The Best Fiction Books
Last updated: July 27, 2025
With so many novels and works of fiction to choose from these days, where do you start? Here, we've put together reading lists compiled in interviews with novelists, critics and academics to help you find the best novels and works of fiction.
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1
Grendel
by John C. Gardner -
2
Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel
by Luo Guanzhong & Moss Roberts (translator) -
3
The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma
translated by Melanie Magidow -
4
Grettir's Saga
by translated by Jesse Byock -
5
The Kushnameh: The Persian Epic of Kush the Tusked
by Iranshah ibn Abu'l-Khayr & translated by Kaveh L. Hemmat
Five Timeless Books Rooted in Oral Storytelling, recommended by Tuva Kahrs
Five Timeless Books Rooted in Oral Storytelling, recommended by Tuva Kahrs
Long before we published books, tales were told around the campfire, or recited by a professional one episode at a time. So why not go straight to the wellspring of literature, and read stories so good they have been told and re-told for centuries? Here, Five Books contributing editor Tuva Kahrs recommends timeless books that began life in oral storytelling traditions from around the world, whose themes have resonated through the ages.
Notable New Novels of Summer 2025, recommended by Cal Flyn
If you are looking for your next favourite read, why not try one of these five buzzed-about novels published in the summer of 2025? We’ve put together a summary of the new fiction books that have caught our eye this season, from the latest, brilliantly ambitious offering from Susan Choi to the most hotly anticipated debut novels.
Modern Classics, recommended by James Rebanks
It’s notoriously difficult to recognise great works of literature at the time of publication, but certain books come to the fore as ‘modern classics’: exceptional texts that will stand the test of time. We asked James Rebanks, the Lake District shepherd and celebrated author, to recommend five books that deserve the label.
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1
The Real Story of Ah-Q
by Lu Xun & translated by Julia Lovell -
2
Fortress Besieged
by Qian Zhongshu & translated by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao -
3
Red Sorghum
by Mo Yan & translated by Howard Goldblatt -
4
To Live
Yu Hua, translated by Michael Berry -
5
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
by Dai Sijie & translated by Ina Rilke
The Best 20th Century Chinese Fiction Books, recommended by Lijia Zhang
The Best 20th Century Chinese Fiction Books, recommended by Lijia Zhang
While rooted in specific Chinese contexts, these books transcend cultural boundaries and speak to universal questions about dignity, freedom, identity, and the longing to be seen, says novelist and writer Lijia Zhang. She talks us through five of the best works of fiction to come out of mainland China in the twentieth century.
The Best Weird Fiction Books, recommended by Michael Cisco
Weird fiction uses the supernatural to throw all our experience into doubt, says author and academic Michael Cisco. He introduces us to five favourites, featuring everything from ghosts to fairies to cults – all subtly constructed, infused with real human feeling, and calculated to perturb.
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1
Whale
by Cheon Myeong-kwan & translated by Chi-Young Kim -
2
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster
by Mirinae Lee -
3
Concerning My Daughter
by Kim Hye-jin & translated by Jamie Chang -
4
Love in the Big City
by Sang Young Park & translated by Anton Hur -
5
The Plotters
Un-Su Kim, translated by Sora Kim-Russell
Five of the Best 21st Century Korean Novels, recommended by Kim Ho-Yeon
Five of the Best 21st Century Korean Novels, recommended by Kim Ho-Yeon
From K-pop bands to webtoons, from award-winning cinema to blockbuster dramas such as Squid Game, Korean culture has taken the world by storm in recent years. But how about Korean literature? We asked Kim Ho-Yeon, author of bestselling novel The Second Chance Convenience Store, to introduce us to five unmissable 21st-century Korean novels.
The Best Political Novels of 2025: The Orwell Prize for Fiction
From a book based on the actual love letters a British prime minister sent to his mistress in the run-up to World War I, to a fantastical tale that takes its cue from the Epic of Gilgamesh, there’s a wide variety of novels to choose from on the shortlist of this year’s Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. The comments are from the judging panel, chaired this year by British novelist Jim Crace.
The Best John le Carré Books, selected by Nick Harkaway
John le Carré—often credited as the best spy novelist of all time—wrote 26 books over the course of his career. We asked Nick Harkaway, his son and the author of Karla’s Choice (the best spy thriller of 2024, according to our interview with spy book expert Shane Whaley), to select the five best John le Carré novels: from the Cold War espionage stories that made his name to more contemporary thrillers set in a world of international crime syndicates.
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1
On the Calculation of Volume: Book I
by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland -
2
Small Boat
by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson -
3
Under the Eye of the Big Bird: A Novel
by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda -
4
Perfection
by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes -
5
Heart Lamp: Selected Stories
by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi -
6
A Leopard-Skin Hat
by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson
The Best Fiction Books: The 2025 International Booker Prize, recommended by Anton Hur
The Best Fiction Books: The 2025 International Booker Prize, recommended by Anton Hur
Every year, judges for the International Booker Prize search for the best works of fiction translated into English over the previous twelve months. We asked Anton Hur, the novelist, translator and 2025 judge, to talk us through the six-book shortlist—including five novels and this year’s winner, the first short story collection ever to triumph.
The Best Historical Fiction of 2025, recommended by Katharine Grant
Every year, the judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction highlight the very best new books published in that genre over the past twelve months. In 2025, the six book shortlist features historical novels set as widely apart as ancient Sicily, 16th-century England, and 20th century Holland. Here, judge Katharine Grant talks us through their selection.