The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem review – are you a Rabbit or a Bear?
A road trip through the California desert becomes a thumping political allegory for a divided nation
Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson review – a dazzling reanimation of Shelley’s novel
Hard science and dreamy Romanticism combine in a meditation on the responsibilities of creation and the possibilities of AI
LEL by Lucasta Miller review – the scandalous death of a popular poet
Did a love affair lead to the demise of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, one of the most famous and most exploited poets in early 19th-century Britain ?
Four Quartets review – TS Eliot’s poems brilliantly danced
With unfussy, Cunningham-influenced movement alongside Kathleen Chalfont’s readings, Pam Tanowitz has distilled Eliot’s essence
Common People review – a valuable anthology of working-class writers
Edited by Kit de Waal, these essays, memoirs, stories and poems from established and new writers come straight from the heart
Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan review – an introvert’s year
A quiet American in London tries to overcome her ‘neurosis’ in the latest account of shyness
Why Can’t We Sleep? by Darian Leader review – understanding our sleepless minds
Are you so worried about not sleeping it’s keeping you awake? Why ‘sleep science’ has made insomnia worse
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes review – women of the Trojan war
The latest novel to retell Greek epic from the women’s point of view is a panoramic portrait of the true cost of conflict
Memoir of War review – Parisian wartime drama fails to ignite
The tale of a woman whose husband is caught by the Nazis muffles the fury and anger of Marguerite Duras’ book
Wounds review – crassly unsubtle mobile-phone horror
Armie Hammer is a New Orleans bartender sucked through a cosmic portal in a J-horror-influenced misfire by Under the Shadow’s Babak Anvari
Useful Enemies by Noel Malcolm review – learning from the Turks
This well-judged book, which centres on Western thinkers identifying positive aspects of Ottoman rule, complicates the idea of Orientalism
Crossing by Pajtim Statovci review – an Albanian odyssey
A young man and his cross-dressing friend flee Albania, in a devastating story shot through with subversive humour
The Ministry of Truth by Dorian Lynskey review – what inspired Orwell’s masterpiece?
When Trump took office, sales of Nineteen Eighty-Four increased by 9,500%. This astute study locates the origins of the novel and traces its life within pop culture
The best recent thrillers – review roundup
A perilous wilderness blaze and a true-crime podcast fuel two of the best new mysteries
Then It Fell Apart by Moby review – sex, drugs and self-loathing
The superstar DJ’s account of his tempestuous life is funny and often harrowing