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The ObserverAli SmithReviewFour essays weave together into one deeply original story of love and loss that illustrates the power of inspirationAfter a year mourning the death of her lover, a woman picks up her old Penguin edition of Oliver Twist, drops herself into an armchair and starts reading. Moments later she hears someone coming up the stairs. She looks up. "It was you… your clothes were smudged, matted, torn. You were wearing that black waistcoat with the white stitching that went out of fashion in 1995… you looked bruised.

FilmReviewGerhard Liebmann is brilliant as Eismayer, an Austrian drill officer who falls for a recruit in this intelligent, understated film about acceptance The character of Sgt Maj Eismayer is instantly recognisable from every basic training movie you’ve ever seen. He is the tough drill officer who humiliates and bullies new recruits, bellowing at them to hit the floor and give him 25 press-ups. But it turns out that this Austrian drama directed by David Wagner (himself an army veteran) is inspired by true events.

Robbie's rare plantsGardensFetid adder's tongue: a spell-binding plant for February flowersFrom ant-attracting seeds to a foul smell, fetid adder’s tongue is a plant with magical qualities. Robbie Blackhall-Miles profiles a plant that wouldn’t look out of place on the curriculum at Hogwarts Bigelow’s fetid adder’s tongue sounds like something straight out of the pages of a book on witchcraft, or an ingredient in a spell in a Harry Potter story. It sounds made up, but it definitely isn’t.

Book of the dayAlan MooreReviewA short-story collection from the Watchmen creator takes aim at the comics industry and populist fascism in America This collection of Alan Moore’s short fictions contains five stories that have been published elsewhere – mostly in smaller, indie print venues – and four entirely new works. The opening story, Hypothetical Lizard, is a queer surrealist revenge tale written in 1987, while in Cold Reading, originally published in 2010, a real ghost takes revenge on a con artist who performs fake seances.

Madonna This article is more than 5 months oldMadonna shares statement on health scare recovery: ‘I realised how lucky I am to be alive’This article is more than 5 months oldThe 64-year-old singer, whose Celebration tour was postponed by a serious bacterial infection, said love of friends and family had been ‘best medicine’ Madonna has thanked her friends, peers and family for their support a month after she was hospitalised for a serious bacterial infection that saw her postpone her Celebration global tour.

Sexual healingLife and styleAfter repeated injuries, I’m afraid of penetration – but I’m too embarrassed to talk to a doctor My husband has a big penis and every time we have sex my vulva tears. We use silicone lubricant (water-based dried up too quickly) and avoid certain positions, to no avail. That is the only advice I have ever found online and I am too embarrassed to ask my GP for help.

US educationThis tiny, eccentric institution in Chicago was just voted the worst place to study in America. But does Shimer, which shuns lectures and has no societies or clubs, deserve such an accolade? Jon Ronson went there to investigate In a classroom in Bronzeville, on Chicago’s South Side, eight students are locked in intense debate about Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. They’re tearing Kohlberg apart, with justification, as far as I can tell, but keeping up with fast-paced Socratic dialogue about complicated philosophy is not my strong suit.

US news This article is more than 2 years oldT Mark Taylor, He-Man and Masters of the Universe toy designer, dies aged 80This article is more than 2 years oldThe California native also helped create the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in a lifetime working for Mattel T Mark Taylor, artist and toy designer for the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has died of heart failure at his home in southern California.

Emergency services clear the rubble of the house that was hit by an Iranian missile strike in Irbil, Iraq, on Tuesday. Photograph: Julia Zimmermann/APEmergency services clear the rubble of the house that was hit by an Iranian missile strike in Irbil, Iraq, on Tuesday. Photograph: Julia Zimmermann/APMiddle East and north AfricaExplainerIran has launched strikes on sites in Pakistan and Iraq, and the US has struck Houthi sites in Yemen. Meanwhile efforts are continuing to deliver aid to Gaza