Lawrence Durrell's first major work is notable for its savagery and obscenity, but that's what makes it so enjoyable, writes JS Tennant

Martin Sokolinsky's translation of an award-winning Swiss classic story of monomania does justice to the author's poetic prose, writes JS Tennant

Though as funny as ever, Alan Bennett never quite breaks out of his trademark cosiness, says JS Tennant

These beautifully written vignettes of a youth spent in the Berlin of the early 1900s are a must for the would-be flâneur, writes JS Tennant