Socrates in Love by Armand D’Angour review – the making of a philosopher
Was Socrates really turned on to philosophy due to unrequited desire? This is an erudite guide to the intellectual culture of classical Athens
Toffee by Sarah Crossan review – a profoundly moving YA novel in verse
Trauma, grief and belonging are all addressed in this poignant verse novel from the Irish children’s laureate
The Farm by Joanne Ramos review – the business of exploitation
Wealthy foetuses occupy the bodies of immigrant women in a thrilling debut about the new frontier of colonialism and the savagery of the American dream
The Right Life by Remo H Largo review – don’t try to advance beyond your talents
Does the modern world prevent most people from living and working in the way suited to them?
Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal review – what animals feel
Animals have complex emotions – how do we go about studying them, and can we take ourselves out of the picture?
Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn review – in search of the wildest flowers of the British Isles
A delightful survey of ‘orchidaceous treasures’, from County Clare to Lindisfarne
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo review – joy as well as struggle
The interconnected stories of a group of black British women raise timeless questions about feminism and race
Lowborn by Kerry Hudson review – growing up and returning to Britain’s poorest towns
A novelist bears the scars of her turbulent upbringing and indicts a nation that leaves so many in poverty
Teenage books roundup – review
A memorable verse novel, contemporary drama and magic realism all feature in the best YA releases for May
Crossing by Pajtim Statovci review – duplicity, double identity and horror
Two boys flee Albania in Statovci’s complex and gruelling follow-up to My Cat Yugoslavia
This Is Shakespeare by Emma Smith review – the Bard without the baggage
A Shakespeare scholar’s fun, insightful and profoundly approachable study of 20 of his plays is perhaps the finest critique of his work to date
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor – urgent and evocative
A young man with gender-shifting powers seeks love (and lots of sex) in this witty debut set in 90s America
In brief: Record Play Pause; Normal People; The Beekeeper of Aleppo – reviews
Joy Division drummer’s vivid memoir, Sally Rooney’s spellbinding classic and a haunting story of Syrian refugees
Crushed review – toil and trouble in teenage friendships
Kate Hamer’s third novel is a powerful study of female friendship spilling over into obsession
Jude review – Hardy’s hero becomes a Syrian refugee in Howard Brenton’s reworking
Brenton’s ambitious but muddled new drama follows a gifted young Syrian woman who attracts the attentions of an Oxford classicist, Euripides and MI5