Features & interviews

<p>‘My twenties were just overwhelmed by worry and uncertainty’ </p>

Interview

David Nicholls: ‘It struck me there’s no male word for broodiness’

His novels have broken our hearts, made us want to hug our dads and, now, sent us on long rainy walks through the Lake District. Bestselling author David Nicholls talks to Jessie Thompson about love, parenthood, publishing – and that infamous ending

<p>Fanfare: a new Rooney novel is now a major literary event </p>

In focus

Sally Rooney is her own harshest critic – that could be a good thing

<p>The Iranian embassy siege has become part of our national myth</p>

MCCRUM ON BOOKS

The Siege is a thrilling tale of an SAS assault over in minutes

<p>Beale paints an enthralling portrait of what ‘life and work’ in the theatre might entail</p>

McCrum on Books

Simon Russell Beale triumphs in a treacherous genre: thespian memoirs

<p>September is a packed month in the world of publishing </p>

The best new books to read this September

<p>Manchester United’s ‘Busby Babes’ prepare to board the 1958 flight from Munich that will end in tragedy</p>

interview

David Peace on how Man Utd triumphed after the tragedy of Munich

<p>Clare Chambers’s 10th novel, ‘Shy Creatures’, is released this month </p>

Writers on Reading

Clare Chambers: Best and worst compliment? ‘My mum loves your books’

<p>Dogs: a writer’s best friend – or worst enemy? </p>

Every writer needs a dog – Karl Ove Knausgaard is wrong

<p>‘Precipice’, the 16th novel from Robert Harris, shows a writer at the top of his game </p>

Why hasn’t Robert Harris won more major literary prizes?

<p>‘She was able to get dirty. She and John understood that sometimes there has to be a little grime to have a good time’: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in 1999</p>

The Reading List

25 years after her horrifying death, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy remains an enigma

Comment

One of the summer’s must-read novels is on the Booker longlist

<p>Edna O’Brien understood longing better than most writers: the longing for experience; for escape; for sex and love that was ‘forbidden’ </p>

Tribute

Edna O’Brien: a great literary crusader and giant of Irish literature

Reviews

<p>Tom Bower’s new book fails to shed much new light on the power couple </p>

Tom Bower’s Posh and Becks exposé won’t spice up your life

<p>Alba Arikha’s 2017 memoir, ‘Major/Minor’, was widely acclaimed</p>

Two Hours by Alba Arikha is a lesson in forging a life without regret

<p>Salman Rushdie pictured in 2023</p>

Salman Rushdie’s Knife is moving, sardonic and not for the squeamish

<p>Liz Truss recounts her brief time in office in her new book </p>

Liz Truss’s ludicrous memoir self-pityingly recaps 49 days of disaster

Lists

<p>Thriller: Meghann Fahy is part of ‘The Perfect Couple’s starry cast </p>

Love The Perfect Couple? These are the books and TV shows to try next

<p>July’s best books include novels by Camille Bordas and Austin Duffy and non-fiction about trees and parks</p>

The best new books to read this July

<p>Fiction highlights for the year ahead including Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘lost’ novel and new titles from Stephen King and Emily Henry </p>

The best fiction to read in 2024

News