Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen review – a hypnotic tale of the sea cow’s extinction
This hit debut from Finland is intensely readable, but could have delved more deeply into the links between human progress and environmental destruction
CD Rose awarded the 2025 Goldsmiths prize
The author has won the experimental literary fiction prize for his ‘dizzying, encyclopaedic’ fifth book, We Live Here Now
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling audiobook review – an all-star outing
Cush Jumbo, Hugh Laurie and Matthew Macfadyen bring extra twinkle to Rowling’s magical tale
Other People’s Fun by Harriet Lane review – darkly comic tale of envy and revenge in the Insta age
The worlds of the haves and the have-nots clash, in a toxic friendship between two women brought together by a school reunion
Alan Hollinghurst wins David Cohen lifetime award for ‘pioneering’ novels
Author says he is ‘overcome with emotion’ after winning £40,000 honour for books including The Line of Beauty and The Swimming-Pool Library
Sara Pascoe’s novel wins inaugural Jilly Cooper award
Weirdo, the comedian’s ‘daring look at young womanhood’, is the first winner of new honour named after the Riders novelist, adding to the Comedy women in print prizes
Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z Danielewski – House of Leaves author returns with a 1200-page western
A quarter century after that landmark cult novel, this new epic has aspects of brilliance but seems designed for academic study rather than readerly enjoyment
Horror show: North American box office records lowest monthly total since 1997
Halloween weekend failed to make numbers jump, adding up to the weakest monthly performance – other than during the pandemic – for three decades
Mushroom tapes, erotic Greek myths and joyful Thai cooking: the best Australian books out in November
Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on
Queen Esther by John Irving review – a disappointing companion to The Cider House Rules
The once-great author revisits St Cloud’s orphanage all too briefly, in a novel that begins with an adopted girl but wanders all over the place
‘It’s not just a book, it’s a window to my soul’: why we’re in love with literary angst
Why did an obscure Dostoevsky novella sell 100,000 copies in the UK last year? And why are TikTokers raving about a 1943 Turkish novel? The way young people are discovering books is changing – and their literary tastes reflect our times
What did Pasolini know? Fifty years after his brutal murder, the director’s vision of fascism is more urgent than ever
With mystery still surrounding Pier Paolo Pasolini’s death, the poet and film-maker’s warnings of corruption and rising totalitarianism offer a chilling message for our times
‘It is the scariest of times’: Margaret Atwood on defying Trump, banned books – and her score-settling memoir
At 86, she’s a literary seer and saint – and queen of the Canadian resistance. So what does the writer make of our dystopian world?
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