William Skidelsky is an author and freelance writer and the former literary editor of the Observer
June 2020
Everyone for tennis: sport breaks out of middle-class bubble
Book of the week
A People’s History of Tennis by David Berry review – a game for everyone?
September 2019
The Ditch by Herman Koch review – exploration of pathological jealousy
The mayor of Amsterdam suspects his wife of infidelity in The Dinner author’s largely convincing portrait of a charmed life unravelling
April 2019
Pie Fidelity: In Defence of British Food review – no need to scoff
Pete Brown serves up an erudite, personal apologia for our much-mocked British cuisine
January 2018
Meet the new faces of fiction for 2018
Read the stories behind our choice of 2018’s debut novelists
October 2017
Heather, the Totality by Matthew Weiner review – thrilling nihilism from Mad Men creator
An elegant novella about the decline and fall of a marriage is bleak but captivating
September 2017
Book of the day
An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic review – a neat melding of family memoir and Homer
The ancient classic proves an inspiring model for Daniel Mendelsohn’s gentle memoir about reconnecting with his father
July 2017
Book of the day
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig review – provokes wonder and delight
A teacher’s rare genetic condition prevents him from ageing at the normal rate in the talented Haig’s clever time-hopping fantasy
May 2017
Knowing the Score by David Papineau review – sport meets philosophy
When rules don’t matter and the importance of genes are among the subjects of this anecdote-rich study by a sports-mad philosopher
The Fact of a Body review – a tale of two crimes
Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich’s memoir of a family betrayal sits uneasily with the story of Louisiana child killer Ricky Langley
Granta: Best of Young American Novelists 3 – review
Ben Lerner, Jen George and Mark Doten stand out in an impressive, largely avant-garde collection of stories
April 2017
Book of the day
The Day That Went Missing review – oddly moving
Richard Beard’s account of losing his brother in a swimming accident as a boy is a telling study of loss and denial
March 2017
A Natural review – masterful
Ross Raisin’s novel about a young, gay footballer negotiating life in the lower leagues is gripping, mature and important
December 2016
A Horse Walks Into a Bar review – the pain of the punchline
David Grossman’s latest book – a comedy gig reconfigured as a novel – doesn’t rely on laughs for its power
November 2016
The New Book of Snobs: A Definitive Guide to Modern Snobbery – review
DJ Taylor excels on how society greeted the Mr Pooters of the Victorian era but is less convincing about snootiness today
June 2016
Book of the day
String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis review – the best writer on the game ever
In pieces that range from his own success as a junior player to the sport-changing ability of Roger Federer, Foster Wallace combined a nerd’s outlook with a novelist’s gift for exposition
April 2016
All That Man Is by David Szalay review – tales of love and money
The narrowness of human desire is reflected in the lives of seemingly disparate characters – but do their stories add up to a novel?
February 2016
Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin review – beguiling tales
The award-winning author explores rivalry, and the boundaries between humans and animals, in a collection of her best stories
October 2015
The day we learned our son had a cleft lip
One father tells of his family’s soul-searching in the face of conflicting medical advice, and travels to Kerala in India to see how a charity is changing the fortunes of thousands of children
July 2015
That dreamy touch, the array of spins … the peerless Roger Federer is every romantic’s choice
An army of fans will be hoping to see their hero pull off his greatest achievement against Novak Djokovic
