The Fathers by John Niven review – class satire with grit

Two fortysomething Glaswegians from either side of the tracks form an unlikely friendship in this comic melodrama

After the Spike by Dean Spears and Michael Geruso review – the truth about population

We shouldn’t celebrate a falling population, according to this persuasive debunking of demographic myths

Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart review – is this the future for America?

Set a decade from now, this coming-of-age caper offers a child’s-eye view of family troubles in a ‘post-democracy’ USA

King of Kings by Scott Anderson review – how the last shah of Iran sealed his own fate

A clear-eyed account of a difficult, complex man and his self-inflicted fall from grace

Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels

A picture of patience; first days at school; a cruise ship detective; a terrible storm; time travellers; rebels in love and more

Fair by Jen Calleja review – on the magic of translation

A highly original book from the author of Goblinhood explores the art and work of translating fiction

What Kept You? by Raaza Jamshed review – an extraordinary debut full of ritual and poetry

A young woman grapples with the stories that shape her in this tightly crafted and complex portrayal of grief and growing up

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis audiobook review – a sharp comedy about Islamic State brides

Sarah Slimani’s droll delivery is the perfect fit for this hilarious Women’s prize-shortlisted debut, in which an academic embarks on a UN mission in Iraq

Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt review – a warmly comic saga of male friendship

This tale of two entrepreneurs dips into the perspectives of real-life tech moguls, with thrilling results

Groundwater by Thomas McMullan review – a lesson in foreboding

A sense of menace hangs over a couple’s attempt to make a fresh start in lakeside seclusion, but the tensions too often sputter out

The Lost Elms by Mandy Haggith review – cultural history of a noble tree

An enthusiastic and scholarly guide to a noble tree that has been used in herbal medicine and shipbuilding, and romanticised in poetry

Summer of Our Discontent by Thomas Chatterton Williams review – the liberal who hates leftists

In his caustic critique of identity politics, Williams ends up condemning every kind of collective action

The Empire of Forgetting by John Burnside review – last words from an essential poet of our age

This posthumously published final collection confronts mortality, alongside the world’s almost unbearable beauty

Saint Clare review – Bella Thorne takes out predatory creeps in feminist revenge horror

Thorne plays a girl hunting down sexual abusers in what could be an interesting premise were it not seemingly made for viewers who don’t like really women, or men

The Parallel Path by Jenn Ashworth review – a soul-searching walk across England

Forget the Salt Path – this writer’s introspective journey provides genuine food for thought