Book of the week: The Premonition by Michael Lewis
Lewis once again turns a complex subject into ‘a fluid intellectual thriller’

Set during a sticky summer in south London, this “provocative” novel consists of nine interlinked stories, jostled together like “regulars in a pub”, said Susie Mesure in The Spectator.
What unites the characters is their powerlessness: Harry, the landlord of The Arms, can’t choose the beers he sells, while Gary, a shift worker at B&Q, can’t earn enough to buy the camera he longs for.
A master at manipulating emotions, Ridgway will have you smiling wryly at London life one moment, and wincing at police brutality the next. “There is little plot but plenty of action, and the odd dose of surrealism.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ridgway’s prose is “mesmerisingly” sharp, said Louie Conway in Vanity Fair, and his meticulously crafted novel is by turns bleak, hilarious, chilling and hopeful.
His descriptive writing is “pinpoint”, agreed John Self in The Times, but it’s the people – a slightly messed-up but “deeply loveable” bunch – who really hold the book together. With their constant reappearances and a final story which loops back to the opening one, A Shock is “like Finnegans Wake, only readable”.
Picador 288pp £16.99; The Week Bookshop £13.99
The Week Bookshop
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?
The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate branding
In the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid: 'more than just a novelty'
The Week Recommends Europe's first plug-in hybrid pickup is 'surprisingly agile'
-
6 lush homes in the trees
Feature Featuring a glass house in Texas and a home built for a Broncos quarterback in Colorado
-
Brooklyn vs. the Beckhams: trouble in paradise
In the Spotlight Scion of the Beckham clan and billionaire heiress wife Nicola Peltz staged an elaborate vow renewal – and none of his family were on the guest list
-
Alien: Earth – a 'bold' prequel to the space horror classic
The Week Recommends Set two years before Alien, new Disney show pays 'homage' to the original
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black Keys
Feature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and Weapons
Feature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'
Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War II
Feature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more