Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli review – a mother and daughter’s odyssey
This journey of discovery from the US to Sicily tackles urgent themes, but is increasingly inward-looking
Lesvia review – the rise and fall of an amazing lesbian community on Sappho’s actual island home
Director Tzeli Hadjidimitriou grew up on Lesbos, and her elegant debut feature explores how the Greek poet’s birthplace became a hub for lesbians
Underdogs by Louise Powell review – a powerful debut with plenty of northern soul
A bereaved father and son bond over greyhound racing in an east Durham town in terminal decline
Upland by Ed Douglas review – a glorious survey of Britain’s high places
The writer and climber brings colour and carnival to his account of a country and people shaped by its mountains
What If We Got AI Right? by Eleanor Drage review – avoiding apocalypse
The academic’s ambitious guide to the ethics of tech falls short of its promise to provide meaningful answers
Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot review – Anne Enright celebrates a landmark feminist novel
Half a century on, this tale of a woman who abandons her children in search of her self remains thrillingly original
Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Dogs v bears from Max Porter; a baby adventure; an Irish boarding school murder mystery; and an unsettling YA folk horror
The World Is Full of Married Men review – Jackie Collins’ bonkbuster as a gloriously filthy puppet show
Barbies, giant erections and exquisite craftsmanship combine in one of the year’s most outrageously funny and startingly original shows
Unsayable by Michael Cunningham review – The Hours author on the insecurities that powered his creative life
The American novelist and screenwriter’s memoir covers sex work, Virginia Woolf and Hollywood success
I Made This Just For You by Chris Ames review – absurd satirical takes on the bleak absurdity of modern life
These playful and experimental short stories are set in a distorted but plausible version of our deeply online world – but tenderness is never far
The Midnight Train by Matt Haig audiobook review – a cosy, feelgood journey
Actor James Norton brings a sense of gentle longing to this tale of an octogenarian looking back on the life he’s departed
Air by Christian Kracht review – a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle
A portal opens from our modern world of data centres and interior design into a medieval fantasy realm, in this playfully surreal tale from the author of Eurotrash
Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell review – art, desire and the rise of the Third Reich
This portrait of a Jewish painter in bohemian Berlin is filled with insightful observations
On Thin Ice by Charlie Walker review – a Siberian adventure goes off the rails
Moments of beauty and horror punctuate this account of an ill-timed sub-zero camping trip
These Wild English by Nicola Wilding review – explaining a mother’s drift to the far right
A documentary-maker probes family history and the darker corners of the internet to solve an urgent political puzzle