerous Liaisons
Blackwood Miners' InstituteMappa Mundi's new adaptation of Laclos's scandalous epistolary novel from 1782 is unsettling and irresistible, writes Elisabeth Mahoney