The confessions of Pope Francis
Can Hope, his autobiographical meditations on migration, sexuality and war, assuage a Catholic church in crisis?
ByBook reviews
Read all the latest book reviews from the New Statesman and discover the best novels, non-fiction, essays and biographies. If you’re looking for something more specific, explore our sections dedicated to politics books and history books.
Elsa Morante’s wild, compelling fiction
This vivid story of class and family by the rediscovered Italian novelist was where Elena Ferrante “discovered what literature can…
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Lessons from the afterlife
In A Second Act, intensive care doctor Matt Morgan collects stories from patients who returned from death. Can they teach…
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From Rochelle Gurstein to Philippa Found: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Pub by Philip Howell and Runaway Horses by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini.
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Brian Close: cricket’s hard man
Stephen Chalke’s book One Hell of a Life shows there have been few braver or more idiosyncratic players.
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James Salter’s machismo myth
The all-action American novelist is praised for his virile heroics – but it was his instinct for “the feminine” that…
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The 20 best books of 2024
The New Statesman’s choice of the year’s essential fiction and non-fiction.
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Anthony Burgess’s Napoleon complex
In Napoleon Symphony, the life of the French statesman was transformed into a virtuoso romp that still dazzles 50 years…
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Joan Didion vs Eve Babitz
Lili Anolik’s dual biography reveals the writers’ vicious battle to be the true voice of 1970s California.
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From Andrew Michael Hurley to Johanna Ekström: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Collared: How We Made the Modern Dog by Chris Pearson and Untold Lessons by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet.
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From Jonathan Coe to Joan Smith: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Eurotrash by Christian Kracht and Every Valley by Charles King.
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In praise of herd mentality
The best crowds are joyful expressions of democracy and belonging. So why do we fear them so much?
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Chris Hoy’s race against time
The Olympic cyclist’s memoir All that Matters reflects on the terminal cancer diagnosis that tested his resilience to the limit.
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Kevin Roberts’s fire-breathing American right
In his book Dawn’s Early Light, the architect of Project 2025 preaches the necessity of burning Washington’s “elite” institutions to…
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Books of the year 2024
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
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From Simon Jenkins to Tessa Hadley: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Patria: Lost Countries of South America by Laurence Blair and What Nails It by Greil Marcus.
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Hanif Kureishi’s interrupted life
In 2022 an accident left the novelist paralysed. His blackly comic memoir, Shattered, is a devastating portrait of an imprisoned…
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Ali Smith’s data dystopia
Her mind-expanding new novel Gliff draws battle lines between art, language and Big Tech.
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From Miriam Gold to Bendor Grosvenor: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark and Recognising the Stranger by Isabella Hammad.
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Claud Cockburn, the original guerrilla journalist
His reporting was fuelled by a cool contempt for authority.
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