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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Books

  • Naomi Klein, Sally Rooney and George Monbiot.

    News
    More than 200 authors renew call for Baillie Gifford to divest from fossil fuel

  • Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson in the 2015 film adaptation of Brooklyn.

    Book of the day
    Long Island by Colm Tóibín review – happy ever after?

    Clare Clark
  • A sevengill shark in the Great African Sea Forest.

    Science and nature books
    Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster – natural narcissist

    Charlie Gilmour
  • Internet love in My First Book.

    Fiction
    My First Book by Honor Levy review – extremely online

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What to read

  • Composite image of best paperbacks May 2024

    Paperbacks
    This month’s best paperbacks: Richard Osman, Rebecca F Kuang and more

  • Alice Munro

    Five of the best
    Five of the best Alice Munro short stories

    • Read on

      100 best novels of all time
      From The Pilgrim's Progress to True History of the Kelly Gang

    • Books of the century so far

      The 100 best books of the 21st century

    • Composite for the 100 best nonfiction books of all time list

      100 best nonfiction books of all time
      From Naomi Klein to the Bible – the full list

Non-fiction reviews

  • Franz Kafka in Prague, circa 1910

    Biography books
    Metamorphoses by Karolina Watroba; A Cage Went in Search of a Bird; Diaries review – Franz Kafka as more than just a prophet of malaise

    Joe Moshenska
  • Raking in money<br>Rake, raking in US $1 bills

    Economics
    The Road to Freedom by Joseph E Stiglitz review – a vision of progressive capitalism seems too little, too late

    Stuart Jeffries
    The Nobel-winning US economist’s championing of government intervention to nullify neoliberal excesses is ardently expressed but unconvincing
  • A cat at the Paphos archaeological site.

    History books
    Cypria by Alex Christofi review – island records

    Steven Poole
    From ancient myth to modern militarism, a brilliant exploration of Cyprus’s long history of cultural resilience
  • A helicopter carrying Taiwan flag flies over a military camp in 2021.

    History books
    The Struggle for Taiwan by Sulmaan Wasif Khan review – dire straits

    Charlie English
  • Prince performs live in California in 1985.

    Essays
    Like Love by Maggie Nelson review – music, passion and friendship

    Lara Feigel
  • FILES-FRANCE-ITALY-ECONOMY-US-VIRUS-EU-HEALTH<br>(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 19, 2019 US economist Joseph Stiglitz takes part in a press conference on the theme "Taxes on multinational companies : a revolution for tomorrow ?" in Paris. - Stiglitz judged in an interview with AFP that the European Union should have adopted a device comparable to its mega-stimulus plan since the debt crisis in 2010 and warned against a return to austerity policy. (Photo by JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP) (Photo by JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP via Getty Images)

    Economics
    The Road to Freedom by Joseph Stiglitz review – against Hayek

    Gavin Jackson
  • Identical twins Celia and Mamaine Paget.

    Biography books
    The Quality of Love by Ariane Bankes review – delicious portrait of the Paget twins

    Rachel Cooke
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Fiction & poetry reviews

  • Sicily

    Fiction
    The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya review – sharp generational shame game

    Miriam Balanescu
  • Ireland, County Donegal, View of Ballycramey and Inishowen Peninsula with Trawbreaga Bay<br>Ballycramey, Trawbreaga Bay, Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland

    Fiction
    The Coast Road by Alan Murrin review – love and the limitations placed on women

    Lucy Popescu
    The author’s accomplished debut boasts beautifully nuanced characterisation in its compassionate study of small-town life
  • Borders are fenced and patrolled in The Other Valley.

    Science fiction roundup
    The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup

    Lisa Tuttle
    The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard; A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu; Flowers from the Void by Gianni Washington; The Dark Side of the Sky by Francesco Dimitri; The Hungry Dark by Jen Williams; To the Stars and Back by various writers
  • Migrants board a smuggler's boat near Dunkirk, in an attempt to cross the English Channel.

