Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell audiobook review – the life and loss of the woman behind the Bard
The wife of William Shakespeare takes centre stage in a rich, sensitive examination of parental grief, sensitively narrated by Jessie Buckley
How the French fell in love with family-driven memoirs and autofiction
Matriarchs, absent fathers and troubled childhoods: 2025 was the year French literature focused on family, says writer Anne-Laure Pineau
Ice by Jacek Dukaj review – a dazzling journey to an alternate Siberia
The 1908 Tunguska comet changes the direction of history and gives rise to a weird new reality in this acclaimed epic from the Polish author
Truth in fantasy: what Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials taught us over its 30-year run
The ‘religious atheist’ author held a reputation as CS Lewis’s opposite. But his two trilogies – which came to a close this year – were a celebration of humanity and imagination
John Updike’s best books – Ranked!
Following the publication of the novelist’s letters, we count down the best of his books, from the dark magic of The Witches of Eastwick to the misadventures of Rabbit Angstrom
Palaver by Bryan Washington review – a remix of the author’s greatest hits
From exile to family dysfunction, street food to sex, this stylish novel about a mother visiting her estranged gay son in Tokyo explores familiar themes
Veronica Gosling obituary
Other lives: Novelist and artist who was drawn to found objects for their shapes, textures and hidden histories
There’s a new space race – will the billionaires win?
The commercialisation of the cosmos is already underway, and our current laws aren’t fit for purpose
Not just love, actually: why romance fiction is booming
From Emily Henry to Rebecca Yarros and Alison Espach’s The Wedding People – romance has dominated the book charts this year. So why is it still dismissed by critics?
From Dr Seuss to All Quiet on the Western Front: 19 books to help you find hope, sense and resistance in difficult times
Writers, activists and politicians on the books they turn to for wisdom and perspective – and to restore their faith in human nature
‘There’s a sense of our freedoms becoming vulnerable’: novelist Alan Hollinghurst
A knighthood, a lifetime achievement award and a hit theatre production of The Line of Beauty… the author on a year of personal success and political change
‘From her pen sprang unforgettable females’: 16th-century Spanish author’s knight’s tale given reboot
Beatriz Bernal’s pioneering novel features brave, chivalrous women who ride dragons and her adapter wants his illustrated version to reach young readers
The Guardian view on the rise of romantic fiction: finally getting the respect it deserves
Jilly Cooper, Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella all changed the genre. A new generation of novelists are doing the same and sales are soaring
The 25 best Australian books of 2025
Just in time for last-minute gifts: Guardian Australia critics and staff pick out the best books of the year, featuring Helen Garner, Dominic Amerena, Evelyn Araluen and more
Children and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
Anointing a new Santa; a child refugee’s tale; a dangerous journey across frozen wastes; a YA roadtrip romance and more