Owl Sense by Miriam Darlington – review
The author’s mission to track down all 13 species of owl in Europe seems less a labour of love than a book-writing exercise
Ground Work: Writings on Places and People by Tim Dee – review
This astute anthology is a reminder to communicate with nature in a way that helps us to inhabit the present
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi review – elegant satire
The winner of the international prize for Arabic fiction reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic in war-torn Iraq
The Melody by Jim Crace review – a story with real bite
A singer is attacked by a night-time intruder in Crace’s typically tricksy novel, a meditation on grief and poverty
The Good Mothers review – women challenge the mafia
A gripping account by Alex Perry of the efforts of three women to escape the clutches of Calabrian organised crime families
Children’s books round-up: fantasy epics to the fore
A 16-year-old’s struggles to restore magic to her kingdom and a bewitching blend of thriller and fantasy are among the week’s stand-out titles
Afterglow (A Dog Memoir) by Eileen Myles review – anthropomorphism meets Joyce
This dog’s-eye view of its owner, the world and the canine afterlife is told with great literary flair
In brief: Swell, The Hoarder, Daphne – reviews
Jenny Landreth’s swimming memoir plunges into issues of equality, Jess Kidd delves into a world of hidden secrets, and Will Boast gives Greek myth a 21st-century twist
Karl Ove Knausgaard: ‘Contemporary fiction is overrated’
The author famed for his self-revelation explains why his new series forsakes inner turmoil to focus on the outside world
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar; Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday – review
Two top-notch debuts tackle sexual power imbalances, one in Georgian London, the other in modern-day New York
The Pixels of Paul Cézanne by Wim Wenders review – director as (generous) critic…
The film-maker’s short essays on the artists who have inspired him are overly reverential but not without insight
Brave by Rose McGowan review – damn right she’s angry
The actor’s courage is palpable in this exposé that condemns Hollywood misogyny and the ‘monster’
Fire on All Sides by James Rhodes and Paper Cuts by Stephen Bernard review – surviving child rape
Two books by men who were sexually abused as children are unblinking in their accounts of violation and its lifetime psychological aftermath
Pluto review – Astro Boy epic is a technical marvel
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s visually spectacular adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s manga is philosophical about our relationships with robots, but lacks a human heart
White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht review – Korea’s pain
This debut novel reveals how the suffering of Korean ‘comfort women’ in the 20th century still shapes lives today