Flashlight: A Novel

“Flashlight opens with the mysterious disappearance of a young academic from a beach. Though his young daughter, Louisa, is found, she barely remembers all that has just happened. From there, the story traces the many lives of a man once known as Seok Kang. Around them orbit a cast of vivid secondary characters whose lives mirror and refract the novel’s central questions, from Serk’s relatives who left Japan for North Korea in search of dignity, to the friends and acquaintances whose lives intersect with Louisa and Anne’s lives through the years. As you read, you’ll notice fragments that quietly return, fitting back into the story in unexpected but powerfully resonant ways. It is a sweeping and profound novel, rendered with exquisite attention to detail.” Read more...

The Best Novels of 2025: The Booker Prize Shortlist

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Novelist

“The Wall Street Journal declared Flashlight ‘the first major American novel to be published this year.’ It’s a complex family saga, which spans decades and continents.” Read more...

Notable New Novels of Summer 2025

Cal Flyn, Five Books Editor