This month’s best paperbacks: Colson Whitehead, Britney Spears and more
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from revealing memoirs to entertaining novels
November 2023
John le Carré’s son to write new George Smiley novel
Nicholas Cornwell will return his father’s best-loved spy to the page in a new novel set between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
October 2023
Books interview
John le Carré biographer Adam Sisman: ‘He wanted to make me love him’
The seven best films to watch on TV this week
Milli Vanilli to The Pigeon Tunnel: the seven best films to watch on TV this week
Observer book of the week
The Secret Life of John le Carré by Adam Sisman review – the constant philanderer
The Secret Life of John le Carré by Adam Sisman review – the spy who loved me
September 2023
The Pigeon Tunnel review – inside the extraordinary life of John le Carré
Errol Morris’s gentle interview allows the mesmeric writer to hold forth on how his relationship with dodgy dad Ronnie informed his life as a spy and novelist
August 2023
Top 10s
Top 10 female spies in fiction
Women’s role in espionage, largely written by women, leans less on explosions and more on perception, nuance and explorations of sacrifice – though they still kick ass
July 2023
‘There’s never a dull day amid my father’s words’: what John le Carré’s letters revealed to his son
Cornwell had recently finished editing a volume of his late father’s letters when he died suddenly last year. His widow, Anna Arthur,pays homage to the legacy both men left behind
June 2023
This month's best paperbacks
This month’s best paperbacks: Stephen King, Kamila Shamsie and more
Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some exciting new paperbacks, from the tales of a rock star’s past to heartfelt novels
April 2023
007 meets the occult: why spies and sorcerers are a perfect fit in fiction
Espionage and magic share codes, secrets and rituals and a new cohort of writers are now casting their literary spells
March 2023
Audiobook of the week
A Private Spy audiobook review – the letters of John le Carré
Second John le Carré biography to reveal secrets held back while author was alive
December 2022
‘I did not let Kim Philby go. He gave me the slip’: what an MI6 spy told me over lunch
Top 10s
Top 10 books about the iron curtain
October 2022
Book of the day
A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 review – missives accomplished
An extraordinary collection of his letters reveals the secretive spy novelist’s loves and laments
David Farr: ‘The 60s generation created the most selfish age there has ever been’
In his new play, the screenwriter and author investigates ideas of individualism, sexual freedom and mortality through a woman who recreates herself as a cyborg
Observer book of the week
A Private Spy, edited by Tim Cornwell; The Secret Heart by Suleika Dawson review – John le Carré laid bare
‘The Russian Bond is on his way’: exclusive extracts from the letters of John le Carré
‘Each envelope was a treasure’: how I became le Carré’s friend and reader
