Susie Boyt fell in love with the stage as a child, but never had the talent. Now, she admits guiltily, her ambitions have switched to her daughter. But five-year-old Mary has different ideas.
Elizabeth Cowling's fine study of Roland Penrose's diaries, Visiting Picasso, details a fawning relationship with the 20th-century's greatest painter that borders on the masochistic. It's a cautionary tale, says Hilary Spurling.
Walking Ollie, Stephen Foster's endearing account of his relationship with his lurcher, shows Roy Hattersley that not everyone is cut out for dog-ownership.
Rental and retail: Starting with high promise - arthouse star director Atom Egoyan, a nightclub showbiz-style pairing of Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth, and a mysterious murder - this adaptation of Rupert Homes' novel just goes on getting odder and more tangled.