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Blog: Having Spent Life Seeking by Kae Tempest review – painfully earnest tale of trauma and transition from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:00:45 +0100

An ex-offender searches for meaning and beauty in the second novel from the spoken-word performerKae Tempest’s new novel is dedicated to “you”, the reader. It also […]

Blog: This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz review – Emily Brontë’s world from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:00:43 +0100

Tactile details and a no-nonsense approach make this biography a refreshing change from more lurid fareBoth Emily Brontë and her only novel Wuthering Heights […]

Blog: Zadie Smith: ‘I don’t know when I read men any more’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:30:50 +0100

At a talk on her latest essay collection, Dead and Alive, Smith said she ‘sometimes’ reads male novelists, but more often seeks the wisdom of older female wri […]

Blog: Famesick by Lena Dunham review – when celebrity causes side-effects from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:00:38 +0100

The Girls creator has endured brickbats and breakdowns – but she doesn’t always make it easy to feel sorry for herAt the end of last year, Netflix released Too Muc […]

Blog: The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout review – readers will delight in these new characters from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:00:37 +0100

The Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton author branches out with the tale of a Massachusetts teacher haunted by traumaThe American author Elizabeth Strout famously […]

Blog: ‘It’s still a no-go area’: German author Matthias Jügler on the trauma surrounding the GDR’s ‘stolen children’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:16 +0100

The reaction among officials in Germany to his bestselling novel has been hostile. As Mayfly Season is published in the UK, its author explains whyA few weeks after […]

Blog: Do stronger borders ever work? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:15 +0100

Leaders have thrown up walls and barriers throughout history – but their effects are unpredictableFour millennia ago, a Sumerian king, his frontier beset by n […]

Blog: Joe Dunthorne: ‘Growing up in Swansea, I developed an allergy to Dylan Thomas’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:00:35 +0100

The author on feeling Thomas Hardy’s pain, being duped by Donna Tartt and how reading his sister’s copy of Trainspotting made him want to writeMy earliest rea […]

Blog: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch audiobook review – an award-winning story of homophobia and divorce from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:00:15 +0100

Dual timelines reveal the real reason a mother was forced to leave her daughter in the 80s, in this Nero prize-winning novel inspired by real-life eventsThe debut […]

Blog: Communion by Jon Doyle review – a charged debut about sin and solace from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:01:02 +0100

A man who meant to be a priest is faced with a moral crossroads in this ambitious and affecting first novelJon Doyle’s debut novel tells the story of Mack O […]

Blog: The Fallen by Louise Brangan review – an enraging account of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:00:01 +0100

The horrifying story of the Catholic-run institutions that incarcerated thousands of women and girlsMany readers, and surely most Irish readers, will finish this […]

Blog: When an author says she had to decline a $175,000 prize, what does it say about the publishing world? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:00:02 +0100

Helen DeWitt turning down the Windham-Campbell literary award caused controversy. But her bold act highlights that such prizes aren’t always as meritocratic as t […]

Blog: Michael Rosen wins Hans Christian Andersen award from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:24:58 +0100

The former children’s laureate missed the announcement of the award in Bologna due to post-Brexit passport rule changesMichael Rosen, the poet and author known f […]

Blog: On Memoir by Blake Morrison review – lessons in life writing from a master from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:00:04 +0100

Don’t be fooled by the A-Z treatment – this thoroughgoing guide asks deep questions about the art of autobiography“I’ve had a life and I’ve also had a life as a […]

Blog: My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy review – wonderfully entertaining from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:01:02 +0100

Biography mingles with fiction as Levy explores the avant-garde writer through the story of three female friends in ParisThe narrator of Deborah Levy’s witty s […]

Blog: Tucker Carlson to launch publishing imprint with books by Russell Brand and Milo Yiannopoulos from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:05:26 +0100

Former Fox News host says publishing house Skyhorse ‘looking for books that nobody else will publish’Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is set to launch his own […]

Blog: Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh review – a climate-crisis novel let down by its prose from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:39 +0100

