Family life
Ménage à trois: Day, by Michael Cunningham, reviewed
When Dan, his wife Isabel and her brother Robbie decide to spend lockdown together, claustrophobic domesticity develops into a painful love triangle
She’s leaving home: Breakdown, by Cathy Sweeney, reviewed
One ordinary November day in Dublin, without forethought or planning, a woman walks out on her husband and two teenage children and never comes back
The inner world of others
As ever in her short stories, Hadley uses the smallest details – of dress, food and decor – to masterfully convey class, character and the inner world of others
Tuscan chiaroscuro
A trio of formidable British women are enjoying peaceful retirement in Italy – until their idyll is disrupted by a series of unforeseen events
The twists keep coming
Murray’s immersive, beautifully written mega-tome about a family in a small town in Ireland is as funny as it is deeply disturbing
The view from on high
Sixteen-year-old Kit floats free from her body at night and circles invisibly over family and friends – not always liking what she sees
Connecticut connections: A Little Hope, by Ethan Joella, reviewed
A Little Hope, Ethan Joella’s debut novel, is about the lives of a dozen or so ordinary people who live…
A child’s eye view: Fight Night, by Miriam Toews, reviewed
Writing from a child’s point of view is a daredevil act that Miriam Toews raises the stakes on in her…
The Belfast Blitz: These Days, by Lucy Caldwell, reviewed
Caught outside at the start of a raid in the Belfast Blitz as the incendiary bombs rain down, Audrey looks…
Portrait of a domestic tyrant: The Exhibitionist, by Charlotte Mendelson, reviewed
If vivid, drily hilarious tales about messy families stuffed with passive aggression and seething resentment are your thing, you will…
Knotty problems: French Braid, by Anne Tyler, reviewed
Anne Tyler’s 24th novel French Braid opens in 2010 in Philadelphia train station. We find the teenage Serena, who has…
The home life of Shirley Jackson, queen of horror
‘One of the nicest things about being a writer,’ Shirley Jackson once noted in a lecture titled ‘How I Write’,…
Dreading demobilisation: The Autumn of the Ace, by Louis de Bernières, reviewed
The Autumn of the Ace begins in 1945, as the second world war ends, but both Louis de Bernières and…
Stockholm syndrome: The Family Clause, by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, reviewed
Some faint hearts may sink at the idea of a torrid Swedish family drama peopled with nameless figures identified only…
Deeply mysterious: the latest thrillers reviewed
Maggie is sitting alone in the park when she’s approached by Harvey, who introduces himself as a recruiter for MI5.…
When mother killed the plumber — and Nellie Melba came round to sing
Here’s a pair of little books — one even littler than the other — by Robin Dalton (née Eakin), a…
Anne Tyler’s everyday passions
There was nothing remarkable about the Whitshanks. None of them was famous. None of them could claim exceptional intelligence, and…
David Nicholls’ Us: Alan Partridge’s Grand Tour
Us, David Nicholls’s first novel since the hugely successful One Day, is about a couple who have been married for…
The truth about being a politician’s child
It was a Friday morning in 1992, Britain had just had an election, and I was on an ice rink.…
Why it’s time for a Cad of the Year Award
Why it’s time for a Cad of the Year Award
