Shooting Martha by David Thewlis review – clunky film-world farce
The actor’s new novel is set in a world of egotistical film directors and desperate actors, but the showbiz satire is often wide of the mark
12 Bytes by Jeanette Winterson review – engaging history of technological progress
Whether examining sex dolls or transhumanism, the novelist brings her skill as a storyteller to these ambitious, hugely entertaining essays
Pessoa: An Experimental Life review – a portrait with bags of personality
Richard Zenith’s massive biography of the Portuguese writer who constructed numerous identities captures his tragicomic oddity
Men Don’t Cry by Faïza Guène review – witty novel of everyday French life
The former teenage sensation returns with an acutely observed cast of comic characters
The Pages by Hugo Hamilton review – a book with a story to tell
A novel smuggled out of Nazi Germany narrates this ingenious work which warns of the danger in ignoring lessons of history
In brief: Annie Stanley, All at Sea; Some Answers Without Questions; Unexplained Deaths
A charming novel about a woman’s midlife crisis, timely reflections on female creativity and the woman who revolutionised murder investigations
Chaise Longue by Baxter Dury review – teenage kicks with the Blockheads
This unflinching memoir by the son of Ian Dury recalls his chaotic life with the ‘pot-soaked Fagin’ and his bodyguard
Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels
A zombie thriller, a flooded world, poetry and a very worried pig … plus the best new YA novels
Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel review – a sparkling debut
A whirlwind of screwball comedy, murder and friendship that examines the cannibalisation of experience to feed social media
Wake review: a must-read graphic history of women-led slave revolts
Rebecca Hall and illustrator Hugo Martínez uncover hidden stories, vital truths and deep, unhealed, intergenerational pain
Everything You Really Need to Know About Politics by Jess Phillips review – the case for change
The outspoken MP is on a one-woman campaign to banish jargon, snobbery and tradition and make sure politics is for everyone
Nice Racism by Robin DiAngelo review – a deeply revealing lesson on white supremacism
A powerful new book from the author of White Fragility reveals why profound racism is often found in supposedly liberal spaces
English Magic by Uschi Gatward review – exquisitely eerie withholding
A striking debut collection of unsettling short stories invites us to trust our imaginations
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi review – a series of fights
This pugnacious epistolary memoir by an embodied ‘ogbanje’ spirit is as fascinating for its disturbing self-absorption as for the brilliance of its writing
The Truth About Lies by Aja Raden review – a history of deceit, hoaxes and cons
From snake-oil salesmen to the origins of the mermaid – why people lie, and why we always want to believe