Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller review – a blend of social realism and gothic horror
In this lurid, big-boned, often brilliant book about a sculptor and a true-crime documentary, state-of-the-nation commentary and gruesome chills combine
Phantom Days by Angela O’Keeffe review – a rich, lyrical story told through the ‘eyes’ of a book
Though O’Keeffe’s third novel is partly narrated by a seemingly sentient object, the result is wonderfully human
Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly audiobook review – smart reflections on love, desire and power
This heartfelt story of attraction and friendship, shortlisted for the Women’s prize for fiction, is sensitively read by Dan Bottomley
The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson review – indie debut on the Women’s prize shortlist
This vivid story of a Caribbean childhood in 1960s Bradford does not stint on accounts of poverty and systemic abuse, yet is pungent with wit and colour
I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder review – romance for the terminally online
What makes this love story fresh is the precise attention to the contemporary environment: the way characters live both in and out of the physical world
International Booker prize goes to novel originally written in Mandarin Chinese for the first time
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, pulled off an ‘incredible double feat’ in succeeding as ‘both a romance and an incisive postcolonial novel’
Offseason by Avigayl Sharp review – wry comedy of a frazzled teacher
Sharp’s deadpan debut reads like a gen Z update on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, playfully skewering modern literary tropes
Smallie by Eden McKenzie-Goddard review – the stories behind the Windrush scandal
In this warm and tender debut, the family of Barbados-born Lucinda must try to document her decades in Britain after the Home Office threatens her with deportation
Who’s in, who’s out, and how many have you read? The story behind our 100 best novels list
Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights. Ulysses or Catch-22 … Find out which title came top, as chosen by authors, critics and academics worldwide
The 100 best novels of all time
The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
Tell us: what are your top three novels of all time?
Find out how we compiled our list of the 100 best novels published in English – and nominate your favourites
Ian Watson obituary
Innovative and award-winning science-fiction writer whose novels extended to horror, fantasy and the Warhammer franchise
Cast Away by Francesca de Tores review – gripping portrait of the real-life Robinson Crusoe
This fascinating novel about 18th-century privateer Alexander Selkirk, abandoned on a tiny island in the South Pacific, becomes a revelatory meditation on humanity
Songwriters on the Run by Robert Forster review – Go-Betweens frontman hits a dud note
There’s little melody or rhythm in Forster’s prose, while the dialogue is plodding and full of exposition
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood audiobook review – a shore thing
A wannabe folk singer’s humdrum life as a shrimp catcher is upended by the arrival of a mysterious American stranger in the Booker-listed tale