2025 has already proven to be an extraordinary year for literature. With many gripping novels being crowned at this year’s many literary awards, whether you’re part of a book club or simply love discovering new reads, these 10 novels are essential additions to your reading list. These are great novels to start the New Year with, even if you can’t finish them this year.
- James, by Percival Everett
A thoughtful novel that explores race and identity, James won the fiction category for both the Pulitzer Prize and the British Book Awards. Based on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this novel is a retelling that focuses on the perspective of Jim, Huckleberry’s friend. Percival Everett skillfully employs lyrical prose to depict the intricate complexity of modern life.
- Flesh, by David Szalay
A novel that won a Booker Prize, Flesh dives into the fragmented lives of its characters with an unflinching level of honesty. Szalay‘s sixth novel follows the rags-to-riches life of a young, rash, and impulsive Hungarian. Drawing on humour, tragedy, and existential reflection, the novel is perfect for book clubs in the sense that it invites comprehensive discussions about human connections and choices.
- The True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alemeddine
Having received the National Book Award for Fiction, Alameddine’s dark comedy is a witty exploration of family, storytelling, and the fine lines between truth and imagination. Recounting six decades in the life of a Lebanese family, its charm and narrative inventiveness make it entertaining as well as illuminative.
- Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
A masterful portrait of human vulnerability, Small Rain won the PEN/Faulkner prize. The novel follows a poet who is hospitalised due to a serious illness. With prose as intimate as it is immersive, Greenwell captures emotional depth with laudable clarity and is a perfect read for those interested in character studies.
- The Safekeep by Yael van der Voen
Having been awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Safekeep is an impressively layered story that bleeds introspection into suspense. With van der Voen exploring themes of personal freedom, identity, and the struggles of daily life.
- Code Noir by Canisia Lubrin
A novel that received the Carol Shields Prize, Code Noir offers a complex look into culture and historical identity and is based on a set of real laws that once governed slaves in the French colonial empire. Lubrin is regarded as one of the most captivating voices in modern literature, with the novel praised for its artistic expression.
- Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
This winner of the British Book Award for Debut Fiction is a charming, reflective story that melds humour with a sincere take on teenage years and familial relationships. Inspired by a real-life Japanese murder case, the story follows a journalist who interviews the accused woman.
- Faebound, by Saara El-Arifi
Recognised in the page-turner category at the British Book Awards, Faebound is an exciting fantasy quest that intertwines folklore with contemporary writing. Following two elven sisters who are imprisoned in the fae world, El-Arifi’s vividly crafted universe and characters make this novel an ideal choice for readers who appreciate creative literary fiction.
- Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi
Heart Lamp is an enthralling collection of short stories originally written in Kannada. Having won an International Booker Prize, Mushtaq’s stories tackle the human condition with compassion and insight. Exploring the lives of Muslim women in rural India, Bhasthi’s translation makes this novel ideal for readers looking to explore literature in translation.
- Sátántangó by László Krasznahorkai
Although it is not tied to a specific novel prize, László Krasznahorkai, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is celebrated for his entire body of work. Sátántangó, having inspired a six-hour cinematic masterpiece, is one of his more famed novels. Focusing on a few inhabitants dwelling in an isolated hamlet, the novel shows off his signature long-sentence style and bleakly humorous exploration of society.