    Fiction
    Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten review – a madcap satire on the refugee crisis

    Yagnishsing Dawoor
  • gallery pictures

    Fiction
    Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru review – art monsters

    Sandra Newman
  • London is sweltering in Evenings and Weekends.

    Fiction
    Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna review – a love letter to London under pressure

    Madeleine Feeny
  • Rowland Bagnall

    Poetry book of the month
    Near-Life Experience by Rowland Bagnall review – the time traveller’s life

    Kate Kellaway
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Children's and YA books

  • Detail from The Whisperwicks: The Labyrinth of Lost and Found by Jordan Lees.

    Children's book reviews round-up
    The best new chapter books

    Kitty Empire
  • The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Sophie Bass.

    Children's book roundup
    The best new picture books and novels

    Imogen Russell Williams
    An ungrammatical egg; a demystifying approach to death; 10 new poets to read aloud; and a stunning gothic mystery
  • Terrible Horses, by Raymond Antrobus and Ken Wilson-Max. PR pics from Walker Books - with words removed

    Children's book reviews round-up
    Picture books for children – reviews

    Imogen Carter
    Bashful cats and lonely ponies stalk the pages of this month’s choices
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Interviews

  • Miranda July.

    ‘I was in a kind of ecstatic freefall’
    Artist Miranda July on writing the book that could change your life

  • OBserver Books<br>Author pic - Deborah Levy photographed at Gokyuzu restaurant, in Green Lanes, N4.

    Deborah Levy
    Writing and swimming help each other

    The novelist and memoirist on stamina and solitude, the influence of surrealist art on her work, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s revelatory travel writing
  • Colm Tóibín.

    ‘This is much more intimate’
    Colm Tóibín on writing a sequel to Brooklyn, 15 years on

    The Irish author on the follow-up to his bestselling novel, being blanked at the Oscars and the joys of giving up drinking
  • Ponomarenko in Kyiv’s Independence Square

    ‘I have my iPhone, X and a brain in my head’
    Ukrainian journalist and social media star Illia Ponomarenko

  • Kaliane Bradley

    ‘It was just so much fun’
    The Ministry of Time author Kaliane Bradley

  • Margaret Atwood

    ‘I can say things other people are afraid to’
    Margaret Atwood on censorship, literary feuds and Trump

  • R. F. Kuang - Portraits - Boston MA - 21 Mar 2023<br>Novelist R. F. Kuang poses for a portrait in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Tue., March 21, 2023. Kuang is the author of, most recently, "Yellowface," which she calls a "psychological thriller and satire about the publishing industry," published in May 2023. "Yellowface" is Kuang's fifth novel.

    Rebecca F Kuang
    I like to write to my friends in the style of Joan Didion

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Regulars

  • Leïla Slimani.

    The books of my life
    Leïla Slimani: ‘Salman Rushdie’s books made me feel I could become a writer’

  • Elia Barbieri - The Guardian Saturday - Big Idea - 11th May - Do we need to reimagine progress -01

    Big idea
    What does progress look like on a planet at its limit?

    Putting endless growth above our wellbeing and the environment is no longer viable
  • Franz Kafka.

    Where to start with
    Where to start with: Franz Kafka

    Inscrutable bureaucracy and monstrous insects may not sound immediately appealing, but once you’re lost in Kafka’s world you won’t want to escape
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You may have missed

  • flowers

    Should plants be given rights?
    What new botanical breakthroughs could mean

  • Paul Auster.

    Paul Auster remembered
    A literary voice for the ages

  • Photo of Franz Kafka on his grave at the New Jewish Cemetery, Prague.

    Franz Kafka
    What we learn about Kafka from his uncensored diaries

  • Olivia Laing garden for Books

    Safe haven or symbol of injustice?
    What our gardens tell us about the world we live in

    Olivia Laing
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