The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson audiobook review – a Caribbean child’s-eye view of 60s Bradford
The author captures the comedy and cruelty in this tenderly written coming-of-age taleThis Women’s prize-nominated novel from Marcia Hutchinson is told from the perspective of Mercy Hanson, a girl born in Bradford in 1962 to a mother she adores and a…
What we’re reading: China Miéville, Sebastian Barry, Derek Owusu and Guardian readers on the books they enjoyed in September
Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the commentsI was sideswiped by Giada Scodellaro’s Ruins, Child. A brilliant, strange book that challenged me in the most exhilarating way, with…
Inside the undersea kingdom: the secret, sinister battle to control what lies beneath the waves
Every day, trillions of dollars, oil and gas and 99% of the world’s web traffic move through undersea pipelines that bear no state’s protection. With superpowers and corporations vying for control, should we be worried about this new wild west?On…
Dodge City by Patrick deWitt review – a wild draft-dodging road trip
This tale of a 60s college dropout driving across the US to avoid being sent to Vietnam is committed to both readerly pleasure and literary artificeCanadian author Patrick deWitt broke through with a western, 2011’s Booker-shortlisted The Sisters…
Gen Z has very strong opinions about age gap relationships – and it could be right | Zoe Williams
Older men and younger women were once an unremarkable screen pairing. But watching them with a new generation is a real educationI looked up the cast before I saw the new film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, thinking: “Who could be as good as Emma…
Does avoiding misery make you happy?
It might seem like self-preservation, but the results aren’t necessarily what you’d expectIn Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, the relentlessly upbeat Sam-I-Am spends the entire book badgering a grouchy, nameless narrator into tasting the eponymous dish. He…
Tomi Adeyemi on the film of her hit novel Children of Blood and Bone: ‘I don’t plan to watch it’
Her debut earned a record-breaking YA book deal – then came her fallout with Hollywood. The author talks about the pressures of success and why she is pictured on the cover of her new novelThere is a photograph of Tomi Adeyemi staring out from the cover…
‘I’d like to explain why I was such a monster back then’: six writers on the apologies they wish they’d made
From making life hell for a young teacher to doubting the motives of a caring foster mother, Olivia Petter, Derek Owusu, Annie Lord and other writers repent for past bad behaviourAt school, I was not a good girl. Actually, that’s putting it mildly:…
I was focused on becoming the first Aboriginal tennis champion. Then one remark changed something in me
As a teenager in Sydney, the would-be Wimbledon champion was working towards a singular goal when an act of racism shattered her naivetyIt was a regular match. Until it wasn’t. In 1969, I was 17 and had been living in Sydney with my tennis coach, Vic…
‘We left Ireland because there wasn’t work – and we wanted to get the hell away’: Trespasses author Louise Kennedy
Her Troubles-set debut became a hit TV series starring Gillian Anderson. Now the novelist has returned to her teen years for a follow-up. She talks about her journey from chef to author, and how her cancer diagnosis inspired her to writeLouise Kennedy’s…