Don’t Think, Dear by Alice Robb review – the beauty and cruelty of ballet

A former student at the School of American Ballet dissects an art form that too often plays host to obsession and bullying

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry review – a survivor’s song

This sublime study of love, trauma, memory and loss explores the legacy of childhood abuse in Ireland’s Catholic institutions

You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd review – the mourning after

In this moving and funny meditation on loss, the host of the award-winning podcast Griefcast argues that shared stories are an effective response to death

The best recent crime and thriller writing – review roundup

A real-life murder reimagined in interwar England, a gripping pair of mysteries set in Australia and the dark pursuit of a missing girl in London are among this month’s highlights

Colonialism by Nigel Biggar review – a flawed defence of empire

A reappraisal of colonialism by an Oxford professor strains credulity and ill serves his aim of defending ‘western values’

In brief: Tomorrow Perhaps the Future; Queen K; Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber – review

A fascinating study of the women who chronicled the Spanish civil war; a superb skewering of the idle rich; and the story of the debutante turned IRA activist

Rose and the Burma Sky by Rosanna Amaka review – heartache and historical injustice

A sobering tale of wasted lives and Britain’s shocking treatment of its African soldiers during the second world war

Siblings by Brigitte Reimann review – a family split in a divided Germany

This vivid autobiographical novel – now published in English for the first time – offers an intriguing insight into East Germany in the early 60s

Enough by Stephen Hough review – a note-perfect pianist’s memoir

The distinguished piano player’s recollections verbalise the abstract mystery of music

The Lincoln Miracle review: how Republicans chose their great redeemer

As the Republican Party marches right, Edward Achorn’s second book on the 16th president makes instructive reading

Time to Think by Hannah Barnes review – what went wrong at Gids?

The BBC Newsnight reporter’s investigation into the Tavistock’s gender identity clinic for children makes disturbing reading

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler – how to speak octopus

What if the first alien intelligences we encountered were already living with us on planet Earth? This near-future novel of ideas wittily explores the nature of consciousness

The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup

Other Women by Emma Flint; I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai; Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead; The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish

The Drifted Stream audiobook review – Andrew Motion celebrates poetry’s rich oral tradition

David Rintoul and Shaheen Khan are among the actors who read from Motion’s anthology of British and Irish poetry, spanning from the 14th century to the present day

Metamorphosis by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst review – books as therapy

A professor’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis leads to a life-affirming literary journey