The Hundred Wells of Salaga by Ayesha Harruna Attah – review
A skilful portrayal of life in pre-colonial Ghana emphasises distinctions of religion, language and status
Shapeshifters by Gavin Francis review – bristling with insight into our bodies
The award-winning writer and Edinburgh GP combines patient case studies with cultural history in this profound study of how humans change
Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf review – a polar obsession
Fact and fiction are interweaved in an artist’s investigation of illness, exploration and creativity, translated from Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
Wildlife review – director Paul Dano luxuriously evokes smalltown woes
Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal’s marriage capsizes in 50s Montana in an impressive directorial debut by Dano, based on the Richard Ford novel
Property by Lionel Shriver review – a striking first story collection
The pains and pleasures of middle-class America are playfully depicted - but there are moments when more liberal readers might feel their hackles rise
Butterfly by Yusra Mardini review – the refugee swimmer whose story swept the world
Trained relentlessly by her father in Syria, Mardini helped steer a people-laden dinghy to safety, then competed in the Olympics
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy review – Europe nearly became uninhabitable
A compelling history of the 1986 disaster and its aftermath presents Chernobyl as a terrifying emblem of the terminal decline of the Soviet system
From Cold War to Hot Peace review: Obama ambassador charts path to Trump and Russia
Michael McFaul’s latest book doubles as a personal memoir and an overview of US-Russian relations over the past four decades
Teenage books round-up: feminism and fairy tales
A vivid history of the suffragettes and a new version of The Little Mermaid are among this month’s standouts
Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean – review
Dean’s group biography of female writers who dared speak their mind is a great and worthy project
See What Can Be Done by Lorrie Moore review – marvellously nuanced
This wide-ranging collection of reviews and cultural commentary is shrewd and worthy of preservation. Just don’t call it ‘enjoyable’…
All Gates Open: The Story of Can by Rob Young and Irmin Schmidt – review
Rob Young’s scholarly history of the hugely influential 70s band, written with the one surviving member of the group, neglects their human qualities
In brief: Admissions; Mind on Fire; American Histories – reviews
The second memoir from neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, a personal history of depression and a fiery letter to Donald Trump from black America
Story of a Marriage by Geir Gulliksen review – agonising emotional truth
The Norwegian author brings true-life experience to this compelling novel about a man who is complicit in his wife’s infidelity
In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne – review
Three teenagers come of age on a troubled north London estate in Gunaratne’s rich, authentic debut