liberal Passage by Colin Thubron reviewA terminally ill woman makes a final trip to Egypt in an exquisitely wrought portrait of end-of-life reckoning3 hours agobooks
liberal Portrait of the Artist as a Movie StarRachel Cusk’s latest novel is about the life of a famous actress—or is it?a day agobooks
liberal From Booker-Listed Marlon James to a Memoir by Michael DouglasMidlife meditations from Barbara Kingsolver; musical portraits by Jonathan Coe and Yiyun Li; plus memoirs from Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench – all among the coming season’s highlights4 days agobooks
liberal Sunrise by Téa Obreht reviewSet across three interwoven timelines, this absorbing tale of an abandoned mining town explores courage, cowardice and how history is recorded8 days agobooks
liberal The best recent crime and thrillersThe Amateur by Chris Bohjalian; Claws Out! by Bella Mackie; Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang; Children of Wolves by Lawrence Osborne; Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth12 days agobooks
liberal Rebecca Perry: ‘Lorca hit me like a bolt of lightning’The poet and novelist on the power of fairytales, being inspired by Frank O’Hara and the joys of Doris Lessing12 days agobooks
liberal Marlon James Returns to Realism, and to JamaicaIn his new novel, gay men struggle to escape violence in Kingston.15 days agobooks
liberal Sinking ships, dark humor and really good bad guys: Beryl BainbridgeFrom the last days of the Titanic to desperate romantics, we rate the work of a British master of black comedy16 days agobooks
liberal Hard-Luck Men in Hardscrabble TownsIn Richard Russo’s novels, the American dream feels like a cruel joke.18 days agobooks
liberal Children of the Wild by Kevin Powers reviewWritten 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 believable22 days agobooks
liberal ‘Am I 68? 69?’ Irvine Welsh on growing old, getting clean, bashing out his new novelThree decades after he channelled his heroin addiction into the cult classic Trainspotting, the Scottish author has discovered the joys of yoga, breathwork and standing desks. But is he quite as ‘Zen’ as he claims?23 days agobooks
liberal What we're reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in JulyMax Porter, Daisy Johnson, Avni Doshi and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the commentsa month agobooks