What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories – review

Laura Shapiro’s account of how food shaped the lives of six notable women could do with spicing up a little

How to Be Human: The Manual by Ruby Wax review – can mindfulness conquer all?

The comedian and campaigner is an engaging champion of mental health, but self-care may not always be enough

Consent by Leo Benedictus and Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit – review

Two literary writers bring both thrills and psychological nuance to the subject of stalking

With the End in Mind and From Here to Eternity review – how to banish fear and shame around dying

Two very different books about death, by Kathryn Mannix and Caitlin Doughty, look at how we can face our final days with practicality, adventure and joy

Juliet, Naked review – superb Rose Byrne can’t stop Hornby tale falling flat

Byrne is tremendous as the bored woman who connects with Ethan Hawke’s forgotten indie rocker, but is marooned in a poorly conceived film

Kamila Shamsie: ‘It took me 17 years to get round to War and Peace’

The author of Home Fire on how she was transported by Midnight’s Children and by a flying car – and why she turns to Michael Ondaatje for comfort

Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch review – everyday racism and a search for identity

A powerful hybrid of memoir, reportage and commentary considers so-called racial blindness, the draw of Africa and life as a black woman in Britain

The Light Jar review – bleak but thoughtful page-turner

Lisa Thompson brings bags of empathy to a deftly plotted tale about an 11-year-old left to fend for himself

Letter to Louis by Alison White review – the courage of care

Alison White’s account of raising a child with cerebral palsy offers an essential insight into the lives of carers

OUT: LGBTQ Poland by Maciek Nabrdalik review – Poles apart

A book of portraits and testimonies from Poland’s LGBTQ community speaks volumes about entrenched rightwing zealotry and intolerance

A Long Way from Home review – Peter Carey’s best novel in decades

The acclaimed writer’s 14th novel is a nuanced story of racial identity set in postwar Australia

White King review – Charles I as you’ve never seen him before

Leanda de Lisle’s beautifully written biography offers fresh perspectives on the English monarch and those who surrounded him

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi review – hallucinatory history of Uganda

An 18th-century curse afflicts a tribal leader’s modern-day descendants in Makumbi’s engaging but gruelling debut

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan review – a political page-turner

Themes of harassment and privilege are at the heart of this gripping tale of dark goings-on at Westminster

Three Things About Elsie review – the tricks of memory at an old folks’ home

Joanna Cannon’s new novel focuses on the mysteries of its protagonist’s past, but is at its best in its tender descriptions of those on the fringes of society