The Artist by Lucy Steeds review – mystery and romance in Provence
An aspiring English journalist enters the life of a fabled painter in this seductive debut of art, love and family secrets
Bapsi Sidhwa obituary
Pakistani author whose novels offered an insight into the Parsi community and highlighted the challenges of reconciling different cultures
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup
Aerth by Deborah Tomkins; Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix; Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao; The Garden by Nick Newman
Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell review – a tense portrait of coercive control
Trapped between a controlling partner and a housing system in crisis, a mother in Dublin struggles to protect her children and herself
Oromay by Baalu Girma review – an Ethiopian classic
This political satire of propaganda during the civil war, which is thought to have cost the author his life, gets an English translation at last
The mysterious novelist who foresaw Putin’s Russia – and then came to symbolise its moral decay
Victor Pelevin made his name in 90s Russia with scathing satires of authoritarianism. But while his literary peers have faced censorship and fled the country, he still sells millions. Has he become a Kremlin apologist?
Ask Me Again by Clare Sestanovich review – a rare kind of friendship
Opposites attract in this subtle coming-of-age debut from an American author known for her short stories
Where to start with: Zora Neale Hurston
From befriending the last African enslaved in America to meeting with zombies in Haiti, the folklorist, anthropologist and Harlem Renaissance writer – who has a novel posthumously published today – was a sensitive chronicler of other people’s lives
What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in December
Authors, journalists and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month
Harlan Coben says ‘quite a bit of tragedy’ in his 20s made him a better writer
Bestselling author and Netflix producer said extensive early experience of grief was ‘very cruel but effective teacher’
American Genius, A Comedy by Lynne Tillman review – thoughts for the day
Unfolding over 24 hours, this captivating novel set inside the head of a woman consumed by her obsessions is as engrossing as it is unusual
In brief: Hope; Wild Chocolate; Night Watch – review
The tragicomic collapse of a wealthy family; a genre-busting exploration of the cacao trade; and a tough Pulitzer-winning tale of the US civil war
In life, David Lodge was surprisingly mirthless. Luckily, his wife was a hoot
A delightful but decidedly unfunny encounter with the author led to a train of thought about his comic books
Another Man in the Street by Caryl Phillips review – Windrush struggles
This elegaic novel tracks a West Indian man’s life in London over decades, exploring the emotional cost of leaving home and being met by hatred and rejection
David Lodge obituary
Booker prize-nominated author and critic who was known for his Catholic novels and satires on academic life