Other People’s Fun by Harriet Lane review – darkly comic tale of envy and revenge in the Insta age
The worlds of the haves and the have-nots clash, in a toxic friendship between two women brought together by a school reunion
Wings by Paul McCartney review – a brilliant story of post-Beatles revival
A compelling oral history traces the rise one of the most successful bands of the 70s from the ashes of a creative breakup
Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z Danielewski – House of Leaves author returns with a 1200-page western
A quarter century after that landmark cult novel, this new epic has aspects of brilliance but seems designed for academic study rather than readerly enjoyment
Queen Esther by John Irving review – a disappointing companion to The Cider House Rules
The once-great author revisits St Cloud’s orphanage all too briefly, in a novel that begins with an adopted girl but wanders all over the place
Winter in Sokcho review – atmospheric slow-burner about family and intimacy in South Korean border city
Koya Kamura’s debut film is about shared identities at the centre of quiet, chilly drama as an enigmatic French writer visits the eponymous town
Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood review – the great novelist reveals her hidden side
A sharp, funny and engaging autobiography from one of the towering literary figures of our age
The best recent poetry – review roundup
Namanlagh by Tom Paulin; Foretokens by Sarah Howe; Maryville by Joelle Taylor; Hekate by Nikita Gill; Goatsong by Phoebe Giannisi
Attention by Anne Enright review – sparkling reflections on life and literature
Unabashed and morally generous, the Booker winner writes like a sharp, funny, fallen angel
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah audiobook review – coming-of-age saga in Tanzania
Three young people step boldly into their adult lives in this elegantly narrated novel from the Nobel laureate
Last One Out by Jane Harper review – satisfying thriller lacks the heft of her previous novels
The Australian crime writer’s latest is less about the dead than it is about the living, in a dilapidated town left suffocating in the aftermath of tragedy
Heart the Lover by Lily King review – a love story to treasure
A companion novel to the brilliant Writers & Lovers, this delightfully witty tale of college romance matures into midlife poignancy
The Line of Beauty review – Hollinghurst’s Gatsby-esque social satire is a class act
Jack Holden has elegantly adapted Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker winner about class envy, gay culture and political scandal in 80s Britain
Saltwash by Andrew Michael Hurley review – raw, dark folk horror confronts mortality
This wildly atmospheric tale of a reunion of dying people in a crumbling seaside hotel borrows tropes from cosy crime, but is truly chilling
Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith review – essays for an age of anxiety
From cultural appropriation to gender, Smith nails the politics of creativity. But on actual politics, she is less assured
Teenage Daydream by Debsey Wykes review – coming of age in an all-girl guitar band
Dolly Mixture’s singer and bassist looks back on their time chasing mainstream success and facing down outrageous sexism