A reincarnation mystery drives this exploration of spiritual interconnectedness in a globalised worldWhat happens when a novelist cares more about their plot, or […]

Blog: Walking Shadow by Greg Doran review – Shakespeare’s healing power from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:00:38 +0100

After the death of his husband, Antony Sher, the former RSC director embarks on a quest to see every First FolioThis is really two books in one. The first part […]

Blog: Is AI the greatest art heist in history? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:00:17 +0100

New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with itIn 2026, its easy to see why generative AI is bad. The internet has n […]

Blog: The Barbecue at No 9 by Jennie Godfrey audiobook review – secrets and lies in suburbia from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:00:52 +0000

Gemma Whelan and Stephen Mangan are among the cast in this multi-voiced tale of family tensions and trauma, set during the 1985 Live Aid charity concert It is July […]

Blog: A Queer Inheritance by Michael Hall review – the National Trust’s LGBTQ history revealed from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 09:00:03 +0000

It’s recently been accused of turning ‘woke’ – but the institution has been gay since the beginning, argues this deeply researched bookWhen it emerged that the Nat […]

Blog: Mare by Emily Haworth-Booth review – profound story of a woman’s love for a horse from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:00:01 +0000

Where does it come from, this passion for an animal that isn’t even hers? An astonishing debut delves into deep truths about love, motherhood and careMare, Emily H […]

Blog: Derek Owusu and Seán Hewitt shortlisted for Dylan Thomas prize from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:53 +0000

Six writers are now finalists for the prestigious annual prize, which awards £20,000 to a writer aged 39 or underDerek Owusu and Seán Hewitt are among the writers s […]

Blog: Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave review – a will-they-won’t-they queer romance from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:28 +0000

Two women fall into and out of each other’s lives over decades, in a moving examination of love and choicesGiven that novels are routinely touted as the new v […]

Blog: This month’s best paperbacks: David Szalay, Han Kang and more from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:27 +0000

Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from a Booker-winning tale of one man’s life to a gossipy account of the golden a […]

Blog: When the Forest Breathes by Suzanne Simard review – the Indiana Jones of trees returns from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:00:26 +0000

The author of Finding the Mother Tree is back with an inspiring call to the next generation of ecologistsIt’s 2021, and Suzanne Simard is in a police vehicle, b […]

Blog: Howl by Howard Jacobson review – a tragicomic portrait of a Jewish man’s despair from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:00:12 +0000

A suburban headteacher navigates antisemitism in Gaza-outraged London in Jacobson’s latest novelHoward Jacobson writes characters at their wits’ end; those cha […]

Blog: The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby review – the story of the man who changed the world from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:00:10 +0000

A journalist charts the progress of AI pioneer Demis Hassabis from child chess prodigy to Nobel prize winnerIt was March 2016, and at the Four Seasons Hotel in […]

Blog: Shahrnush Parsipur: ‘The women of Iran will cause the fall of the Islamic Republic’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 12:00:24 +0000

As her banned 1989 novella, Women Without Men, is published for the first time in the UK, the Iranian author looks back on a life of resistance and repressionAs I […]

Blog: ‘My ideas are a little revolutionary’: ecologist Suzanne Simard on intelligent forests, the climate and her critics from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 09:00:14 +0000

Her research popularised the idea of the wood wide web, but the scientific backlash was brutal. As the author of The Mother Tree returns to the forest in a new […]

Blog: Grammarly removes AI Expert Review feature mimicking writers after backlash from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:00:07 +0000

Feature generated editing suggestions inspired by well-known authors and academics, prompting a class-action lawsuit over the use of real names without […]

Blog: The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:49 +0000

The Library of Traumatic Memory by Neil Jordan; The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan; Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison; Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman; […]

Blog: Daisy Johnson: ‘I wasn’t a fan of David Szalay, but Flesh is a masterpiece’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:00:48 +0000

The Booker-shortlisted author on a momentous teenage encounter with The Bone People, getting a buzz from Peter Høeg’s Miss Smilla, and trying to avoid The Lo […]

