Scott Turow’s latest novel attempts to understand humanity
If Presumed Guilty seems slightly hollow, that may be because it’s all been done before so many times that it’s difficult to be original
Books
Thursday
A biography of Lorne Michaels that strays into hagiography
Susan Morrison’s book sets itself two tasks: where did its hero come from? And why is he so good at what he does?
Wednesday
Why Europe needs to take the Putin threat more seriously
Keir Giles’s new book deserves a wide readership
Tuesday
The courage of Salman Rushdie
His actions over the past few years have shown a breathtaking degree of courage and bravery that it is hard to imagine many of his peers matching
Monday
Evie Wyld’s latest novel is unsettling yet hopeful
The Echoes is full of ghosts
Monday
The Einstein family atrocity
A shocking read about a World War Two tragedy
Bill Gates’s memoir offers an oddly revealing look into the Microsoft founder’s psyche
Source Code is really a book about perseverance in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds
Romantasy, the hot new literary genre du jour
Why are so many women reading the genre?
Inside Thomas Pynchon’s most underrated novel
The Crying of Lot 49 is often hawked as the gateway drug to the writer’s peculiar universe
David Lodge, the master of Anglo-American campus humor
For sheer entertainment value, it is the ‘campus trilogy’ of Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work that can hardly be bettered
Veteran journalist Edward Wong on his memoir of food and feud
‘Drawing the emotions out of my father was the most challenging part’
This month in culture: March 2025
What to watch this March
Thursday
Masa Son: the world’s most reckless investor
Gambling Man documents a career punctuated with attention-grabbing successes and abrupt reversals
Thursday
Ali Smith’s latest novel falls flat
Gliff is a different sort of project, but still one which reveals a desire to comment on contemporary culture
Friday
Bill Clinton’s latest memoir sees him at his chirpiest — and most combative
As much as anything else, Citizen is a book of omissions
Will science lead us back to God?
In his new book, Spencer A. Klavan takes his reader through a brief but brilliantly executed history of scientific discovery
Wrestling with Jordan Peterson
The pop psychologist’s new book is not likely to light the fire of faith in any young fan
Cher should stick to what she knows best
Her memoir suggests that the icon doesn’t know what makes her compelling
Why Goethe matters
It is difficult to think of any area of modern life which is not anticipated in Faust
This month in culture: February 2025
What to watch this February