BOOK REVIEW / Recommended books

Praying for Sheetrock by Melissa Fay Greene, Secker & Warburg pounds 9.99. A strong and tender account of life in the American South. Review by Godfrey Hodgson, 1 August.

The Last Magician by Janette Turner Hospital, Virago pounds 14.99. The dazzling and elliptical tale of buried secrets in Sydney. Review by Robert Winder, 17 July.

Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser, Harvill pounds 16. Sprightly memoirs of wartime Burma. Review by Michael Fathers, 30 June.

Wagner: Race and Revolution by Paul Lawrence Rose, Faber pounds 20. A scathing picture of the composer's anti-Semitism. Review by Tim Jackson, 25 July.