Remembering an “effervescently affable man”
Kurt Vonnegut at 100
Oldies made the best holiday companions
A trio of 20th century novels each offer a different desideratum for the discerning lounger
The rise and fall of Sad White Men
Novels about middle class male malaise are now considered passé but they were once both groundbreaking and shocking
Thinkers, writers and storytellers
Narrative, voice and good novels — not always at the same time
Dedication’s what you need
Down with the gratitude-bloat of authors’ endless lists of acknowledgements
Reinvention and rediscoveries
An actress turned author, a Kafkaesque fantasy and a 1960s re-release stir the imagination
Prize-winner reprises and rediscovered tales
From Young Mungo to The Candy House: three new novels to read this month
Welcome returns for three Irish writers
Why is the publishing industry so obsessed with debuts?
A return, a reissue, a brilliant new voice
The best, and the not-so-great, new fiction to read this month
TB or not TB: the literature of consumption
No infectious disease has left its scars on the body of literature like tuberculosis
Is Britain on course for abortion up to birth?
Diana Johnson’s amendment creates a medical and legal vacuum that would endanger women and their babies
The poverty of miners’ strike nostalgia
We should not romanticise a futile and sometimes thuggish struggle
The age of the news influencer
TikTok reveals a broader existential crisis facing the media and our consumption of the news
Lutfur Rahman and the future of localism
A new and dangerous kind of local politics is emerging in Britain
The Conservatives can still reform our cultural institutions
The Tories should cut the Blob down to size before Keir Starmer comes to power
Banning masks from protests is a bad idea
Anonymity can be essential to dissent against tyrannical regimes
Pseudoscience exacerbates the burden of disease
Victims of ME deserve better than dopey Dragons and ear seeds
The art of Caspar David Friedrich
In our brave new world of modern art, there’s a growing appetite for celebrating the mystery of the natural world
Let’s at least agree rape is wrong
Fundamental feminist theories are under attack from within feminism itself
Davie, Davie, give us some answers do
Why the BBC keeps obscuring the truth of sex and gender
Good cops and bad spies
Intelligence services as portrayed on-screen are pretty ghastly places to work