Blog: Light and Thread by Han Kang review – a tantalising book of reflections from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:00:45 +0000

These essays from the Nobel literature winner open up her novels and offer beautiful imageryWhen Korean novelist Han Kang won the Nobel prize in literature in 2024, […]

Blog: Hooked by Asako Yuzuki review – follow-up to global hit Butter from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:00:44 +0000

A Tokyo high-flyer tries to befriend her favourite blogger in a novel that wears its aura of black comedy lightly, and its political statements more heavilyAsako […]

Blog: Strange Beach by Oluwaseun Olayiwola audiobook review – a debut that dances with passion from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:00:34 +0000

The dancer and author gives this collection clarity and warmth as he narrates poems about family, queer identity, hedonism and raceThe first poetry collection from […]

Blog: How can we really protect Britain’s environment? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:00:21 +0000

Well-intentioned laws designed to safeguard nature frequently have the opposite effectThe importance of protecting nature is not up for debate. One in six species […]

Blog: Vladimir author Julia May Jonas: ‘We’re imprisoned by our obsessions’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:00:20 +0000

As her debut novel becomes a Netflix series starring Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall, the American author talks about comparisons with Lolita, moving on from #MeToo […]

Blog: Witches, Nazi collaborators and banned books: International Booker prize announces 2026 longlist from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:12:35 +0000

Thirteen books make this year’s longlist for translated fiction, which awards a first prize of £50,000Olga Ravn, Daniel Kehlmann, Ia Genberg, Mathias Énard and Gab […]

Blog: ‘We’re losing accessibility’: America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:03:10 +0000

The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to readShelly Rom […]

Blog: Suckerfish by Ashani Lewis review – the ordeals of having a difficult mother from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:00:05 +0000

This is a wry and likably feisty account of the destructive power an unstable parent can wield over her offspringWhen it comes to attempting suicide, Kolia’s m […]

Blog: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford review – a dazzling wartime fantasy from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:00:03 +0000

Dark magic, fascism and romance in blitz-stricken London: this exuberant novel is a popcorny delightWhen I teach creative writing, I often find myself insisting […]

Blog: Tell us: what have you been reading this month? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:58:11 +0000

We would like to hear about the books you’ve particularly enjoyed this monthAs part of The Guardian’s “what we’re reading” series, we would like to hear about the […]

Blog: As If by Isabel Waidner review – surreal doppelganger story from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 09:00:35 +0000

Two uncannily similar men switch places in an existential farce that playfully explores the precarity of working lifeIn Isabel Waidner’s previous novel, 2023’s

Blog: Politics Without Politicians by Hélène Landemore review – could we get rid of Farage, Truss and Trump? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 07:00:04 +0000

A Yale lecturer’s radical proposal to replace elected leaders with ordinary people, chosen by lotteryNo Donald Trump, Nigel Farage or Liz Truss; no Zack Polanski, J […]

Blog: Are we really overdiagnosing mental illness? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:00:39 +0000

It’s tempting to dismiss the proliferation of labels as a fad, but there’s more to this phenomenon than a simple culture-war reading allowsMy psychological res […]

Blog: The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:00:53 +0000

The Barbecue at No 9 by Jennie Godfrey; A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by MK Oliver; A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford; Holy Boy by Lee Heejoo; A S […]

Blog: Georgi Gospodinov: ‘Jorge Luis Borges gave me an exhilarating sense of freedom’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:00:37 +0000

The Bulgarian Booker winner on the letter he wrote to JD Salinger, the allure of Homer’s Odyssey and the magic of Thomas MannMy earliest reading memory
I was t […]

Blog: Tom Gauld on writing in January – cartoon from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 16:00:11 +0000

Blog: Green Dot author Madeleine Gray: ‘Chosen family is big in the queer community’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 12:00:09 +0000

Madeleine Gray has followed her hit debut with a sharp take on complicated parenting. She discusses love, sex and famous fansMadeleine Gray remembers the first time […]