Secrets of the dorm: Come and Get It, by Kiley Reid, reviewed
An academic who also writes a column for a teen magazine eavesdrops on the conversations of rich university students and reproduces them for readers to sneer at
Murder by the Mississippi
When the mutilated corpse of a Ku Klux Klan member is discovered, the stability of an entire city is threatened in this tale of racial tension set beside the Mississippi
How the Scottish care system failed me in every conceivable way
Jenni Fagan dug up all the files and archives on herself as a baby in care to write this stunning and poignant memoir
A modern Cinderella story: Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld, reviewed
A rich, handsome rock star falls for a schlubby TV comedy writer in an enjoyable, traditional romcom, mystifyingly billed as ‘subversive’ and ‘searingly contemporary’
Horribly described sex: The Last Chairlift, by John Irving, reviewed
Some time ago I was a guest at a book festival in France where we were invited to dinner in…
How to snare your reader: the secret of a good blurb
It sounds disingenuous, not to say dis-respectful, but as a writer of 40 books, give or take, I never read…
At last, a literary sexy novel: Love Marriage, by Monica Ali, reviewed
At last, and finally: literary sex is back. The Bad Sex Prize has a lot to answer for in British…
What is the secret of Duran Duran’s durability?
In my second year at secondary school we were all deeply envious of a girl named Judi Taylor because, obviously,…
House of horrors: Girl A, by Abigail Dean, reviewed
If the last quarter of 2020 saw a glut of novels published, of which there were winners (Richard Osman) and…
Deborah Orr rages against her small-town upbringing
Unlike a lot of people in the media, I didn’t personally know Deborah Orr, but I know many who did,…
The people’s Prince: even as a teenager the musician charmed everyone he met
Many pop stars are easy to imagine as children, as it’s a profession that doesn’t really reward growing up. Elton…
Friends forever: the inside story of the American sitcom classic
Here is a test to tell you whether you will like this book or not: when I write ‘So, no…
Edna O’Brien’s heroic tribute to the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram: Girl reviewed
This novel is strikingly brave in two ways: first, in the fortitude of its writer, the redoubtable Edna O’Brien, who,…
More secrets and symbols
Being reflexively snotty about Dan Brown’s writing is like slagging off Donald Trump’s spelling: it just entrenches everyone’s position. In…
A game of cat-and-mouse
All Involved, Ryan Gattis’s breakout novel about the LA riots of 1992, was an absolute blast. Ballsy, vivid and immersive,…
Cheating death
2016 was probably the year even the most optimistic of us — those who can genuinely square the new populist…
Cheating death
2016 was probably the year even the most optimistic of us — those who can genuinely square the new populist…
