Rhapsody: A Manifesto by Alice Oswald review – a history of the spoken word, from Homer to Ted Hughes (opens on The Guardian)
A twisting, beguiling investigation into the art of poetry that ends in a call to arms on behalf of the natural world
Reviews
The Guardian
Reviews from the Guardian and the Observer
2026
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The Long Cloud by Hector MacKenzie review – there’s only so much depth to a himbo (opens on The Guardian)
This wry debut novel about a male model’s inner life, written in lowercase fragments, has tender insights but isn’t as profound as it aims to be
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The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson audiobook review – a Caribbean child’s-eye view of 60s Bradford (opens on The Guardian)
The author captures the comedy and cruelty in this tenderly written coming-of-age tale
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Dodge City by Patrick deWitt review – a wild draft-dodging road trip (opens on The Guardian)
This tale of a 60s college dropout driving across the US to avoid being sent to Vietnam is committed to both readerly pleasure and literary artifice
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Dèy by Edwidge Danticat review – motherhood and trauma in Miami (opens on The Guardian)
The first novel in over a decade from the acclaimed Haitian-American author lacks the power of earlier works
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On the Equality of All Things by Carlo Rovelli review – a physicist’s guide to life, the universe and everything (opens on The Guardian)
Near-mystical musings from a scientist who believes we are on the brink of a revolution in understanding ourselves
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The Fall of the West by Owen Jones review – a bracing history of the changing world order (opens on The Guardian)
A journalist charts a quarter century of geopolitical hubris and economic overreach
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Stations by Louise Kennedy review – a superb follow-up to Trespasses (opens on The Guardian)
This tale of broken hearts and broken people moves from the Troubles of 1980s Northern Ireland to an unforgiving London of squats and payphones
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I Can’t Tell You But I Will by Magda Szubanski review – an insightful, elegant, anti-celebrity memoir (opens on The Guardian)
Szubanski’s latest book delves into both her mother’s decline, and her triumphant fight for marriage equality
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Range by Dorthe Nors review – an astrophysicist at odds with reality (opens on The Guardian)
In the Danish writer’s latest novel, an eminent scientist withdraws to the countryside
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Deep into the Sixties: Britain 1965-66 by David Kynaston review – a tour de force of popular history (opens on The Guardian)
From the Beatles and the World Cup to racism and homophobia, the latest instalment in Kynaston’s series captures a society in the throes of change
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Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Michael Cragg review – what’s the secret of Kylie’s genius? (opens on The Guardian)
The pop star emerges as a great unifier in this in-depth yet heartfelt portrait of an Aussie icon
