All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow review – a mesmerising debut
Longlisted for the Booker prize, this is a darkly vivacious tale of family, fraught friendship and neurodivergence
Before the Light Fades by Natasha Walter review – love and resistance
Searching for answers after her mother’s suicide, Walter rediscovers a radical family history
Jurassic Park review – Steven Spielberg’s meaty dino-fest is as delicious as ever
The classic movie’s unforgettable performances and CGI effects remain glorious 30 years after its original release
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch review – Ireland under fascism
This Booker-longlisted dystopia with shades of Cormac McCarthy is nightmarish yet horribly convincing
God Forgets About the Poor by Peter Polites review – the author’s most striking work yet
Melding memoir and fiction, the author of Down the Hume and the Pillars makes magic and myth from his migrant mother’s life – and reaches beyond that too
Maigret review – Gérard Depardieu is a charismatic version of Simenon’s detective
The actor doesn’t move much but brings off the Parisian copper’s air of worldly, tolerant bemusement
The best recent poetry – review roundup
indiom by Daljit Nagra; The Lights by Ben Lerner; Isdal by Susannah Dickey; The Ferguson Report by Nicole Sealy; Let the Light Pour In by Lemn Sissay; For the Unnamed by Fred D’Aguiar
Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson review – a mixed bag of stories
The end of the world is repeatedly visited in this playful collection set in an alternative England
The Gardener of Lashkar Gah by Larisa Brown review – Afghanistan abandoned
A deeply moving book that lays bare the human cost of the 2021 western withdrawal
Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan review – pain and acceptance
The Hong Kong-born queer poet explores their parents coming to terms with their sexuality in tender, incisive pieces
The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie review – nerds who loved words
The linguist and lexicographer unearths the histories of the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English Dictionary
The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman review – AI, synthetic biology and a new dawn for humanity
The DeepMind co-founder calls for the ‘containment’ of new technology in a heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for us
Answered Prayers: England and the 1966 World Cup review – agonising and absorbing
Alf Ramsey – still the only manager of any England side to lead the country to World Cup glory – is the complex central figure in Duncan Hamilton’s elegiac account of the shadow that fell across the coach and his players after 1966
In brief: The Details; Uprooting; Ponies at the Edge of the World – review
A feverish novel about memory and relationships; a gardener’s attempt to put down roots; and how Shetland reshaped a researcher’s view of nature and community
Lazy City by Rachel Connolly review – wry portrait of a city
A skilful debut novel paints a nuanced picture of Belfast and a grieving young woman’s search for something to believe in