Golden Age by Wang Xiaobo review – revolution in the bed

The cult writer’s amusing 1992 novel, now published in English, lampoons China’s communist regime via the sex diary of a frustrated biology teacher

Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv by Andrey Kurkov review – bittersweet relic of a sunnier age

Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker prize, the newly translated novel by Ukraine’s leading author is, in today’s context, poignantly playful and ebullient

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller review – apocalypse again

The novelist continues her run of stories about isolated people with this intriguing but uneven tale of life after a deadly pandemic

The Best Minds review – rich examination of madness and the way the west deals with it

Jonathan Rosen’s heart-rending, thoughtful memoir sheds light on his childhood friend’s schizophrenia and attributes his shocking decline to America’s politicised mental health system

Granta 163: Best of Young British Novelists 5 review – more solipsism than state of the nation

The latest celebration of emerging literary talent brings thrills, charm and emotional punch to the page. But this new generation have taken an inward turn compared with the more worldly themes of bygone years

Alexandra Petri’s US history review: if you’re going to lie, lie big – and funny

The Washington Post columnist nails conservative attempts to rewrite the American story but is sure to keep the jokes flowing

From Far Around They Saw Us Burn by Alice Jolly review – tales of the misunderstood

This remarkable collection of short stories locates surprising truths in a cast of characters who are desperate to be heard

A Fever in the Heartland review: chilling tale of the Klan and a dangerous leader

Timothy Egan has written a meticulous and highly relevant account of the rise of the KKK a hundred years ago

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff; Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy; Death of a Book Seller by Alice Slater; Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell; The House of Whispers by Anna Mazzola

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney audiobook review – a tender memoir about the death of a child

The comedian narrates his book about the gruelling treatment of his young son and the love and grief that enveloped his family

The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die review – gripping spin-off from Netflix show

There’s a ton of plot packed into this standalone movie derived from the TV series, but the deluge of detail gets steadily more absorbing

Free and Equal by Daniel Chandler review – the road to fairness

A stirring call to make justice and equity a reality by applying the ideas of liberal philosopher John Rawls

Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas review – a melancholic novel about lives not lived

The Australian author’s quiet debut follows an unnamed narrator who falls for a charming man the same age as her mother, with both older adults competing for her attention

Hamnet review – slick adaptation captures Shakespeare’s horrified unravelling

Lolita Chakrabarti’s staging of Maggie O’Farrell’s moving novel about the death of the playwright’s son – and his resurrection in Hamlet – is powerfully played, with the occasional cheesy line

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller review – trapped in lockdown

Trust breaks down between the survivors of a vaccine trial as they prepare to brave a world wiped out by pandemic