The Evin Prison Bakers’ Club by Sepideh Gholian review – like no recipe book you’ve ever read
A political prisoner lifts the lid on the hardships and fantasies of inmates in Iran’s most notorious jail
I Ate the Whole World to Find You by Rachel Ang review – an unforgettable graphic novel
In their darkly comic story, the Melbourne artist leans into the possibilities of the graphic novel, charting a young woman’s frustrated attempts to be understood
Babe review – tale of the talking sheep-pig a charming relic of its time
A startling novelty 30 years ago, the film’s now antique effects and strange anti-Orwell farmyard tale feel dated, but is still a quaintly comfortable place to visit
Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford review – wild trouble in a child’s world
An unsettlingly funny debut explores memories of a perilous birthday party, with dark echoes of Grimms’ fairytales and gothic fiction
Proto by Laura Spinney review – how Indo-European languages went global
The fascinating story of the ancient words that survive in the mouths of billions of speakers today
Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan review – hilarious, beautiful and very violent
A hapless young idealist sets sail for utopia, in this wild epic of colonial chaos in the late 18th-century Americas
The Return review – Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes bring fierce class to elemental Odyssey adaptation
Uberto Pasolini’s raw and urgent drama, from a draft by Edward Bond, sees a traumatised Odysseus face the shameful aftermath of war
Bird School by Adam Nicolson review – close encounters of a feathery kind
This account of living among birds in a comfortable garden hide is fascinating but also melancholy as the author witnesses how few remain
The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal review – the power of kindness
Love and loss combine in this tender tale of how a mourning Caribbean mother cares for others
The Sleep Room by Jon Stock review – shocking tales from 1960s psychiatry
Survivors recount the grim practices of William Sargant, one of the most influential medical practitioners of his day
The Amateur review – Rami Malek takes action-hero baby steps as CIA analyst out for revenge
Malek gives an eccentric performance as a nerdy agent who wants his superior Laurence Fishburne to retrain him as an assassin
Allies at War by Tim Bouverie review – a revelatory study of second world war alliances
In focusing on the multilateral bonds that were forged to defeat Hitler, this entertaining account offers fresh disclosures about the course of the war
The King of Kings review – Charles Dickens retelling of the Jesus story does a serviceable job
The famous author tells his son and their cat the story of Jesus in this mixed-bag family animation, voiced by an impressive cast
Love and Fury: The Extraordinary Life, Death and Legacy of Joe Meek by Darryl W Bullock – review
This richly detailed and exhaustive biography of the maverick 60s British music producer reveals a sonic visionary whose brilliance concealed a tragically violent temper
Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy review – a classic that will be read for decades to come
Sketched in cinematic black and white, this illustrated interpretation of the late author’s postmodern detective novel is a ‘stone-cold masterpiece’