The Thinning by Inga Simpson review – apocalyptic thriller offers glimpse of a better world
Two teens embark on a race against time across a ravaged Australia in this stunningly wrought dystopian novel
Suggested in the Stars by Yōko Tawada review – a linguistic odyssey
The Japanese novelist explores the relationship between language and national identity, in the second part of her Scattered All Over the Earth trilogy
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty review – secrets and lies in Maine
The virtues of truth-telling are explored in this tale of one man’s need to confront and reveal his past
Alexis Wright wins $60,000 Melbourne literature prize
The Waanyi writer, who won the Miles Franklin award and Stella prize this year for her novel Praiseworthy, has been recognised for her body of work and contribution to Australian culture
The American No by Rupert Everett review – blackly comic short stories
The actor, writer and director mines his own backlog of unmade projects to create an exhilarating collection
Killing Time by Alan Bennett review – a cut above
From afternoon sherry to sex with the handyman in the lawnmower shed, Alan Bennett takes a wry look at lockdown life in a care home
Samantha Harvey’s ‘beautiful and ambitious’ Orbital wins Booker prize
The British author’s novel about astronauts on the International Space Station was chosen unanimously as the winner, says judging chair Edmund de Waal
‘This is a book we need now’: Sara Collins on choosing this year’s Booker winner
After reading more than 150 books over seven months, the judges voted unanimously in favour of Samantha Harvey’s Orbital – which pulled them as far away as possible from our planet
The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe review – a blue murder mystery
Set during Liz Truss’s premiership, Coe’s multilayered study of how things quickly fell apart is a whodunnit with a villain hiding in plain sight
Paul Bailey obituary
Writer best known for the novel Gabriel’s Lament and a sympathetic biography of the brothel madam Cynthia Payne
Why are nursery rhymes and fairytales so dark?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami review – a lack of magic and meaning
Murakami’s 15th novel retreads a form of magical realism that hasn’t evolved
Morning and Evening by Jon Fosse review – the Nobel laureate’s mystical account of where we begin and end
In this republished novella from 2000 about a fisherman and his son, the Norwegian writer captures the puzzlement and wonder of the human condition
In brief: Who Owns Football?; The Caretaker; The Land in Winter
A deep dive into football’s puppet masters; an evocative slice of Americana; and another tour de force from Pure author Andrew Miller
Booker prize 2024: and the winner is… you, the reader
The judges have a hard task at this week’s Booker prize ceremony with five of the six shortlisted books worthy winners, though Percival Everett’s James – a retelling of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn – is the title to put your money on