Paperbacks

William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies John Carey Faber, £10.99It's uplifting to discover that William Golding took Lord of the Flies(1954) to every publisher in London before Faber pulled it out of the rejection pile.

The book became a sensation, making him a "literary superstar" and Nobel laureate. In this first ever biography of Golding, John Carey unearths the private life of the man: his unsung and less-known works, his fantasies, thought processes and inner torments. When he began writing, Golding was a provincial schoolteacher with a powerful imagination. He was disquieted by his success, describing royalties as "Monopoly money". Fighting in the second World War gave him a bleak view of mankind, and he likened the barbarity of Lord of the Fliesto Nazism as to Darwinism. Although this book's 521 pages could have done with an edit, Carey's experience as a biographer and historian, and the font of Golding's personal writings he drew from, mean he combines grim hilarity and anecdote with sensitivity for a man who thought himself a monster. Maggie Armstrong

Race of a Lifetime: John Heilemann Mark Halperin Penguin , £9.99

"I'm sick of politics as usual. We need Barack Obama," said Oprah Winfrey in December 2007 – and over the next year the public came to agree. Yet, in this fly-on-the-wall account of the Obama campaign – and, indeed, the doomed campaigns of the various other presidential hopefuls – it is clear that the One enjoyed a lot of luck along the way. The increasingly megalomaniacal narcissism of John Edwards, the chaotic internal bickering within "Hillaryland", the astonishingly ad-hoc choice of Sarah Palin for the vice-presidential slot on John McCain's ticket all seemed to leave Obama as the only one with even a chance. Nonetheless, the details of each candidate's trials are ruthlessly exposed by the authors, both of whom are acclaimed political journalists. This reads like a fictional political thriller, lurid and gossipy in the extreme. Absolutely gripping. Sebastian Clare

The Island that Dared: Journeys in Cuba Dervla Murphy Eland, £12.99

Dervla Murphy is no ordinary grandmother. Well known as a solo traveller, she decides it is time her granddaughters were introduced to some "real travelling", and so plans a two-month trip to Cuba with "the Trio" – all of whom are under 10. The resultant account combines vivid description, insightful commentary and a wealth of historical detail with a sensitive depiction of the children's excitement at a new world discovered. Few concessions are made to youth: they trek for miles through semitropical countryside, camp rough on isolated beaches and roam freely in modern urban environments. Later Murphy returns alone to explore, with respect and sensitivity, the contradictions inherent in Castro's Cuba – a country in which foreigners need a security pass to visit a university but in which no one goes hungry or homeless. By journey's end the reader is as reluctant to return to the "globalised disposable world" as she is. Freya McClements

Closing Time Joe Queenan Picador, £8.99

Joe Queenan is best known for his hilariously acerbic film writing, but here he turns his attention to his own deeply dysfunctional family. Growing up in a traditional working-class Irish-American household in Philadelphia, Queenan led a life dominated by his overbearing and violent alcoholic father. This funny, angry and beautifully written book tells the story of how Queenan escaped this dismal world while never forgetting his roots. Anyone expecting a touching story of familial love conquering all will be disappointed; although the young Joe was supported on his journey by several father figures, his own father never really redeemed himself. "I never wanted a surrogate father; I wanted the real thing," writes Queenan. "I did not get my wish, nor did he, for whatever he wanted in a son, I was not it." Always utterly unsentimental, Queenan writes with compassion and black humour, and the result is an unmissable memoir. Anna Carey

The Confessions of Edward Day Valerie Martin Phoenix, £7.99

Valerie Martin's novel is the story of a struggling actor, Edward Day, who is saved from drowning by a fellow actor, Guy Margate. Edward spends the rest of the novel haunted by his saviour as the two struggle for the love of another actor, Madeline. Edward's chief trait is his self-absorption, which makes Oscar Wilde's Dorian Graythe obvious basis for this character, but that is where the comparison with Wilde's work ends. Martin's prose is plain, and the repeated references to Stanislavsky, Chekov and Shakespeare lack any sense of subtly or nuance – all of this, it should be added, mirrors Edward's character but ultimately bores the reader. Towards the end of his confession Edward tells the reader that "actors are such a self-absorbed and narcissistic lot, they're unlikely to make good narrators". He's right. They don't. Martin should have listened to her own character's advice. Ian McCourt