The Pretender by Jo Harkin review – a bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue
This fantasia on the life of Lambert Simnel, who finds himself a claimant to the English throne, is a romp through late-medieval identity and historical uncertainty
What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in April
Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata review – a future without sex
The Convenience Store Woman author imagines the creep of a new worldview, in a novel that highlights the weirdness of normal life
Playing with words: why novelists are becoming video game writers – and vice-versa
While the novel remains a high-status cultural form, video game writing is still seen as a throwaway art – despite some of the biggest names in fiction being involved
Jane Gardam obituary
Prolific novelist and short-story writer with a taste for the absurd
Jane Gardam, author of Old Filth and The Hollow Land, dies aged 96
Described by Ian McEwan as ‘a treasure of English contemporary writing’, the Yorkshire-born novelist’s career spanned 50 years
Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley review – a delightfully grounded romance
This irresistible love story braids the personal and the political – from Brexit to who gets to use the spare room as an office
Parallel Lines by Edward St Aubyn review – troubled minds and family mysteries
The Patrick Melrose author brings his trademark dark wit and flinty compassion to this wide-ranging sequel
Writer Saba Sams: ‘I wanted it to be sexy and really messy’
The Send Nudes author, one of Granta’s pick of the best young British novelists, on young motherhood, feminism and why we need to break the rules around love
Sister Europe by Nell Zink review – all the ideas Trump deems most dangerous
This comedy of manners set among Berlin’s cultural elite is a prescient interrogation of language, identity and power
The Sun Was Electric Light by Rachel Morton review – a clever novel about searching for belonging
A woman who feels disconnected from her life in New York moves to Guatemala to chase a distant memory of happiness in this languid and profound debut
All Fours by Miranda July audiobook review – the frank, sexy novel everyone’s been talking about
The author’s hypnotic reading evokes the desires and existential crisis of a 45-year-old woman on a wild road trip
Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp review – wild, absurd and wickedly funny
This outrageous skewering of the modern dating landscape confronts toxic masculinity and the contradictions of female desire
Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt review – an exquisite tale of first love
The poet’s debut novel is a transcendent portrait of gay desire that pays homage to the English literary tradition
Luminous by Silvia Park review – a major new voice in SF
From humans with robotic body parts to robots with human emotions, a vibrant debut set in a unified Korea examines what it means to be a person