MARIA DUARTE is swept along by the cocky self-belief of a ping-pong hustler in a surprisingly violent drama
Avian Illuminations – a Cultural History of Birds
By Boria Sax
Reaktion Books £25
THIS lavishly illustrated book is quite an ambitious undertaking. Boria Sax covers a wide range of themes, from birds in mythology, in history, religion and in art, to birds in the future. A whistle-stop tour of our historical relationship with birds from the dawn of humanity to the present.
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
ALEX DITTRICH hitches a ride on a jaw-dropping tour of the parasite world
Nature's self-reconstruction is both intriguing and beneficial and as such merits human protection, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT



