books of the year
Michel Houellebecq’s vision of a France ruled by an Islamist regime is all too plausible
No question about the book of the year: it’s Michel Houellebecq’s Submission (Heinemann, £18.99) in Lorin Stein’s fluent translation. It’s…
Spectator books of the year: Michela Wrong discovered a real-life picaresque tale
The highlight for me this year was the South African writer Jonny Steinberg’s A Man of Good Hope (Cape, £18.99),…
Spectator books of the year: Jan Morris was touched by Michael Jacobs’ swan-song
My favourite book of the year was The Hotel Years, a collection of wanderings by the incomparable Joseph Roth (Granta,…
Spectator books of the year: Charlotte Moore enjoyed Barry’s novel on Irish drunkenness
Common People by Alison Light (Fig Tree, £20) is a shot in the arm for family historians like me. Her wise,…
Spectator books of the year: Christopher Howse was sickened by Charles Saatchi’s collection of thoughts
Wonderful year for Pevsner, or rather for us who use the guides as we potter about. Four new vols: Bedfordshire,…
Spectator books of the year: Melanie McDonagh embraces The Essence of the Brontës
Muriel Spark wasn’t only one of the great British novelists but a cracking literary critic and a lovely essayist. Her…
Spectator books of the year: Molly Guinness on the ‘oddly adorable’ New York dentist
What You Want, or the Pursuit of Happiness by Constantine Phipps (Quercus, £20). This is a deeply eccentric book —…
Spectator books of the year: Marcus Berkmann reveals the only book this year he didn’t want to finish
As someone who spent several years writing TV reviews mainly for laughs, I kneel before the twin idols of Clive…
Spectator books of the year: Jane Ridley on her favourite books about The Great War
2014 has been the year of 1914. In the same way that Christmas puddings appear in supermarkets in October, many…
Spectator books of the year: Roger Lewis on hating Sheridan Morley
Sheridan Morley was an old enemy of mine, so I was thrilled to see him brilliantly denounced and called to…
Spectator books of the year: A.N. Wilson on the British Pushkin
Tristram Hunt’s Ten Cities that Made an Empire (Allen Lane, £25) is a stylish history of the British empire, told through its…
The Spectator’s books of 2012, pt 3
2012 is done. Here is the final selection (published in the magazine last month) of the Spectator’s best books of…
The Spectator’s books of 2012, pt 2
2012 is very nearly finished. Here is a selection (published in the magazine last month) of the Spectator’s best books…
The Spectator’s books of 2012, pt 1
2012 is drawing to a close. Here is a selection (published in the magazine last month) of the Spectator’s best…
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