Books
Writing outside the box
Elena Ferrante’s essay collection is an exploration of the delights and constraints of form
The unheard lessons of howling feedback
Separating the signal from the noise
A return, a reissue, a brilliant new voice
The best, and the not-so-great, new fiction to read this month
When bad reviews attack
Book reviews are not the preserve of the literary dilettantes — they have real power
Wonders and warnings from the ancient world
A new history of Byzantium reveals the inner workings of a late antique empire
Strange happenings back in the USSR
The brilliant story of a Francis Bacon exhibition in Moscow
The lady vanishes
TV adaptations have masked the complexity and skill of Agatha Christie
Why modern novels are so boring
Writers who forget bourgeois aspiration lose a dimension
Fuccboi: a load of modern toss
A failed American Psycho for the PornHub generation
The genius that was Dr Strangelove
Ananyo Bhattacharya offers an ambitious biography of a genius who defied categorisation in life and death
Poor conduct
Shostakovich: Symphonies 4-6 (Decca)
British libel laws are a SLAPP in the face to press freedom
We need major liberalisation of libel law
The horror of 7 October on film
The killers’ headset footage, CCTV, interviews with survivors and heart-rending last messages
Do our leaders understand the power grid at all?
It seems as if basic facts are being completely ignored
Is “progressive realism” either?
Weighing up the rights and wrongs of the Lammy Doctrine
The 300 Years’ War
How conflict over land ownership shaped conflict over Ireland
The big picture
A story of modern Britain, a moral tale, of venality, hubris and fraud
Rocking the Reichstag
Women across the world have been protesting against the bizarre new German self-ID laws
An open letter against assisted dying
118 academics oppose the Leadbeater Bill
On the awfulness of liberals
The Lords must put the Leadbeater bill to sleep
The year in military history
2024 has been a rewarding year for lovers of books and history
