Benjamin was not interested in the lines between fiction writing and criticism. He instead concerned himself with the recovery of the story, which sometimes resembles what we traditionally call fiction. Photograph: AlamyBenjamin was not interested in the lines between fiction writing and criticism. He instead concerned himself with the recovery of the story, which sometimes resembles what we traditionally call fiction. Photograph: AlamyShort storiesReviewKnown primarily for his essays and insights into the cultural condition, Walter Benjamin also wrote fiction.

Michel FaberReviewThe letter D disappears in a childlike fable from the author of The Book of Strange New Things Every morning, the heroine of Michel Faber’s new book wakes in her cosy bed on the south coast of England. Dhikilo leads what might look like an ordinary 13-year-old girl’s life, but things are not always easy for her. Dhikilo was born in Somaliland – not Somalia, as she must repeatedly insist – and adopted by Ruth and Malcolm when she was just a year old.

ArtFrom glimpses of Concorde to the sea seen through a lighthouse prism – artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans and Tacita Dean describe how they select and crop landscapesWolfgang Tillmans Concorde GridWhen I embarked on making these pictures, I didn't ask BA or Heathrow airport for special access because it was important to me that I maintain a democratic perspective about this super exclusive airliner. I was more interested in how it functioned for thousands of people, who were surprised by its presence in the sky (and its roar) every day, who could project their personal ideas and dreams of a better future, of technology overcoming time and space on to it.

France This article is more than 14 years oldFrench mother jailed for murdering three of her babiesThis article is more than 14 years old Veronique Courjault admits triple infanticide Two bodies stored in freezer, one burned in fireplaceA French court has convicted a woman of murdering three of her newborn children and sentenced her to eight years in prison. Veronique Courjault, 41, had been accused of killing the babies then burning one of the bodies and stashing two others in a freezer.

The ObserverAutobiography and memoirReviewThe veteran actor’s pragmatism, generosity and wit are to the fore in these reflections on her career – and there’s plenty of room for rude anecdotes “All I ever wanted to do was play Shakespeare, nothing else. It was a kind of zenith for me,” says Judi Dench, discussing her first professional role (Ophelia with the Old Vic) straight out of drama school in 1957. Despite the book’s jokily disparaging subtitle – “the man who pays the rent” is how Dench and her late husband,Michael Williams, used to refer to the Bard when they both worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1970s – her passion for Shakespeare shines through every conversation reproduced here.