Something Like Happiness by Tom Newlands review – a tender take on hard times, anger and autism

A twentysomething Scottish couple care for their autistic son in the bleak follow-up to Only Here, Only Now

A History of the Novel in Britain by Philip Hensher review – a masterpiece of criticism

This joyous book takes readers on a literary adventure across 300 years of fiction, from Defoe to Zadie Smith

Feel the burn: why holidays from hell make for blistering fiction

Family fallouts, failing marriages, sunburn, food poisoning ... from Deborah Levy’s hypnotic and disturbing Hot Milk to All In, Claire Powell’s all-inclusive nightmare, Leon Craig looks at the best novels about vile vacations

I Give You My Silence by Mario Vargas Llosa review – Nobel laureate’s final novel is a love letter to Peru

This fascinating, eccentric book becomes a quirky primer on Peruvian music and culture

Sinking ships, dark humour and really good bad guys: Beryl Bainbridge – ranked!

From the last days of the Titanic to desperate romantics, we rate the work of a British master of black comedy

Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben review – the literary equivalent of free jazz

Combining hilarious detail with harsh observation, this rediscovered novel takes the reader on an exhilaratingly strange journey

‘Grief became my brand’: Freya Bromley on writing about personal tragedy

Touring her memoir and talking to others helped the author come to terms with her brother’s death, but the book’s success left her feeling guilty. Had she commodified her family’s pain?

The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup

The Salt Kingby Natasha Pulley; A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett; Netherwood by Jake Arnott; Fawn by CN Vair

Now, Autonomy by Max Easton review – a sardonic yet compassionate take on millennial apathy

The author’s third novel to chronicle life in Sydney’s west follows a group of flawed friends trying to sustain meaning amid an ‘erosion in the world’

Sky City by Jacqueline Crooks review – an ambitious, lyrical portrait of trauma

A young woman is haunted by her childhood in this forcefully imaginative and unapologetically bleak novel from the author of Fire Rush

‘Getting old is no fun’: Game of Thrones author George RR Martin speaks out about depression amid further book delays

A new blog post by the fantasy writer has outlined his recent difficulties, as fans continue to speculate on the elusive sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series

A Sense of Occasion by Brodie Crellin review – a surprising and darkly funny debut

A dysfunctional family comes together for a funeral in this heartfelt, keenly observed novel

AI-generated stories rated better quality than human-written ones, study finds

Researcher says simpler writing by AI is easier to read and digest, but this does not mean human authors are obsolete

Best Australian books out in August: new Meg Mason, musicians tell all and a time-travel tale by ‘a master storyteller’

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

Children of the Wild by Kevin Powers review – gripping tale of a friendship forged in war

Written by a US army veteran, this novel of courage and cruelty during the first world war is filled with unsettlingly authoritative depictions of violence – but its characters are less believable