The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland audiobook review – a remarkable tale of survival
The author reads his own account of the true story of two men who managed to flee Auschwitz
Edgeland by Sasha Swire review – political landscapes
A Westminster diarist’s decade of walks in the West Country
The Long Game: Inside Sinn Féin by Aoife Moore review – going mainstream
A warts-and-all account of Sinn Féin’s political journey out of the shadows
Her Sunburnt Country by Deborah FitzGerald review – illuminating biography of Dorothea Mackellar
The first authorised biography reveals the Australian poet’s fascinating contradictions, but has less to say on the wilful white amnesia of her work
The Art of Explanation by Ros Atkins review – talk like a pro
The BBC’s analysis editor shares his tips on how to communicate with clarity and confidence
Great Expectations review – Bengal in 1905 is tailor-made for Dickens
Tanika Gupta brings authority and nuance to her adaptation, exploring class, colonialism, partition and invasion – and finding unexpected resonance
My Work by Olga Ravn review – a daring portrait of motherhood
A writer struggles after becoming a mother in this vibrant, genre-busting study of the divided self
What Was Shakespeare Really Like? by Stanley Wells review – Shakespearean speculation
An eminent scholar tries to imagine the great playwright’s character and tastes. But can we really know the bard?
The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut review – a journey to the far edge of knowledge
From the atom bomb to AI, this semi-fictional oral history explores science, faith and madness through the ideas of one extraordinary physicist
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson review – arrested development
Walter Isaacson’s insight-free doorstop makes at least one thing clear: the richest man in the world has a lot of growing up to do
The Identity Trap by Yascha Mounk review – ‘PC gone mad’ revisited
A befuddled takedown of progressive thought
Stay True by Hua Hsu review – laying ghosts to rest
A Pulitzer-winning meditation on guilt, memory and assimilation that perfectly evokes 90s California
Young adult books roundup – reviews
Slapstick murders, a deadly competition between thieves and the very different fortunes of three Victorian-era girls are among this month’s highlights
Shame by Annie Ernaux review – the shocking incident that shaped her youth
The Nobel winner’s short memoir takes an episode of domestic violence when she was 12 as inspiration for a deft and powerful study of her childhood self
The Pigeon Tunnel review – inside the extraordinary life of John le Carré
Errol Morris’s gentle interview allows the mesmeric writer to hold forth on how his relationship with dodgy dad Ronnie informed his life as a spy and novelist