Colum McCann, George Orwell, new fiction set in Windrush-era London

Available for over a year

Colum McCann tells Mariella about Apeirogon, his suitably multi-sided book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, inspired by two fathers who have both lost their daughters. A soaring mixture of reportage, mythology, poetry and ornithology, among many other things, McCann makes the case for it as a "novel" with a universal message. Born Eric Blair, George Orwell died 70 years ago, but his spirit continues to be evoked in cultural discourse by people who claim to know the true man behind the moniker. With his copyright expiring, is there an even greater risk that his work will be misrepresented for dubious political ends? Is there a great risk that his work will be misrepresented? His son Richard and his executor Bill Hamilton discuss. And for her Editors' Tip, Melissa Cox chooses Louise Hare's This Lovely City, a debut novel set in postwar London about an aspiring Jazz musician who arrives on the Empire Windrush.