The Best Fiction Books
Last updated: September 15, 2025
The best books on Swedish Crime Writing, recommended by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström
The celebrated Swedish crime-writing duo take turns to recommend gripping and grisly Scandinavian thrillers, as well as to tell us about visiting prison – and being in it
The Best Chinese Dissident Literature, recommended by Ma Jian
Writers in China are afraid to criticise the state and society, says London-based author Ma Jian. From the 3rd century BC to 2008, these five exceptional works show how it’s done.
South Asian Literature, recommended by Ahmede Hussain
The acclaimed author recommends the most exciting new writing out of India and South Asia, including accounts of 9/11 from a Pakistani perspective and an emigré’s return to an unfamiliar Bangladesh.
Reading the Romantics, recommended by William St Clair
Who read Byron in his time? How much did a copy of Wordsworth cost? The scholar guides us through the astonishing history of reading in the Romantic period of English literature
Andy Borowitz recommends the best Comic Writing
Do you have to be cruel to be comedic? It often helps, says bestselling humour writer, Andy Borowitz. He picks his favourite comic novels.
The best books on Brothers, recommended by Tim Lott
Novelist Tim Lott, whose autobiographical book Under the Same Stars lays bare a dysfunctional relationship with his brother, tells us about love and rivalry among siblings – and, from Cain and Abel on, the dark, even murderous, impulses that can be engendered between them.
The Best Russian Short Stories, recommended by Rosamund Bartlett
In Russia, it’s often fallen to writers to challenge conventions and speak the truth, says the translator and biographer Rosamund Bartlett. She makes a personal selection of some of the most exhilarating Russian short fiction.
The best books on Modernism, recommended by Alexandra Harris
Modernism is about form more than content, says literary scholar and critic Alexandra Harris, author of Romantic Moderns: English Writers, Artists and the Imagination from Virginia Woolf to John Piper. She tells us about the history of the modernist movement, and picks five books that exemplify or explain it.
The Best Classic Thrillers, recommended by Sam Bourne
The bestselling author tells us how his other job as a political journalist helps with thriller writing, and what makes le Carré, Forsyth and Buchan such masters of their trade
The Best of Gay Fiction, recommended by Edmund White
The author, critic and creative writing professor Edmund White tells us about the battle to establish gay fiction. He recommends five novels where beautiful writing and gay themes come together.
