The Sea review – ‘lugubriously literary’ adaptation of John Banville novel
Ciarán Hands is a little too insistent in his grief in this glum bereavement drama, writes Jonathan Romney
War. What Is It Good for? review – the productive role of military conquest
Does it matter if 50 million people die, asks Ben Shephard. Not if you take the quantitative approach to history
The People’s Platform review – an ‘invaluable primer’ for understanding the networked world
Astra Taylor's valuable study reveals how our idealistic hopes for the internet were undone by corporate greed, writes John Naughton
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss review – ‘a hard-working novel about hard-working women’
Historical detail comes to the fore in this story of familial violence and female emancipation in Victorian Manchester, writes Alexandra Harris
The Cambridge spy ring: what the biographers say
As a brace of new biographies and a television series spotlight the ruthless espionage of Kim Philby, Richard Norton-Taylor examines our fascination with the Cambridge Five
Top 10 Easter scenes in literature
It can seem literature's second-string festival, lacking Christmas's glow. But writers from Shakespeare to Yates to Goethe to Tolstoy have often drawn inspiration from Easter. John Dugdale surveys 10 key scenes and works
James Franco and Chris O’Dowd in Of Mice and Men on Broadway – reviews
John Steinbeck's classic is revived on Broadway with an all-star cast, but the critics can't agree if its leads bring huge chemistry or are simply reading from CliffsNotes
Leaving the Sea by Ben Marcus review – Original and powerful short stories
Marcus's collection explores profound themes of guilt and sexuality in a unique experimental style, writes Stuart Kelly
Hetty Feather review – ‘like seeing old friends on stage’
My eight-year-old daughter and I couldn't wait to see this adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's much-loved story – and it didn't disappoint, writes Emily Drabble
Everyday Sexism and The Vagenda review – everything you wanted to know about sexism, except how to fight it
Laura Bates's Everyday Sexism is frustratingly short on practical solutions. And The Vagenda is as puerile as the media it critiques, writes Rachel Cooke
The best books on Somalia: start your reading here
Pushpinder Khaneka: our literary tour of Somalia examines lives blighted by civil war, and unearths reasons for optimism in the 'world's most failed state'
Under Another Sky review – a captivating tale of the Romans in Britain
Charlotte Higgins succeeds brilliantly in filling in the blanks on the trail of the Romans in Britain, finds Anthony Sattin
Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting review – ‘musicality and a following wind’
Former US soldier and award-winning novelist Kevin Powers turns out to be a considerable poet too, writes Kate Kellaway
Every Day Is for the Thief review – stolen moments in Lagos
Chaos and corruption prove a rich source of material for Teju Cole's fictionalised travelogue of Nigeria, writes Bernardine Evaristo
Fiction for teenagers – reviews
Young heroes and heroines include a girl who loses her tongue but finds her voice, and a boy who faces persecution for being a mixed-blood witch, writes Geraldine Brennan