This week, the literary critic Gabriel Josipovici expands on his recent comments that contemporary English novelists are backwards-looking and afraid to experiment. Ryan Gilbey salutes Juliette Binoche's performance in the new Abbas Kiarostami film Certified Copy and Rachel Cooke is moved by Channel 4's exploration of modern-day slavery, I Am Slave .

Elsewhere, in an exclusive interview, Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack explains why his band is refusing to play concerts in Israel in protest at the treatment of Palestinians. In Books, we have reviews of new works by William Gibson and V S Naipaul, while Olivia Laing looks at the life of the travel writer Bruce Chatwin.

Plus, we have the rest of the usual columns from our award-winning critics: Antonia Quirke on radio and Will Self's Real Meals -- this week on Angus Steak House.