A novel calls family a 'small totalitarian regime' — when did a book last shake you like that?

An Italian novel argues family can function like a small dictatorship, an Irish author confronts unresolved past crimes, Halász Judit read War and Peace at eleven, and Alice Roberts left her faith behind because of Dawkins — this week's books survey, where you get to weigh in too.

1. Andrea Bajani's new novel portrays the family as a 'small totalitarian regime', shaped by psychological and physical violence — many Italian readers recognized their own experience in it. How do you relate to this image?
2. Jan Carson's new novel asks how you can move on after a conflict when the crimes of the past remain unprocessed — through the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Do you think novels are obligated to stir up painful, unresolved history like this?
3. Halász Judit read War and Peace at just eleven, and says it shaped her whole view of history. At what age did you first finish a truly thick, 'serious' classic?
4. Natalie Portman — with a Harvard degree and an Oscar — is now at the center of Rachel Cusk's new literary controversy. What makes a celebrity's book opinion credible to you?
5. The Guardian recommends four freshly translated literary titles. If you could only take one on holiday, which would you pick based on the short description?
6. Alice Roberts says she left her faith behind after reading Richard Dawkins. Do you think a book can really cause that big a shift in someone's worldview?
7. Is there a book or author that genuinely changed something in you — like War and Peace did for Halász Judit, or Dawkins for Alice Roberts? Which one, and what did it shake up?