Patriot by Alexei Navalny review – last testament
The late Russian activist’s memoir is an insightful, sharp, even humorous account of his fight against Putin’s regime – and a warning to the world
Gliff by Ali Smith review – a warning from the near future
The author of the seasonal quartet projects her exceptional state-of-the-nation storytelling on to a dystopian tale of a brutal Britain run by totalitarian forces
In One Ear by Simon Raymonde review – life with the magical, mysterious Cocteau Twins
The bassist with the singular 80s band reflects on his contribution to their timeless music – and his years as boss of record label Bella Union – in a diplomatic but chatty memoir
Sonny Boy: A Memoir by Al Pacino review – a South Bronx miracle
For all his on-set stories of The Godfather, the Oscar-winning actor’s account of his rise to fame is at its most compelling depicting his hardscrabble formative years
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout review – characters that never grow old
Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton return, the former now in a retirement community, in the author’s understated but hugely rewarding study of small-town life
Goethe: His Faustian Life by AN Wilson review – a messy hymn to a very modern man
The biographer and historian worships at the altar of the German writer and his magnum opus in an ambitious book that ties itself in knots
Time of the Child by Niall Williams review – sublime tale of small-town Irish life
An abandoned baby changes the lives of a doctor and his daughter in a beautifully written novel about second chances and familial love
In brief: Powsels and Thrums; By Any Other Name; The Politics of Time – review
An evocative collection of writings from the great Alan Garner; a frenetic tale of literary misogyny featuring Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’; and a progressive new way to look at work and time
Karla’s Choice: A John le Carré Novel by Nick Harkaway review – the Circus is back in town
John le Carré’s son does him proud in an excellent spy thriller about a Soviet agent that faithfully bridges two of his father’s classic tales
Nobody’s Empire by Stuart Murdoch review – Belle and Sebastian and me
Life inspires art in the debut novel by the Belle and Sebastian songwriter, tracing a young man’s path to music
Odyssey by Stephen Fry audiobook review – one hell of a trip
With his distinctive narration, the author-actor brings warmth and humour to his retelling of Homer’s epic, the last in his Greek myth series
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
The Drowned by John Banville; The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins; Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin; A Case of Matricide by Graeme Macrae Burnet; The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen
World Without End review by Jean-Marc Jancovici and Christophe Blain – a graphic view of the climate crisis
The French bestseller is a bold, genre-jumping explanation of climate change and its cause: our addiction to energy
The Burrow by Melanie Cheng review – a tender, compelling story of family and grief
A small family tries to rebuild after an incomprehensible tragedy, in a pandemic-set novella that’s both skilful and restrained
Carrie review – Brian De Palma’s horror masterpiece is a death metal spectacle of carnage
Sissy Spacek unforgettably evolves from ugly duckling to swan to something else entirely in the groundbreaking film of Stephen King’s novel