Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst review – one for the ages
Key moments in an actor’s life over seven decades are illuminated with skill and quiet power in this languid and stately novel
Seven Children: Inequality and Britain’s Next Generation by Danny Dorling review – essential reading
Inspired by the documentary Seven Up! and based on real data, this important book exposes the extent of inequality in the UK and what it means for our poorest children
Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter review – the ego has landed, just not on Mars
New York Times reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac paint a damning portrait of the billionaire who turned the social media platform into a smaller business and a larger cesspool
Playground by Richard Powers review – an electrifyingly beautiful tale of tech and the ocean
The wonders of oceanic life shine through in a magical book that is at once Anthropocene novel, disquieting AI thriller, postcolonial allegory and a portrait of friendship
Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey review – emotionally engaging city saga
A complex relationship unfolding over half a century is at the heart of the elegant and largely successful ninth novel by the Irish novelist
Interference review – team behind the Mueller Report describe the 2016 political maelstrom
Special counsel prosecutors who investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election set things straight
The Silence of the Choir by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr review – a masterly tale of African refugees in rural Sicily
The multilayered second novel by the Senegal-born author is a powerful plea for compassion in the face of hatred
In brief: A Piece of Work; The Mighty Red; Jerusalem – review
Simon Russell Beale’s memoir favours Shakespearean insight over showbiz gossip; a love triangle continues Louise Erdrich’s literary winning streak; and a new edition brings the holy city’s epic history up to date
The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale review – new perspectives on the Rillington Place murders
The true crime author takes a novel approach to the retelling of the Christie murders, from the viewpoints of a star reporter, a crime novelist and a young sociologist. But the central mystery remains
The Outrun review – Saoirse Ronan impresses in a refreshingly unconventional recovery drama
The actor excels as an alcoholic who returns to Orkney in Nora Fingscheidt’s fine adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir
Nickel Boys review – Colson Whitehead novel becomes intensely moving story of a racist reform school
Adaptation of Whitehead’s novel about two young friends trapped by institutional abuse is told with piercing beauty by RaMell Ross
Powsels and Thrums by Alan Garner review – the magus speaks
A rich collection of poems, talks, memoir and enchantments from the life of Alan Garner
Never Let Me Go review – fresh life found in Kazuo Ishiguro’s school dystopia
Nell Barlow is heartbreaking as the doomed heroine of the alt-reality boarding-school tale, expertly adapted by Suzanne Heathcote
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman audiobook review – a mesmerising reading by Ruth Wilson
The actor narrates the first book in the author’s beloved His Dark Materials trilogy, giving a richly textured performance
Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
An Olympian’s picture book; a miscellany of marvellous kids; volcanoes explained; a dark Celtic adventure; and when teen wishes go wrong