Frantumaglia: Bits and Pieces of Uncertain Origin by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

Elena Ferrante fans, rejoice: a collection of her non-fiction writing has now been released. Frantumaglia is a riveting compilation, over the course of her writing career, of Elena Ferrante’s letters to her publisher, interviews with editors and journalists, and responses to readers’ questions. Our reviewer writes: ‘The material collected here further reveals Ferrante as a remarkable writer and deeply original thinker across a range of subjects but particularly on writing, the importance of fiction, feminism and motherhood.’ Read the full review here.

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

Swing Time is the dazzling, exuberant new novel fromZadie Smith. Two brown girls who dream of being dancers form a close, complicated friendship in their childhood. While it ends abruptly in their early twenties, it continues to haunt each of them throughout the rest of their lives. Our reviewer has named Swing Time her book of the year. Read the full review here.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Moving from the plains of the West to Tennessee, Sebastian Barry’s latest work is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language set in mid-nineteenth century America. An Irish émigré Thomas McNulty and his friend John Cole sign up for the US army – both orphans, barely seventeen – and go on to fight in the Indian wars and the Civil War. Having fled terrible hardships they find these days to be vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both see, and are complicit in. Their lives are further enriched and imperilled when a young Indian girl crosses their path, and the possibility of lasting happiness emerges, if only they can survive.

Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami (translated by Jay Rubin)

Haruki Murakami’s passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in Absolutely on Music, Murakami fulfills a personal dream by sitting down with his friend, acclaimed conductor Seiji Ozawa, to talk about their shared interest. Transcribed from lengthy conversations about the nature of music and writing, here they discuss everything from Brahms to Beethoven, from record collecting to pop-up orchestras.

The Permanent Resident by Roanna Gonsalves

Roanna Gonsalves’ short stories unearth the aspirations, ambivalence and guilt laced through the lives of twenty-first century immigrants, steering through clashes of cultures, trials of faith, and squalls of racism: a woman who can’t swim wades into a suburban pool; an Indian family sits down to an Australian Christmas dinner; a wife refuses to let her husband look at her phone. Our reviewer writes: ‘This book appeals to the hope we all have for a ‘better life’, no matter what form that takes.’ Read the full review here.

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers’s thrilling first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Lovelace was once a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has to start over in a synthetic body, in a world where her kind are illegal. Luckily, she’s not alone. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Our reviewer says this novel really stands out in its genre. Read the full review here.

The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler (translated by Charlotte Collins)

When Franz exchanges his home in the idyllic beauty of the Austrian lake district for the bustle of Vienna, his homesickness quickly dissolves amid the thrum of the city. In his role as apprentice to the elderly tobacconist Otto Trsnyek, he begins supplying Vienna with their newspapers and cigarettes. Among the regulars is a Professor Freud, with whom the young Franz forges a bond. But it is also 1937, and in a matter of months Germany will annex Austria and the storm that has been threatening to engulf the little tobacconist will descend, leaving all three lives irredeemably changed. Our reviewer describes the novel as, ‘a tender story from a time of great calamity’. Read the full review here.

Night School by Lee Child

The new Jack Reacher novel from Lee Child has arrived. Night School takes Reacher back to his army days, but this time he’s not in uniform. With trusted sergeant Frances Neagley at his side, he must carry the fate of the world on his shoulders, in a wired, fiendishly clever new adventure that will make the cold sweat trickle down your spine. Our reviewer writes: ‘Like Reacher himself, Child is economical with words, and his books contain an undeniable energy and crisp style that’s hard to beat.’ Read the full review here.

Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today by Simon Morrison

Musicologist Simon Morrison sweeps through the history of the Bolshoi ballet, tracing the political ties that bind the institution to the varying Russian regimes, and detailing the birth of some of the best-loved ballets in the repertoire. From its disreputable beginnings in 1776, the Bolshoi became a point of pride for the tsarist empire after the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. After the revolution, Moscow was transformed into a global capital; the Soviet Union was signed into existence on its stage. Yet, the Bolshoi has transcended its own fraught history, surviving 250 years of artistic and political upheaval to define not only Russian culture but also ballet itself.