Goodlord by Ella Frears review – this email to a landlord is dark and dazzling
The poet’s stream-of-consciousness complaint to an estate agent is a witty and compelling reflection on the state of the housing market and young womanhood
March 2024
Memory Piece by Lisa Ko review – anxiety hums off the page in dystopian New York story
Three girlhood friends grow into the worlds of art, tech and activism and on towards a divisive, fascist-run nightmare in the American writer’s ambitious follow-up to The Leavers
Free Therapy by Rebecca Ivory review – delicious reveals and rug pulls in stories of aimless women
The debut Irish writer circles around twentysomethings with crap jobs, crap men and even worse housing work in this nicely observed collection
Murderer, manipulator… or not that bad at all? The reframing of Richard III
Five hundred years after his death, the monarch most reviled by Shakespeare is still courting controversy. A new play and documentary aim to change how he is seen
January 2024
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan review – rich Malaysian second world war saga
In Memory of Us by Jacqueline Roy review – a twisty tale of twins
July 2023
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan review – a page-turning tale of scandal and misery
Tabloid journalism and a mother whose daughter is suspected of murder are the catalyst for this compelling, compassionate follow-up to Acts of Desperation
March 2023
Book of the day
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – drama in the West Bank
An actor returns to Palestine and joins a local production of Hamlet in this richly layered and elegant examination of memories and oppression
February 2023
30 things we love in the world of food right now
Knifemakers and bakers, Jamaican rum cake and Scottish shortbread, community pubs and world-class bars, eating out in Sheffield and inspirational new cookbooks: presenting Observer Food Monthly’s food favourites for 2023
January 2023
2023 culture preview
23 for 2023: Observer writers’ culture highlights for the year ahead
From Rachmaninov to pop reunions, Beyoncé’s tour to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Spielberg to Sam Smith, our critics guide you through the next 12 months
May 2022
Your guide to the best summer culture
Reward System by Jem Calder review – generation Zzzz
January 2022
Why assume it’s a problem if a woman is child-free at thirty? Maybe she prefers it that way
Holly Williams
There are countless reasons why women delay motherhood but, as a new report indicates, at least there’s no longer the pressure to conform
November 2021
Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love by Huma Qureshi review – tales of everyday tragedy
Young women of Pakistani heritage struggle to connect with their partners and mothers in an evocative and striking collection
July 2021
Paul by Daisy Lafarge review – a woman at a loss for words
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade review – a family with crosses to bear
June 2021
The Coward by Jarred McGinnis review – all kinds of hurt
How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina review – ripping satire of Indian elites
May 2021
Assembly by Natasha Brown review – the grind of everyday prejudice
Featherweight by Mick Kitson review – a punchy historical yarn
