Unconventional Novels About Conventional People

In some great books, readers watch a character become disillusioned with their dreams of joyful conformity.

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley review

Riley has always skewered cruelty with shattering exactitude. What’s new in this story of two old friends in London is the delicacy she brings to moments of tenderness

What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in March

John Lanchester, Patmeena Sabit and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments

Love Lane by Patrick Gale review

This kindly and companionable story of a man returning to 50s England after living in Canada offers a colourful evocation of the times

Children and teens roundup

Musical inspiration from Corinne Bailey Rae; danger in a magical academy; the adventures of an otter pup; a YA queer gothic fantasy, and more

Benjamin Wood: ‘John Fowles’s The Magus was so frustrating I threw it at the wall’

The author on the Steinbeck novel that moved him to tears, how becoming a father inspired him to reread Marilynne Robinson, and the culinary comforts of James M Cain