What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in October
Writers and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the comments
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah audiobook review – coming-of-age saga in Tanzania
Three young people step boldly into their adult lives in this elegantly narrated novel from the Nobel laureate
Last One Out by Jane Harper review – satisfying thriller lacks the heft of her previous novels
The Australian crime writer’s latest is less about the dead than it is about the living, in a dilapidated town left suffocating in the aftermath of tragedy
Heart the Lover by Lily King review – a love story to treasure
A companion novel to the brilliant Writers & Lovers, this delightfully witty tale of college romance matures into midlife poignancy
Where to start with: Paul Bailey
The novelist and poet, who died a year ago, left a huge body of work distinguished by its melancholy wit and warmth. These are some of the highlights
Saltwash by Andrew Michael Hurley review – raw, dark folk horror confronts mortality
This wildly atmospheric tale of a reunion of dying people in a crumbling seaside hotel borrows tropes from cosy crime, but is truly chilling
Zoë Wicomb obituary
South African-Scottish author admired for her first book You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, a collection of short stories
Richard Ayoade among authors in running to have pig named after book
The comedian is tipped for the Wodehouse prize for comic fiction alongside Outnumbered co-writer Guy Jenkin and Sandi Toksvig
The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie – a haunting coda to a groundbreaking career
From an afterlife fantasy to a tale of loss in Mumbai, death is a recurring theme in this story collection – an echo of the novelist at his peak
From White Teeth to Swing Time: Zadie Smith’s best books – ranked!
Twenty-five years on from her dazzling debut, and as a new collection of essays comes out, we assess the British author’s best books
The Four Spent the Day Together by Chris Kraus review – a cult writer tries something new
The I Love Dick author combines autofiction with memoir and true crime
Tigest Girma: ‘I was like – Hey, do you want black vampires? And they were like – Yeah, we want’
The Melbourne writer topped the New York Times bestseller list with her debut fantasy novel – but that doesn’t stop doubt creeping in
The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits audiobook review – an American road trip with a twist
A law professor leaves his failing marriage and faltering career and hits the open road in this Booker-shortlisted novel of midlife turmoil
The Rose Field by Philip Pullman – nail-biting conclusion to the Northern Lights series
The Book of Dust trilogy is brought to a complex and fitting end as Lyra battles the Magisterium over her lost imagination
Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung review – sinister stories from the graveyard shift
Horror tropes meet modern nightmares as the South Korean author takes us deep inside a research facility called The Institute