A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje (Cape, £14.99)After a break of nearly 20 years, Ondaatje has returned to poetry, ruminating on sliding doors moments in life, “as those torn lines... Read more »
In January 2002, during his State of the Union address, President George W Bush said that in “four short months” the US had “rallied a great coalition, captured, arrested and rid the... Read more »
Politicians mince or mash words for a living, and the virtuosity with which they twist meanings makes them artists of a kind. Their skill at spinning facts counts as a fictional exercise:... Read more »
It’s more than 100 years since the birth of Greek-American soprano Maria Callas, and still no one in the opera world has rivalled her. Equally resilient is her reputation as a prima... Read more »
The concept of “genius loci” – the spirit of a place, often with a connotation of protection or nurturing – is the foundation of Esther Rutter’s revivifying blend of memoir, literary history... Read more »
Christie Watson is the first in a handful of big name authors with new thrillers out this month. Winner of the Costa first novel award for her debut, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away,... Read more »
After 11-year-old Gopi’s mother dies unexpectedly, she and her older sisters Mona and Khush channel their grief at the local sports centre where their father, known as Pa, teaches them to play... Read more »
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam LeA winner of the Dylan Thomas prize for his short story collection, The Boat, Nam Le’s first poetry collection focuses on themes of anti-Asian racism,... Read more »
George Orwell’s years as a colonial policeman in Burma in the 1920s preoccupied him for the rest of his life. Straight out of Eton, he was thrown into a world that mirrored... Read more »