Books
The mystifying cult status of Gertrude Stein
The American author (of mostly unreadable books) was revered in 1920s Paris and became an international celebrity – though no one was quite sure why
Why are publishers such bad judges when it comes to their own memoirs?
Anthony Cheetham has been responsible for many bestsellers, but this guarded account of his career in the book trade won’t be one of them
Murderous impulses: The Possession, by Annie Ernaux, reviewed
Gripped by jealousy and ‘a primordial savagery’, Ernaux fantasises about committing ‘crimes of passion’ when her husband leaves her for another woman
The hedgehog and the fox poll highest as ‘the nation’s top animal’
Karen R. Jones’s surprising choice of ten creatures to represent Britain makes for a truly wonderful book – erudite and fun
The night has a thousand eyes
Dan Richards explores the lives of the nurses, train drivers, rescue crews and factory workers who are up and about while the rest of us are sleeping
The childhood terrors of Judith Hermann
The German writer recalls her grandmother’s collection of voodoo dolls and her father’s surreal invention of a stunted lodger living in the suspended ceiling
Round the world in a vast, unlovely barge
How does the metamorphosis of lumbering, engineless vessel – from freight container to troop-carrier to prison, hostel and rusting hulk – reflect today’s economic climate?
Amid the alien corn: Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino
Adina – born prematurely in Pennsylvania as Voyager 1 probe is launched – believes she’s an extraterrestrial sent from Planet Cricket Rice to report on human life
A psychopath on the loose: Never Flinch, by Stephen King, reviewed
A serial killer vows retribution for the death of a friend framed for child pornography offences in King’s latest cliffhanger
My obsession with ageing rock stars – by Kate Mossman
The music journalist describes a career spent interviewing the likes of Sting, Tom Jones, Brian May and Roger Taylor – each time feeling ‘something inside me ignite’
The problem with Pascal’s wager
Graham Tomlin focuses on the Catholic philosopher’s search for intellectual certainty, but the cosmic gamble’s serious flaws don’t get the attention they deserve
Richard Ellmann: the man and his masks
James Joyce’s celebrated biographer seemed a mild man to fellow academics – but his ambition and steely self-belief made him a callous husband and father
Consorting with the enemy: The Propagandist, by Cécile Desprairies, reviewed
The debut novel by a historian of the Vichy regime is a personal J’Accuse, indicting the collaborators in her family for their part in France’s collapse in the second world war
Private battles: Twelve Post-War Tales, by Graham Swift, reviewed
The latest short stories focus on everyday traumas: ageing, PTSD in a former soldier, and the loss of a parent, spouse or grandchild
A David Bowie devotee with the air of Adrian Mole
Plodding through suburbia in Bowie’s footsteps, Peter Carpenter might be Sue Townsend’s hero incarnate – and there’s even an omnipresent friend called Nigel
From the early 1930s we knew what Hitler’s intentions were – so why were we so ill-prepared?
Intelligence provided by William de Ropp made the situation painfully clear, but the British political establishment, determined on peace, wilfully ignored the warnings
Driven to extremes: The Rest of Our Lives, by Ben Markovits, reviewed
Haunted by his wife’s affair, a middle-aged professor leaves his home and job to take a road trip across America. But will his act of emancipation bring him peace?
The mixed messages of today’s architecture – retro utopias or dizzy towers?
The way out of the muddle, says Owen Hopkins, is ‘post-architecture’ – tied to the earth and purged of vanity – which can be achieved by a close study of 21 remarkable buildings
Keith McNally: ‘Still craving the success I pretend to despise’
In a self-lacerating memoir, the restaurateur describes his many regrets, dislikes and feuds with celebrities, his longing for recognition and his love of family and friends
Why shamanism shouldn’t be dismissed as superstitious savagery
Our need for belief in the supernatural gave rise to a demand for ‘mystical intermediaries’, or shamans, forging man’s earliest religion from which all others developed, argues Manvir Singh
It’s trust in English kindness that keeps the migrants coming
More than 12 million Brits engage in some form of voluntary work, many of whom have dropped everything to help those arriving in small boats
Studying Dickens at university was once considered demeaning. Now it’s too demanding
Accessible, ‘relevant’ short stories are increasingly replacing the classics, as the monuments of Victorian literature defeat today’s undergraduates
The grooming of teenaged Linn Ullmann
Ignoring her mother Liv Ullmann’s advice, 16-year-old Linn accepted the offer of a photo shoot in Paris in 1983 – and has been haunted by the experience ever since
It’s a wonder that the Parthenon remains standing at all
From a temple to Athena, it became a Byzantine, then Latin, church, a mosque, a powder magazine and finally a ruin. Lord Elgin’s vandalism was hardly anything new
News from a small island: Theft, by Abdulrazak Gurnah, reviewed
Decades of change follow the 1964 revolution in Zanzibar, with boutique hotels multiplying in Stone Town’s haunted streets. But is a whole way of life being threatened?
