The Leopard in My House by Mark Steel review – finding the funny side of living with cancer
The comedian reflects on mortality and the new course his life has now taken in this warm account of his cancer diagnosis and treatment
The best recent poetry – review roundup
New and Collected Hell by Shane McCrae; The New Carthaginians by Nick Makoha; Father’s Father’s Father by Dane Holt; Hardly War by Don Mee Choi; Minx by Karen Downs-Barton
James by Percival Everett audiobook review – reimagining Huckleberry Finn
Dominic Hoffman narrates this satirical, Booker-nominated reworking of the children’s classic, written from the perspective of the enslaved Jim
Fearless and Free by Josephine Baker review – ‘ten lives in one’
For the first time in English, the sensational memoirs of Josephine Baker – cabaret star, activist and spy
Dark Like Under by Alice Chadwick review – teenage kicks
This 1980s-set debut novel takes place over 24 hours as the ripple effects of a teacher’s death are explored
Chameleon by Robert Dessaix review – a dazzlingly beautiful mix of sex, travel and intimacy
Blending biography and travelogue offers a rich and entertaining education about the author’s life – a detailed map of the literature, ideas and places that shaped him
Carrion Crow by Heather Parry review – body horror with historical bite
The ‘mad woman in the attic’ is an archetypal force to be reckoned with in this gothic tale of metamorphosis
Ungovernable by Simon Hart review – House of ill repute
Jaw-dropping revelations from a Conservative former chief whip call into question not just the system, but his own judgment
The Golden Throne by Christopher de Bellaigue review – Suleyman returns
A new instalment of the extraordinary and brutal story of the greatest Ottoman sultan reads like a thrilling novel
Don’t Make Me Laugh by Julia Raeside review – more monstrous men
The relationship between a predatory male comedian and a female producer rings true in this darkly funny debut
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie review – a tale of four women
The Nigerian-American author returns with an astute and moving exploration of female experience
When It Rained for a Million Years by Paul Farley – thrilling leaps of imagination
An impressive collection of poems – largely set in industrial wastelands and musing on time and distance – makes the mundane magical
Deviants by Santanu Bhattacharya; The South by Tash Aw review – love under the eye of the law
Two contrasting but equally impressive Asia-set coming-of-age novels explore gay teenagers navigating their nascent sexuality against the backdrop of personal and political upheavals
Chang’an review – animated Chinese tale of poet-warriors is spectacular work of art
The historic capital of China is rendered in gloriously intricate detail, but this animated feature feels like a state-sponsored history lesson
Hansel and Gretel review – Northern Ballet ditch the witch in peril-free eco-fable
Witty compositions and appealing performances win over a young audience but the traditionally grisly tale gets lost in the woods