5 h. ago Shockingly good literary fiction: MONA'S EYES by Thomas Schlesser, LOVE DIVINE by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, VAIM by Jon Fosse

Stephanie Cross reviews some of the best literary fiction out this month

Events

6 d. ago Thomas Frank hails Fabio Paratici’s ‘great eye’ on return to Tottenham

Paratici recently completed a 30-month ban imposed by FIFA after allegations of false accounting at former club Juventus.

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Austen and Brontë adaptations: purists may reel, but reinvention keeps classic novels alive | Editorial

The appetite for onscreen versions of much-loved literature is endless, but dogged faithfulness to a text is not the only way to stay true to authors’ spiritIt is a truth universally acknowledged that every classic novel must be in want of a sexed-up adaptation. Ever since Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy waded out of the lake in a wet shirt in the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice adapted by Andrew Davies, we have expected the undercurrents of novels to be writ large on screen: the novel is dripping in sexual tension – who knew? No one objects when Jane Austen’s couples kiss on TV, although it never happens on the page. But we are reluctant to imagine more troubling historical realities, such as maternal mortality, or where the fortunes behind the big houses came from.As part of the 250th celebrations of Austen’s birth, Davies shocked audiences at the Cliveden literary festival last week with revelations that he is working on versions of Emma and Mansfield Park that will include death...

Politics

9 d. ago Richard Keys raises Jude Bellingham dressing room suspicions after emphatic England win

England confirmed their qualification for next summer's World Cup by beating Latvia, but Jude Bellingham was an eye-catching omission from Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad

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9 d. ago Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser review – painfully clunky lessons in art

This French bestseller, in which a girl and her grandfather visit Paris museums, aims to be a Sophie’s World for art history – but the conversations are sentimental and simplisticThe complaint that cynics often make about modern art is that most of it looks as though it were made by children. (If your 10-year-old is pulling out crumpled Kandinskys from their schoolbags on a regular basis then lucky you, I say.) But what about art criticism? Could a child’s understanding of art be as radical as John Berger’s or as wise as Sister Wendy’s, for instance? Art historian Thomas Schlesser thinks so. His debut novel, a bestseller in France, has been translated into 38 languages. Perhaps in one of them it lives up to the hype.In Mona’s Eyes, a 10-year-old girl embarks on an artistic adventure with her grandfather, visiting the most famous works in Paris museums over the course of a year. They pledge to gaze at these works intently and to discuss them deeply. The resulting conversations are in...

Politics

1 week ago Fires Which Burned Brightly by Sebastian Faulks: How Jane Austen and a fascination with mental illness led to the writing of Birdsong

Ysenda Maxtone Graham discovers the childhood of one of our best loved authors, Sebastian Faulks.

Events

2 w. ago England: Thomas Tuchel issues 'underdogs' statement as Three Lions eye World Cup glory

Former Chelsea boss was hired with the objective of challenging for the sport’s top prize

Politics

2 w. ago Thomas Tuchel's text message to Adam Wharton as England star breaks silence on snub

Adam Wharton was an eye-catching omission from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for October’s double-header against Wales and Latvia

Politics

3 w. ago The best Literary Fiction to read this autumn: A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna, We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad, Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood

Anthony Cummins reviews the best Literary Fiction out now.

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