The Parisian by Isabella Hammad review – Middlemarch with minarets

This sprawling saga inspired by the author’s family history marks the arrival of a startling new talent

Black, Listed by Jeffrey Boakye review – race and the power of words

‘A book that gives a voice to those whose experience is persistently defined and denied by others’

Entertainingly spiky essays, a promising fiction debut and a pungent wartime memoir

The Maggie and Me author’s accomplished first novel connects twin tales of tragedy and violence in South Africa

The relationship between art and our beleaguered ecosystem fires the Australian poet’s new collection

A gripping account of the nation’s greatest mistake is timely and relevant

Amanda Craig recommends something long and diverting

The Italian writer, translator and publisher talks about his latest book surveying the modern world

The comic novelist dissects talent, craft and the anxieties of being a writer in this somewhat disparate essay collection

A subtle debut foregrounds emotional intimacy in unconventional relationships

Key players reveal the extraordinary story of the Labour left’s unlikely return from the wilderness

Three Muslim women embark on a Scottish pilgrimage in a tale that combines religious insight and Celtic myth

Kierkegaard had no time for the conventions of ordinary life. But his severity did not stop him being witty

Hailed as the black Bridget Jones, this is a moving and entertaining portrait of love and race today

A high camp mix of realism and country-music schmaltz