‘They save us’: Sally Muir on the art of drawing rescue dogs

Scruffy or sleek, melancholic or mischievous… Sally Muir’s portraits of dogs capture the essence of unconditional love. And her latest collection on rescue dogs reveals much about cruelty – and kindness

Siblings by Brigitte Reimann review – rebel with a cause

This intoxicating 1963 novel explores the tension between socialist ideals, self-fulfilment and repressive reality in East Germany

People vs Donald Trump review: Mark Pomerantz pummels Manhattan DA

Prosecutor who helped convict John Gotti thinks Alvin Bragg let Trump slip from the hook. His memoir proves controversial

Mother’s Boy by Patrick Gale review – imagining Charles Causley’s life

This fictionalised biography of the Cornish poet covers his tender bond with his mother, and the effects of losing a friend during war

The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup

Hopeland by Ian McDonald; Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera; Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress; Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Two Sisters by Blake Morrison review – a family story comes full circle

In his third and most revealing memoir, the author focuses on his troubled younger sister, Gill

Elixir by Kapka Kassabova review – vale of enchantment

A spellbinding journey through the villages, valleys and folk wisdom of the author’s native Bulgaria

Higher Education by Kira McPherson review – post-millennial malaise novel falls flat

A coming of age campus novel tackling class, sex and power, McPherson’s debut promises a lot to chew on – but it’s all a little too dry

Becky by Sarah May review – a Vanity Fair for the mass-media age

As she scrambles her way to the top of the tabloid career ladder, May’s joyless, fearful Becky Sharp reflects the grim reality of how the world works

Follow the Money by Paul Johnson review – how to spend it

The most influential beancounter in Britain decodes the public finances – and that disastrous mini-budget

The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken review – all about my mother

A bereaved daughter’s memories summon a vivid portrait of an indomitable woman

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal by Justin Gregg review – the problem with human intelligence

A researcher argues that animals understand how to live well better than their too-brainy counterparts

A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò review – a nation in crisis

Violence simmers beneath restrained prose in the follow-up to Stay With Me, a portrait of domestic strife and political tensions in Nigeria

A Stone Is Most Precious Where It Belongs by Gulchehra Hoja review – a powerful testament of Uyghur persecution

Once the glamorous face of her people on Chinese state TV, the author now lives in the shadow of a superpower’s revenge

This Other Eden by Paul Harding review – a novel that impresses time and again

In Harding’s new book – a tale of racism on an isolated island off the coast of Maine – the Pulitzer prize-winning author’s gifts have found their fullest expression