Blue Mountains review – brilliant Georgian shaggy-dog satire on the Soviet mindset

A welcome revival of a 1980s comedy prophesying the collapse of the Soviet Union

Picture books for children – reviews

Insects and entomologists inspire two creepy-crawly tales, and a polar bear gets lost in the big smoke

Maus Now: Selected Writing, edited by Hillary Chute review – the Maus that made history

While Philip Pullman and Adam Gopnik illuminate Art Spiegelman’s towering graphic novel, few others in this collection succeed in capturing its spark and sophistication

In brief: The Meaning of Geese; Two Sherpas; The Second Cut – review

A magisterial diary for bird lovers, meditations on climbing, Shakespeare and colonialism, and a blackly comic Glasgow mystery

History Keeps Me Awake at Night by Christy Edwall review – Roberto Bolaño-inspired debut

A woman tries to solve the mystery of a deadly mass abduction in Mexico in this intelligent tale about displacement

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius review – prejudice and pain suffered by the Sami people

The Swedish YA author’s first novel for adults deals deftly with the fear and guilt felt by a young girl who witnesses a hate crime

What Women Want by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung review – the depths of desire

The psychotherapist’s seven case studies show the role of longing in women’s lives and the two-way connection between analyst and patient

The Aftermath review: a younger, more liberal America? OK, Boomer

Philip Bump of the Washington Post has produced a fascinating account of demographic change and future possibilities

The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe review – through hell and high water

Published in the UK for the first time, the Empire of Pain author’s tireless investigation of human trafficking from China to the US reveals the desperation of the migrants and the woman at the heart of it

I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be by Colin Grant review – where are we ‘really’ from?

An important contribution to the story of British-Caribbean identity, told with loving scrutiny

The best recent poetry – review roundup

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi; The Hopeful Hat by Carole Satyamurti; Toys/Tricks/Traps by Christopher Reid; The Fourth Sister by Laura Scott

Free Love by Tessa Hadley audiobook review – female self-discovery

Actor Abigail Thaw narrates this intimate and gripping story of political and sexual awakening in middle-class suburbia

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes by Kate Strasdin review – the fabric of Victorian life

An album of swatches offers a rich historical record of middle-class life in the 19th century

Little Plum by Laura McPhee-Browne review – the taboos of motherhood

In her compassionate second novel, McPhee-Browne deftly articulates the experience of becoming a parent

Getting Better by Michael Rosen review – a survivor’s manual

The children’s author uses his experience of Covid as a hook to examine loss, mourning, and what comes next