The madness of Claude Monet
Jackie Wullschläger’s exemplary biography reveals the impressionist painter’s obsessive commitment to his art.
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.
Michel Faber’s tin ear
The novelist’s arresting study of the power of music is marred by a clumsy structure and snobbish tone.
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The best children’s books for Christmas 2023
There’s fantasy, folklore and friendship in the best new books for young readers.
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What video games taught me
A collection of essays on gaming confirms the rich complexity of an art form that remains widely misunderstood.
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Lexicon of loss
The history of the elegy reveals how the poetry of grief has the power to trouble, console and unite.
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The visions of Werner Herzog
In creating wild and strange new worlds, the German film-maker reveals the truth of our own.
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What it means to be German
Frank Trentmann’s history reveals how modern Germany found a new moral purpose after the horrors of Nazism.
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Inside the erotic mind
Psychoanalyst Darian Leader’s study of the motivations behind sex and desire is irredeemably bonkers.
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Elon Musk’s death drive
The tech billionaire built a world that he could rule – then allowed it to destroy him.
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The Amazon guide to burnout
Kristi Coulter’s account of her 12-year career at the tech firm lays bare the toxic work culture of the 2010s.
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The post-language world
Tech visionaries may dream of a wordless future, but even Elon Musk cannot disrupt the communal power of speech.
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The techno-optimist fallacy
Robert Skidelsky is right to warn about the delusions of our tech overlords – but his critique of Silicon Valley…
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From Elton John to Wendy Cope: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Tremor by Teju Cole and A Woman I Know by Mary Haverstick.
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In search of the meaning of sport
A new book shows how sport has shaped British history and society – but cannot explain why it matters as…
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Books of the year 2023
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
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The everyday economists guiding Rachel Reeves
The shadow chancellor’s history of women economists raises profound questions about the future of work.
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Bill Gates is bad for humanity
By “maximising” lives, the billionaire philanthropist is making ours worse.
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From Barbra Streisand to Michael Mann: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Peter Cowie’s biography of Ingmar Bergman and Stuffed by Pen Vogler.
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The lies we tell about Joan Didion
The late author may be the most misunderstood writer in the American canon.
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The madness of Burton and Taylor
Roger Lewis’s book about the lives of the married actors isn’t really a biography – it’s a fever dream.
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