Intimacies by Katie Kitamura review – difficulties of interpretation
Tipped by Barack Obama, this is an addictively mysterious novel about a woman adrift in her own life
The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani review – a compelling exploration of the past
The bestselling author of Lullaby works her dangerous magic on her own family history in the first of a planned trilogy
The True Don Quixote review – Tim Blake Nelson tilts at whimsy in Cervantes update
The Coen brothers regular plays a delusional ex-librarian who goes questing on a motorbike and sidecar in this good-natured retelling of the classic adventure
Picture books for children – reviews
From a giggly desert island to the humble hero of the Titanic, these illustrated tales will buoy up young minds
Borges and Me: An Encounter by Jay Parini review – a bumpy literary road trip
Parini’s ‘novelised memoir’ draws on memories of a real-life meeting with Jorge Luis Borges, but can’t quite live up to the inspiration of the Argentine titan
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne review – Hogarthian remorselessness
Boyne taps into the spirit of late-period Tom Sharpe in a relentless satire of social media centred around a chatshow host
The Year of the End by Anne Theroux review – on being married to the talent in the room
Anne Theroux recalls Paul Theroux’s flair for duplicity in a strange but moving account of the dying days of their marriage
In briefs: Homeland Elegies; What You Can See from Here; The Accidental Footballer – review
A twisty tale of Trump’s America, a charmingly strange bestseller, and a surprising sports memoir
Paul by Daisy Lafarge review – a woman at a loss for words
A British volunteer on a farm in France is ensnared by a middle-aged man in this elegant if familiar tale of female passivity
Moth by Melody Razak review – the end of innocence in India
This atmospheric debut follows a family of Delhi Brahmins as they plan their daughter’s wedding against the backdrop of partition
Spike: The Virus v the People review – Sage scientist’s revelatory Covid memoir
Jeremy Farrar’s account of the spread of the pandemic, in particular his view of government policy and fears about the virus’s origins, is genuinely shocking
John Stonehouse, My Father by Julia Stonehouse; Stonehouse by Julian Hayes – review
Two relatives of John Stonehouse offer differing reasons for why, nearly 50 years ago, the Labour MP, philanderer and suspected spy faked his own death in the strangest political story of the 1970s
Perversion of Justice review: how Julie K Brown brought Jeffrey Epstein down
The Miami Herald reporter is unsparing in her depiction of a life above the law – and the lives that were ruined because of it
Through the Looking Glasses by Travis Elborough review – the spectacular life of spectacles
From Henry VIII on his charger to the sex symbol Michael Caine, this close-up history of glasses illuminates their special kind of cool
Girlhood by Melissa Febos review – a view from her 40s
The Whip Smart author explores consent, bodies and boundaries in a poignant and frank collection of essays that celebrates the power to say ‘no’