5 d. ago The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey review – beyond the bounds of fiction

You can read it from either end, and go round again, as memoir collides with invention in a brilliant interrogation of art, faith and relationshipsFrom her debut, Nobody Is Ever Missing, to 2023’s Biography of X, Catherine Lacey’s work has tested the forms and fabric of the novel with brilliant unease. In The Möbius Book, her experiment crosses the blurred border of fiction into something else. Life writing, autofiction, memoir? Whatever you call it, The Möbius Book is deeply serious and engrossingly playful, and it lavishly rewards serious, playful attention.A Möbius strip is a length of any material joined into a loop with a half twist. It’s an uncanny shape, common and obvious, easily created and yet awkward to describe geometrically. For literary purposes, a Möbius is interesting because there’s intricate structure and constraint but no ending. It goes around again, mirrored with a twist. Lacey’s book takes this literally, the text printed from both ends, with memoir and fiction...

Politics

1 week ago Is Little Disasters based on a true story? Writer opens up on her own 'intrusive thoughts'

Little Disasters is based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan - and the author has opened up about the personal experiences that inspired the book

Events

2 w. ago We lost everything and became homeless in our 50s just as my husband was diagnosed with an incurable disease

Raynor Winn is the author of The Salt Path, based on her own experience of being made homeless. Now her book has been made into a film starring Gillian Anderson.

Politics

2 w. ago Scottish city emerges as hotspot for ‘traveltech’ investment

“The application of artificial intelligence across the traveltech landscape is transforming every aspect of how we discover, book and experience travel”

Politics

2 w. ago 2 books celebrating New York City culture and community win the Gotham Prize

This year’s winners of the Gotham Book Prize celebrate New York City as experienced on foot, bus and train

Culture

3 w. ago Airbnb announces huge ‘beyond stays’ plan as it ramps up competition with hotels

Airbnb has announced a major revamp of its app and services, introducing features that allow users to book experiences and services alongside their accommodation.

Society

3 w. ago Moon Unit Zappa on her childhood with dad Frank, groupies and guns: ‘I was primed for subservience’

Long before Elon Musk started giving his children weird names, the daughter of rock star Frank Zappa was dealing with being little Moon Unit. Now she’s written a book about ‘truly the worst experiences of my life’ as the eldest child of her erratic, unconventional parents. She talks to Fiona Sturges

Politics

3 w. ago What’s better than a cafe, wilderness retreat or spa? A silent cafe, wilderness retreat or spa | Emma Beddington

Imagine going somewhere and not having to hear all about a stranger’s toxic boyfriend, pitch deck or hernia opDemand for silent experiences is on the rise: apparently silent book clubs, a concept launched in San Francisco in 2012, are spreading like quiet wildfire, with “1,600 chapters in 54 countries”, according to the BBC, including about 100 in the UK. In the same article, Eventbrite reported a 460% increase in silent book events organised at the beginning of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.Silent cafes – sacred safe spaces where you won’t have to hear about anyone’s transversal skill set, toxic boyfriend, pitch deck or hernia op – are proliferating, too. The algorithm thinks, correctly, that I would enjoy a silent reading cafe in Tokyo and there are silent cafes in Osaka, China and Turkey. Silent travel was decreed a “top travel trend” last year by Condé Nast Traveller, spanning everything from full-on week-long retreats and a certified “wilderness quiet park” in Ecua...

Politics

4 w. ago Woman who was disemboweled, raped and nearly decapitated during horrific South African attack features in true crime podcast 30 years after attack

Alison Botha was just 27 when she was subjected to a sickening attack that left her having to hold onto her intestines as her partially-decapitated head 'flopped backwards'.

Events

4 w. ago Woman who was disemboweled, raped and nearly decapitated during horrific South African attack writes book about experience

Alison Botha was just 27 when she was subjected to a sickening attack that left her having to hold onto her intestines as her partially-decapitated head 'flopped backwards'.

Events