From Brontë to Ballard, Orwell to Okri: the best songs inspired by literature – ranked!
As Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights gets a boost from a new film adaptation, we survey the surprising, seditious and sensual ways in which prose has influenced pop
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine review – drag fabulousness in war-torn Beirut
Spanning eras of conflict and Covid in Lebanon, this irresistible queer coming-of-age tale explores what it means to be truly free
Your Life Without Me by James Meek review – angel of destruction haunts a domestic drama
A plot to blow up St Paul’s Cathedral is seen through the lens of family tragedy
James Sallis obituary
American crime writer best known for his 2005 novel Drive which was turned into a hit film starring Ryan Gosling
Female, Nude by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett review – a seductive drama of art and rivalry
Tensions simmer when a struggling artist joins her wealthy friends for a hen week on an exotic Greek island
Kathy Lette, mum rage and a cursed vagina: the best Australian books out in February
Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on
Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman review – a perfect fairytale for our times
What does good living look like? With his marriage and career in meltdown, a man tries to get back to nature in this thought-provoking fable
Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan review – sex and teenage secrets
Queer self-discovery drives this powerful coming-of-age debut set in a bohemian 1970s school
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë audiobook review – Aimee Lou Wood reads the romance of the moment
As Emerald Fennell’s provocative adaptation hits screens, this narration from the White Lotus actor reminds us of the brilliance of Brontë’s tempestuous novel
Bugger by Michael Mohammed Ahmad review – tender, unflinching and difficult to read
The author’s fourth novel offers a devastating day in the life of a 10-year-old boy who cannot be kept safe
Allan Massie obituary
Acclaimed novelist and literary critic who was a staunch opponent of Scottish devolution
Crux by Gabriel Tallent review – a passionate portrait of teenage climbers
The follow-up to My Absolute Darling, this tale of best friends who dream of a better life features exquisite sports writing and a lovable heroine – but the plotting is unconvincing
White River Crossing by Ian McGuire review – colonial greed drives a doomed hunt for gold
The author of The North Water vividly captures bleak beauty and brutish appetites on an 18th-century expedition into the frozen wilds of Canada
Rebel English Academy by Mohammed Hanif review – a sure-fire Booker contender
This funny and subversive novel reckons with life under martial law in late-70s Pakistan
The best recent translated fiction – review roundup
White Moss by Anna Nerkagi | The Old Fire by Elisa Shua Dusapin | The Roof Beneath Their Feet by Geetanjali Shree | Berlin Shuffle by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz