In defence of the new Luddism
The AI boom poses a threat to copyright, privacy and human rights – but no technology should be above the…
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.
Inside the mind of Franz Kafka
A revelatory edition of his diaries and a new biography upend the simplified myth of the anguished writer.
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Colm Tóibín’s genre trouble
The Brooklyn sequel Long Island is a rich tale of secrets and betrayal. Is it more than a romance novel?
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The 2024 International Booker shortlist reviewed
From a Korean Scheherazade to Brazilian spirits, the grief of surviving a suicide to the magic of brief encounters.
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The curse of climate brain
Global warming is not only destroying our environment; it is altering the way we think and act – for the…
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From Hari Kunzru to Eugene Rogan: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger and Cypria by Alex Christofi.
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The strange death of conservatism
Geoffrey Wheatcroft’s first obituary of Tory England was premature – but now, he says, the party is beyond saving.
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How hormones rule our lives
From sex to eating, birth to body temperature, our physical selves do what our chemical masters tell us.
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A bloody American ancestry
Advancing through fear and violence, amassing wealth and power, the Blood dynasty embodied the untamed spirits of a young nation.
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From Willy Vlautin to Corinne Fowler: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Bullet: A Memoir by Tom Lee and Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter by Kat Hill.
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What the Greeks teach us about suicide
The great tragedians’ writings on suffering, stigma and survival can help guide our own struggles with assisted dying.
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Alba de Céspedes’s life of resistance
Informed by the novelist’s fight against Fascism in Italy, Her Side of the Story is a remarkable investigation into selfhood.
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From Sunjeev Sahota to Jonn Elledge: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Dispersals by Jessica J Lee and All Things Are Too Small by Becca Rothfeld
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Golf’s wealth wars
The influx of cash that came with the breakaway LIV series exposed the fault lines that run through all professional…
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From Marilynne Robinson to Ross King: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson and England: Seven Myths that Changed a Country by Tom Baldwin and Marc Stears.
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The rise of the worried well
Caroline Crampton’s history of hypochondria shows how the internet has exacerbated health anxiety.
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Theresa May’s legacy of chaos
Tim Shipman shows how May’s charisma-free caution over Brexit made the rise of Boris Johnson inevitable.
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The perils of polyamory
Molly Roden Winter’s riveting, explicit memoir More makes the case for open marriage as self-help – but her logic is…
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How America bought up Britain
From assets to businesses, the high street to the internet, US investors have a stranglehold on Britain’s economy.
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Your fandom isn’t funny
Britain can’t afford to let politics fans trivialise how the country is run.
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