riverrun review – ‘an extraordinary tour de force’

Olwen Fouéré's solo stage interpretation of Finnegans Wake at the Shed is a delight, writes Kate Kellaway

Kenneth Tynan on Sam Wanamaker – ‘a director of the new school twists the arm of an old melodrama’

In this extract originally published on 8 May 1955, the stage version of Zola's Thérèse Raquin, directed by Sam Wanamaker, fails to arouse the Observer theatre critic's passion

Riverrun review – ‘An hour spent fishing in Joyce’s Finnegans Wake’

An inexorable rush of thought and idea, full of mystery and marvel – much like the great text that inspired it, writes Maddy Costa

Under the Skin review – very freaky, very scary, very erotic

Jonathan Glazer's sci-fi horror-flick, starring Scarlett Johansson as an extraterrestrial roaming Glasgow in a white van, picking up men, is visually stunning and deeply disturbing

The best books on Peru: start your reading here

Pushpinder Khaneka: Our literary tour of Peru embraces Manuel Odría's dictactorship, murder in Ayacucho, and the legacy of Pizarro's conquistadors

Haunted Empire review – great title, shame about the contents

Charles Arthur: A Wall Street Journal reporter tries to answer the question of whether Apple’s innovation has burnt out after its founder’s death. But if you’ve already decided that it has, shouldn’t you have some evidence too?

Of Mice and Men review – Quicker and richer just to read Steinbeck’s novella

John Steinbeck's affecting story of two Depression-era farmhands carries too much dramatic dead weight in this low-testosterone production, writes Matt Trueman

A Bigger Prize review – the price we pay for competition

Margaret Heffernan's brave study shows how the competitive instinct can be bad for us in all walks of life, from sport to finance, writes Iain Morris

Cycle of Lies review – Juliet Macur’s unflattering portrait of Lance Armstrong

Juliet Macur's book on Lance Armstrong amounts to a comprehensive take-down of a fallen idol, writes Tim Lewis

Inside a Pearl review – Edmund White’s dazzling Paris memoir

Edmund White's account of Paris in the early 1980s brims with wit and anecdote, writes Ruth Scurr

I Spend Therefore I Am review – the true cost of economics

Philip Roscoe's critique of the "pernicious" intrusion of economics into everyday life is compelling, writes Iain Morris

The Amber Fury review – Greek tragedy with added suspense

Sophocles gets the noir treatment in Natalie Haynes's suspenseful debut, writes Jessica Holland

Strange Bodies review – Marcel Theroux’s ‘loopy and engaging’ metaphysical thriller

Marcel Theroux's gleeful novel of shifting identities is a thrilling parable for our times, writes Alexander Larman

Someone Else’s Skin review –’a superbly disturbing debut’

Sarah Hilary's compelling first thriller sees detective Marnie Rome forced to face her fear of victimhood, writes Alison Flood

Falling into the Fire review – a psychiatrist’s impressive study of mental health

Christine Montross helps to demystify madness with her insightful, case-based account of the ethics of psychiatry, writes Stephanie Merritt