Two artists withdraw work from Barbican show in row over Gaza talk
Yto Barrada and Cian Dayrit ask for art to be removed from exhibition after venue pulled out of hosting speech about war
January 2024
The books of my life
Pankaj Mishra: ‘VS Naipaul taught me you can write about your country with honesty’
The Indian writer on Hobsbawm, Russian fairytales – and the complete works of Jackie Collins
June 2023
Summer books: Zadie Smith, Ian Rankin, Richard Osman and others pick their favourites
Leading authors recommend the best recent books, from a forbidden love affair at the Western Front to a murder mystery set in Egypt
July 2022
Summer reading: the 30 best holiday reads – chosen by authors and critics
Novelists including Johny Pitts, Monica Ali and Nina Stibbe – plus Observer critics – on their essential holiday books
June 2022
Summer books: Bernardine Evaristo, Hilary Mantel, David Nicholls and more pick their favourites
Authors recommend their favourite recent reads, from addictive novels and fascinating cultural history to a game-changing graphic memoir
February 2022
‘It felt horrific to be in Britain as a Muslim after 9/11’: Pankaj Mishra and Kamila Shamsie in conversation
Run and Hide by Pankaj Mishra review – new India, old ideas
July 2021
Top 10s
Top 10 books about the aftermath of empire
From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to John le Carré, the novelist recommends reading about a vast, anguished legacy
June 2021
‘If publishers become afraid, we’re in trouble’: publishing’s cancel culture debate boils over
Publishing staff, in rows over authors from Mike Pence to Woody Allen, are voicing their reluctance to work on books they deem hateful. But is this really ‘younger refuseniks’, or a much older debate?
May 2021
Indian authors speak out over plan to reissue Narendra Modi exam book
Pankaj Mishra and Arundhati Roy attack Penguin Random House India for putting out book by a prime minister they say has mishandled Covid and persecuted writers
March 2021
Book of the day
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen review – challenging colonialism
Journeying into the Parisian underworld, this powerful follow-up to The Sympathizer is a political novel that masquerades as a thriller
February 2021
The New Age of Empire by Kehinde Andrews; Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera - review
Two solid studies of white supremacy examine how its legacy continues to inform global institutions and our sense of self
December 2020
Book of the day
Bland Fanatics by Pankaj Mishra review – 'Anglo-American delusions'
Versus Niall Ferguson and Jordan Peterson ... a set of essays from a writer who excels at calling out intellectual vapidities but now needs to ask new questions
October 2020
Amnesty specialises in hard truths. No wonder Modi froze it out of India
Simon Tisdall
Forced shutdown of the human rights group will only increase international scrutiny of systemic mis-governance
August 2020
Book of the day
Bland Fanatics by Pankaj Mishra review – both obscures and illuminates
Pankaj Mishra’s insights are often valuable, but these essays on the arrogance of the west omit some key arguments
July 2020
'Free speech has never been freer': Pankaj Mishra and Viet Thanh Nguyen in conversation
Are we living through a moment of lasting change? Two authors discuss Black Lives Matter, the Harper’s letter and where we go from here
June 2020
The great escape: 50 brilliant books to transport you this summer
A vampire in Shanghai, artists on Hydra, and identical twins run away to New Orleans... dazzling novels plus the best politics, history,and memoir to take you away from lockdown
December 2019
England's last roar: Pankaj Mishra on nationalism and the election
Ideas of Englishness have long failed to adapt to loss of empire and national decline. Will this crucial UK election bring about a post-imperial day of reckoning?
March 2019
Paths from the past: historians make sense of Brexit and our current political turmoil
From the American Revolution to Dunkirk, the Reformation to the Weimar republic – leading historians help us understand the forces at play in our divided world
December 2018
Best books of 2018
Best books of 2018: Hilary Mantel, Yuval Noah Harari and more pick their favourites
Our favourite authors on the most outstanding books they read this year
