7 h. ago Fox by Joyce Carol Oates book review: Unflinchingly delivered depravity

If you consume too much true crime it starts to infect your routine. Let your dog off the leash in any lonely overgrown place and you’ll start to worry she’ll come bounding out of the undergrowth with a body part in tow. Maybe that’s my personal fear, but Joyce Carol Oates taps straight into it with the gripping, disgusting and darkly comic opening to her latest novel, Fox.

Politics

46 h. ago A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan review – an immersive but imperfect coming

Subject of a fierce bidding war, this charming debut shows Trevelyan has an impressive knack for character, but is let down by a predictable plotWriting a story from a child’s perspective works like a filter over a lens. Novels such as Sofie Laguna’s The Eye of the Sheep, Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time use a younger person’s narration to process darker, adult themes and reveal the mythologies of the adult world. Jennifer Trevelyan’s debut A Beautiful Family uses a similar framing to tell an immersive yet imperfect coming-of-age mystery set in New Zealand.It’s 1985, and 10-year-old Alix – a tomboyish, inquisitive girl who is never without her red Walkman and Split Enz cassette tape – is on holiday with her family, who have left their Wellington home for the nearby Kāpiti Coast. Her novelist mother normally prefers secluded spots, but this time she has curiously opted for a populous beach town. Between her parents’ bicke...

Politics

6 d. ago The Shakespeare Ladies Club by Christine & Jonathan Hainsworth: The women who made Shakespeare great

Imagine a world in which no one cared about Shakespeare - that was the case in the 1600s, until four pioneering women reinvigorated the bard's reputation.

Events

6 d. ago The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis: In search of genius? Don't look in East Anglia

What does it mean to be a genius? Are they cleaver, entrepreneurial, or inventive? The answer, as Helen Lewis's new book shows, is that no one knows.

Politics

8 d. ago TOM UTLEY: Please don't ask me to rate my Airbnb hostess whose house was full of anti

Aren't you heartily fed up with those constant demands to 'rate and review your experience' every time you buy anything on the internet, book tickets for a theatre or read a book on Kindle?

Society

8 d. ago MY LIFE IN A GARDEN by Carl Gorham: Nature? It will ruin your garden

Gardening is meant to be a relaxing pursuit, but after the death of his wife, Carl discovered the trials and tribulations that come hand in hand with curating nature.

Politics

8 d. ago LIVE FOREVER by John Robb: How a hammer to the head and Like a Virgin kicked off Liam Gallagher's career

We all know about their infamous feuds with Blur, the band and between themselves. But in his new book, John Robb lifts the lid on what it is really like being a Gallagher.

Events

1 week ago 1975: The Year the World Forgot review — never has pop history been so elegantly told

Dylan Jones puts the record straight on a golden era

Politics

2 w. ago A Different Kind of Power review: This political memoir is merely a warm embrace

It seems a pity that the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey nabbed the title, Why I Care, for his recent memoir, because it would have been just the thing for Jacinda Ardern’s, which is about this very subject. Instead she makes do with A Different Kind of Power — and how different hers is can be judged from the dedication, to “the criers, worriers and huggers”.

Politics

2 w. ago The Monster of Harrods by Alison Kervin review: how did Mohamed Al

This is a disturbing account of a serial predator who laundered his reputation in London — with the help of a network of enablers

Politics

2 w. ago Still Beautiful by Katie Piper: Don't base your worth on what you look like

After an unimaginable tragedy, Katie Piper learned that your worth and beauty cannot be judge by how you look on the outside, but instead must come from within.

Politics

2 w. ago How Animals Heal Us by Jay Griffiths: Forget dogs, get a THERAPY SKUNK

We all know how invaluable animals can be for our wellbeing, but in a new book, Jay Griffiths reveals just how extraordinary animals really are.

Politics

3 w. ago Picky by Jimi Famurewa: One critic's journey from mash and McDonalds to Michelin Stars

New book charts Jimi Famurewa's journey from picky eater to restaurant critic - now he's up for anything.

Politics

3 w. ago Good Anger by Sam Parker: Why a healthy dose of RAGE keeps the spark alive

From reinvigorating your marriage to coping with insults, a new book says anger can be more productive than destructive.

Society

3 w. ago Uncommon Ground  by Patrick Galbraith: Everything wrong with Right to Roam

Patrick Galbraith goes on the epic journey to discover who has a right to the countryside and its uses.

Politics

4 w. ago Looking After by Caroline Elton: Why I didn't tell my autistic brother he was dying

In her poignant book, Caroline Elton recounts the highs and lows of caring for her autistic brother, Lionel.

Events