Assembly by Natasha Brown review – the grind of everyday prejudice
This concise, emotive debut novel skilfully describes a black British woman’s life informed by racism
The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid review – a devastating analysis
Lawrence Wright’s deep research reveals the oversights and errors that fatally hampered the US reponse to Covid
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason review – inspired storytelling
An unnamed mental illness thwarts one woman’s stab at a happy marriage in a devastating and sharply funny love story
In brief: Leave the World Behind; The Breakup Monologues; Diving for Pearls – reviews
Hidden pasts in Dubai, locked-down disaster and a frank, enjoyable relationships guide
The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam review – trouble in Utopia
A man takes the credit for his brilliant coder wife’s invention in a savage satire of tech startups
Motherhood: A Manifesto; (M)otherhood; The Motherhood Complex review – calling time on the cult of the perfect parent
Eliane Glaser, Pragya Agarwal and Melissa Hogenboom offer challenging responses to the contradictions of so many parenting guides
The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee review – the best American novel of the year is by a Brit
Lee reimagines the life and death of a giant of 19th-century New York in a book of real intelligence and style
Tokyo Redux by David Peace review – the final instalment of a blistering trilogy
Peace is somewhere near his best in the third of his crime novels set in occupied postwar Japan, with plenty of twists and meta-fictional turns
The Triumph of Nancy Reagan review – foibles and failings of a troubled first lady
Karen Tumulty’s biography, on the centenary of Nancy Reagan’s ‘official’ birth, paints a romanticised picture of a neurotic prototype for Melania Trump
Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser review – a stupendous wonderland
The rabbit hole is just the start of this thrilling immersive exploration of Lewis Carroll’s enduring masterpiece
Barbara Hepworth by Eleanor Clayton review – art and life
A new biography of the great English sculptor reveals a complicated combination of passionate correspondent, loving mother and dedicated artist
Children’s books roundup – the best new picture books and novels
A lost puppy, a judo-practising guinea pig and victory for a girls’ football team, plus the best new YA novels
Languages of Truth by Salman Rushdie review – profound insights and platitudes
From childhood memories to riffs on Philip Roth … there’s some superlative nonfiction in this eclectic collection of essays, written over the last two decades
Zero Fail review: US Secret Service as presidential protectors – and drunken frat boys
Pulitzer-winner Carol Leonnig anatomises an agency that has never truly lived up to its steely professional image
The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed review – injustice exposed
The real-life story of the Somali seaman who was wrongfully executed for murder in Wales is powerfully reimagined