Hot Off the Press: Out in Paperback

SMUT by Alan Bennett

All Bennett’s work seems to me a dreamy evocation of an imaginary world in which he’d like to dwell, full of jokes and queerness. These days, he seems to be getting steadily smuttier, ever more disinhibited. But more strength to his elbow, I say. David Sexton, ES

THE HUNGER TRACE by Edward Hogan

Edward Hogan’s first novel, Blackmoor, centred around the death of a Derbyshire village. The Hunger Trace shows Hogan’s talent developing further. There’s a village in peril here too, but the main focus lies with the characters. Hogan’s writing illuminates their inner lives with startling clarity. Peter Carty, Independent

I REMEMBER NOTHING by Nora Ephron

Reading this book is a little like being sat down by an older, wiser friend, who hands you a large gin and tonic and says: “Now listen carefully, because I haven’t got much time.” … [A] lively, mischievous guide to life. Katy Guest, Independent on Sunday

EDITH SITWELL by Richard Greene

The temptation, into which Greene sometimes falls, is to include new material simply because it is there — weak anecdotes, inconsequential reminiscences … This is a passionately partisan biography, with only a couple of unimportant errors, and some missing twigs in the family tree. Victoria Glendinning, Spectator

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