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 from The Guardian
The headline, standfirst and reviewer from each outlet. Each links to the full review and to the book’s page here.
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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
