No Straight Road Takes You There by Rebecca Solnit review – an activist’s antidote to despair
Hope is no casual platitude in this inspiring collection of essays; it’s the realistic mindset with which to approach existential challenges
Little Brother review – remarkable migrant memoir falters on stage
Ibrahima Balde’s desperate journey to find his brother should make for essential theatre, but this production lacks the emotional intensity of the book
Capitalism and Its Critics by John Cassidy review – brilliant primer on leftwing economics
From Marx to Piketty, a sprawling but marvellously lucid overview of capitalism’s naysayers
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey review – this dystopia could have been extraordinary
Alternate political realities are compellingly explored in this sinister vision of a children’s home – but the echoes of Ishiguro are just too strong
Albion by Anna Hope review – Succession-style infighting
The funeral of an English aristocrat sets the scene for a battle over inheritance, in an ambitious tale of empire and historical privilege
How to Save the Amazon by Dom Phillips review – tracing the late journalist’s footprints
A team of writers complete the vital book that Guardian reporter Dom Phillips was working on at the time of his murder
The AI Con by Emily M Bender and Alex Hanna review – debunking myths of the AI revolution
Will new technology help to make the world a better place, or is AI just another tech bubble that will benefit the few?
The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien review – a dazzling fable of migration
The adventures of great voyagers echo across centuries as a father and daughter flee from flooding in near-future China
Pillion review – 50 shades of BDSM Wallace and Gromit in brilliant Bromley biker romance
Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling play unlikely lovers in this sweet and extremely revealing first-time drama from Harry Lighton, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ Box Hill
Die My Love review – Jennifer Lawrence excels in intensely sensual study of a woman in meltdown
Lawrence excels as a woman whose bipolar disorder is exacerbated by husband Robert Pattinson’s infidelity, with super-strength direction from Lynne Ramsay
The Chronology of Water review – Kristen Stewart makes a traumatic splash with directorial debut
Imogen Poots takes the lead in Stewart’s choppy but compelling adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir of abuse and sexual uncertainty
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Never Flinch by Stephen King; The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex; Heartwood by Amity Gaige; The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster; The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah
The Optimist by Keach Hagey review – inside the mind of the man who brought us ChatGPT
Sam Altman’s extraordinary career – and personal life – under the microscope
I Want Everything by Dominic Amerena review – a delicious tale of literary deception
An ambitious young writer tells a white lie to land a scoop in this dazzling debut interrogating the ethics of writers
Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway audiobook review – a new Smiley from le Carré’s son
Perfectly emulating the tone of his father’s spy novels, this cold war tale also benefits from Simon Russell Beale’s impeccable reading