Interviewer

Cal Flyn, Deputy Editor
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn is a writer from the Highlands of Scotland.
Her latest book, Islands of Abandonment—about the ecology and psychology of abandoned places—is out now. It has been shortlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize, the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, the British Academy Book Prize, and for the title of Scottish Nonfiction Book of the Year.
At Five Books, she interviews on subjects including literary fiction and nonfiction, psychology, nature, environment, and science fiction.
Interviews by Cal Flyn
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1
Tomb of Sand
by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell -
2
Cursed Bunny
by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur -
3
A New Name: Septology VI-VII
by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls -
4
Heaven
by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd -
5
The Books of Jacob: A Novel
by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft -
6
Elena Knows
by Claudia Piñeiro, translated by Frances Riddle
The Best of World Literature: The 2022 International Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Frank Wynne
The Best of World Literature: The 2022 International Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Frank Wynne
The International Booker Prize celebrates the best fiction in translation published over the previous year. Frank Wynne, acclaimed translator and chair of the 2022 judging panel, tells Five Books about the six novels that made the shortlist, and reminds readers that world literature need not be tough, consumed only in the interests of self-improvement—but is often joyful, surprising and full of feeling.
The Best Historical Fiction: The 2022 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Elizabeth Laird
Every year, the Walter Scott Prize highlights the best new historical novels. In 2022, the shortlist comprises four fantastic works of historical fiction that immerse the reader in the past—from 16th-century Scotland to 1920s Trinidad—while confronting universal human dramas we still struggle with today. Elizabeth Laird, one of the judges, talks us through their choices this year.
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1
The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod
by Henry Beston -
2
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
by Annie Dillard -
3
Findings
by Kathleen Jamie -
4
Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australians and the Birth of Agriculture
by Bruce Pascoe -
5
A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species
by Rob Dunn
The best books on Natural History, recommended by David George Haskell
The best books on Natural History, recommended by David George Haskell
Natural history can offer a “portal into wonder and astonishment,” says David George Haskell, the biologist and award-winning author of nonfiction works including Sounds Wild and Broken and The Forest Unseen. But natural history books, in the past, have also been guilty of reinforcing prejudices. Here he recommends five natural history books that celebrate the diversity of life.
The Best Near-Future Dystopias, recommended by Rosa Rankin-Gee
Books featuring dystopian or post-apocalyptic themes offer us an opportunity to study human nature outside of the normal structure of society, says Rosa Rankin-Gee, author of the acclaimed novel Dreamland. Here, she recommends five other books featuring a near-future dystopia, all of which explore a societal or cultural unraveling through beautiful prose.
Literary Horror Books, recommended by Sue Rainsford
The most unnerving and disturbing novels are often those books that leave room for interpretation and uncertainty. Here, the acclaimed Irish novelist Sue Rainsford selects five frightening works of literary horror, by authors who are masters of the unsettling implication—because nothing is quite so scary as what you dream up to fill the voids.
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1
Political Community in the North Atlantic Area
by Karl Deutsch et al -
2
The Third World War: August 1985
by John Hackett -
3
Defense of the West: Transatlantic Security from Truman to Trump
by Stanley R Sloan -
4
Why NATO Endures
by Wallace J Thies -
5
Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate
by M E Sarotte
The best books on NATO, recommended by Mark Webber
The best books on NATO, recommended by Mark Webber
With all eyes on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s a good time to educate yourself on the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in post-war Europe. Here, University of Birmingham political scientist Mark Webber offers five book recommendations on the history, aims and ideals of NATO.
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1
The Inheritors
by William Golding, with a foreword by Ben Okri -
2
The Spire
by William Golding, with a foreword by Benjamin Myers -
3
Darkness Visible
by William Golding, with a foreword by Nicola Barker -
4
Rites of Passage
by William Golding, with a foreword by Annie Proulx -
5
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding, with a foreword by Stephen King
The Best William Golding Books, recommended by Judy Golding
The Best William Golding Books, recommended by Judy Golding
The Nobel laureate William Golding is best known for his novel Lord of the Flies, in which a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island revert to savagery. But he was a prolific writer who produced eleven further novels, including the Booker Prize-winning Rites of Passage. Here, his daughter and manager of his literary estate Judy Golding selects five of William Golding’s key texts, including The Inheritors—the book he felt to be his best work.
The Best Tudor Historical Fiction, recommended by Alison Weir
The Tudor dynasty, which ruled England from 1485 to 1603, has been the focus of extraordinary public attention in recent years, thanks to the success of books like Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and the lavish television drama The Tudors, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. We asked Alison Weir, the author of many bestselling factual and novelistic books on the period, to recommend her favourite works of Tudor historical fiction.
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1
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
by Javier Marías & Margaret Jull Costa (translator) -
2
2666
by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer -
3
Honeymoon
by Patrick Modiano, translated by Barbara Wright -
4
Hurricane Season
by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes -
5
A Perfect Spy
by John le Carré
The Best Literary Thrillers, recommended by Chris Power
The Best Literary Thrillers, recommended by Chris Power
For those with a taste for fine literature, but who also enjoy their fiction with a bit of suspense and momentum, the acclaimed novelist Chris Power—author of A Lonely Man—has put together a recommended reading list of five ‘literary thrillers’, including work by Fernanda Melchor, Roberto Bolaño and the Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano.
Five of the Best Works of Belarusian Literature, recommended by Hanna Komar
Writers have been subject to persecution and repression in Belarus, and increasingly so in the aftermath of the protests that swept the nation in 2020 and 2021. Owning or distributing books deemed ‘extremist’ by the Lukashenko government can be enough to land you in jail. Here, the poet and activist Hanna Komar selects five of the best works of Belarusian literature that offer a glimpse of the culture and mindset of this post-Soviet nation, and the bravery of those who continue to fight for political freedom.