Nudibranch by Irenosen Okojie review – weird and wild short stories

An extraordinary collection of surreal tales takes in time travel, molluscs and monks

The Fortress by Alexander Watson review – a marvellous first world war study

Stench, terror, starvation ... this account of the great siege of Przemyśl, the longest of the war, has ethical authority and evocative power

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay review – more matchless stories from A&E

From the author of This Is Going to Hurt, funny, disgusting and moving tales with a festive twist – and a show of support for overworked NHS staff

Help the Witch by Tom Cox review – a beguiling short-story debut

Folklore draws attention to the landscape in these impressionistic tales set in the Peak District

Hostile Environment by Maya Goodfellow review – how immigrants became scapegoats

From Winston Churchill to Windrush ... a champion of migrant justice turns the spotlight on UK policy

The Eighth Life (for Brilka) by Nino Haratischvili review – a landmark epic

Life on the fringes of the Russian and Soviet empires is vividly evoked in this award-winning family saga from Georgia

Crime in Progress review – the secret history of the Trump-Russia investigation

Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch have written an insider account, with eye-popping anecdotes, of alleged collusion and the failure of the US media to expose it

The best thrillers of 2019 – review roundup

Death in the outback, kidnap and medieval mysticism

Yours, for Probably Always: Martha Gellhorn’s Letters of Love and War 1930-1949 – review

The war reporter’s candid correspondence with her husband, family and friends

It Gets Worse by Nicholas Lezard review – discomfort and joy

The New Statesman columnist offers a second helping of wry entertainment from his woeful life

Time Lived, Without Its Flow by Denise Riley review – captive to the present tense

A grieving mother’s account of life after her son’s death is exquisitely expressed

Now We Have Your Attention by Jack Shenker review – the politics of the street

The reporter roams a country in crisis in his detailed, important study of radical grassroots activists

In brief: Funny Ha Ha; Under Occupation; Jog On – review

Paul Merton’s favourite funny stories, Alan Furst’s gripping second world war thriller, and Bella Mackie on how jogging saved her life

Grandmothers by Salley Vickers review – a gran for all seasons

A trio of overbearing matriarchs pose difficult questions

Tehran Children: A Holocaust Refugee Odyssey – review

In retracing the escape of 1,000 Jewish children from wartime Poland to Iran, Mikhal Dekel uncovers a chapter of the Holocaust that resonates today