Six of the best novels of 2025 – chosen by our literary experts

By Tessa Whitehouse, Reader in 18th-century Literature and Director of Queen Mary Centre for Religion and Literature, Queen Mary University of London
Inés Gregori Labarta, Lecturer in Creative Writing, Lancaster University
James Miller, Senior Lecturer, School of Creative and Cultural Industries, Kingston University
Jenni Ramone, Associate Professor of Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Nottingham Trent University
Leigh Wilson, Professor of English Literature, University of Westminster
Prathiksha Betala, PhD Researcher in Feminist Futurities, Leeds Beckett University

Reading is very subjective, but one thing most book lovers can agree on is that 2025 was a notable year for fresh, inventive, affecting storytelling. Books translated from their original language are proving increasingly popular as readers seek out global perspectives beyond their own, as evidenced in this year’s International Booker win, Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, which is included here.

We also bring you five other novels our academic experts have chosen as their favourites this year. From a Mrs Dalloway for the service economy, to a dreamlike encounter between people across time,…

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