African Psycho by Alain Mabanckou
Natalie Haynes is unimpressed by an African murder mystery
Culture
Villages of Vision: A Study of Strange Utopias by Gillian Darley
Ken Worpole visits utopian villages with Gillian Darley
Death at Intervals by José Saramago
Philip Womack admires another fable from Nobel Laureate José Saramago
Counterknowledge by Damian Thomson
AC Grayling reviews a Catholic attack on nonsense
Capture the moment
Truth, immediacy, humanity – Peter Hamilton celebrates the work of two major photographers
Watching David Attenborough: Laurie Taylor talks to the renowned naturalist
Laurie Taylor turns the microscope on to the man who’s brought us life on earth, in the freezer, under the oceans and in the undergrowth
Nightmare before Christmas
When Robin Ince was invited onto TV to debate the "de-Christianisation" of Christmas, the flawed arguments of Vanessa Feltz and Stephen Green were enough to leave him foaming at the…
For Christ’s sake, it’s Christmas
An invitation from our editor to go for a "Winterval" drink left Michael Bywater hung up on semantics
Offend who you like, just don’t mention religion
On the stand-up circuit disabled people are fair game. Yet mocking God can get you banned, says Christina Martin
End game: Bursting out
Laurie Taylor can't contain himself