The Ruiners by Ellena Savage review – a playful and subversive take on Great Expectations
In her sharp and intellectual first novel, the author finds tragic comedy in socialism, inequality and the flawed ways we connect as the world burns
Dina Nayeri: Marjane Satrapi brought Iranian women like me out of hiding
The Persepolis author understood us and translated us for the world. We have lost our most eloquent spokesperson
Dominion by Addie E Citchens review – Women’s prize-shortlisted portrait of patriarchy’s horrors
The violence of male entitlement is embodied in the charismatic son of a Mississippi pastor, in a sharp portrait of cruelty and inheritance
Maureen Duffy obituary
Poet, playwright and novelist who fought hard for gay rights and the welfare of her fellow authors
James Ellroy: ‘It’s satanic to me, the dependency people have on computers’
The outspoken crime novelist talks about his provocative new book, his hatred of technology and why the film adaptation of LA Confidential is a ‘turkey’
Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam review – an electric debut set on Manchester’s Curry Mile
Written in breathless multilingual prose, this coming-of-age meets state-of-the-nation novel is an incredible literary performance
My Only Boy by Rosa Rankin-Gee review – a darkly funny near-future dystopia
A surprising romance is set against a backdrop of climate crisis, political instability and corporate corruption in this bleak but witty novel
I devoured classic novels as a teenager. In a world of distractions, can I relearn how to read them?
In less than a decade, surrounded by screens, I lost my ability to read some of the best books ever written. But, inspired by the Guardian’s 100 best novels list, I was determined to get it back
Land by Maggie O’Farrell review – an ambitious story of mapmaking in Ireland
Set in the aftermath of the famine, the Hamnet author’s family saga folds in myth and folklore
Virginia Evans: ‘I loved books about things that can’t exist’
The Women’s prize-shortlisted novelist on taking inspiration from John Steinbeck, Joan Didion and Jhumpa Lahiri, and weeping through Little Women in her 30s
The best recent translated fiction – review roundup
Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami; All Flesh by Ananda Devi; The White Desert by Luis López Carrasco; The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna Labba
Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly review – brilliant wry comedy of Derry and the shadow of the past
A British and American film crew descend on the Northern Irish city to film a drama about the Troubles, in a keenly observed and snappily written debut
‘True trailblazer’: British author and activist Maureen Duffy dies aged 92
Duffy wrote novels, plays and poetry, campaigned for gay rights, and was a ‘tireless advocate’ for authors’ rights
Capture by Amanda Lohrey review – a superb novel about a study of alien abductees
The Miles Franklin winner’s plot teeters on the edge of profound silliness, but it’s also a vehicle for making meaning of our lived experiences – and those of others
The Book of Birds by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris audiobook review – a love letter to our feathered friends
This compendium profiles 49 of Britain’s threatened species, with each entry featuring a prose poem evoking the unique qualities of each bird and their meticulously recorded call