Charlotte Griffiths rummages through the Booker Prize 2025 longlist for some gripping reads
Endling by Maria Reva
Endling by Maria Reva
At first, scientist Yeva only got involved with the so-called ‘romance tours’ to fund her research. Her beauty and skill at hosting western men who’d been bussed into Ukraine in search of love made this an easy way of raising much-needed cash for her mobile lab and its inhabitants: 276 endangered snails.
Then, eighteen-year-old Nastia, who’d infiltrated the romance tours in an effort to bring the global bridal industry down from the inside, thinks Yeva’s lab would be the perfect vehicle for abducting a set of ‘bachelors’ – men who come from across the world to try their luck with Kyiv’s legendarily beautiful women. But suddenly, it’s two days since the Russians have invaded the country, and Yeva and Nastia don’t know that everything is about to change.
The titular ‘endlings’ are creatures that are the last of their kind, doomed to live out their days hopelessly alone, without any possibility of reproduction or salvation. Yeva, however, finds a note of hope and is determined to unite her snails with potential partners, no matter the danger to herself or the occupants of her lab. A stunningly smart, unforgettable novel which uncomfortably prods at your expectations, and effortlessly demonstrates the real, everyday, all-too-human cost of global conflict.
Universality by Natasha Brown
Universality by Natasha Brown
This is only Brown’s second novel after her brilliant debut Assembly published four years ago, and following the first’s example, it’s slim, satirical and spares no punches.
Universality opens with a newspaper-style account of a surreal attack on a man named Pegasus, who was almost bludgeoned to death with a solid-gold bar in the middle of a lockdown rave on a farm, where he was leading a revolutionary commune. We then meet Hannah, the formerly struggling journalist who crafted the viral longread, as she hosts a dinner party to celebrate the article being optioned for TV. But her ‘friends’ aren’t as celebratory as she might have hoped. Next to enter the story is Richard, the farm’s landlord who has had his life turned upside down by the article’s success; and finally, the unforgettable character of Miriam ‘Lenny’ Leonard, an acerbic columnist who has just started at The Observer after a long tenure at The Telegraph – and has plenty to say on that and all subjects.
This non-linear narrative is a sideways look at truth, exploring how words can bend it, and the danger of trusting those in positions of power, especially in the media. Magnificent stuff.
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Our main character is a professional actor, currently rehearsing her newest role. We join her as she meets the young and enigmatic Xavier for lunch in New York, who may or may not be her son. However, saying much more about this tense and unpredictable book risks revealing the twists and turns expertly presented by Kitamura’s well-crafted prose.
This is a novel of two distinct halves, each offering a different take on its events. However, rather than struggling to establish which is the ‘real’ story, the best way through is to accept that truth is sometimes fiction, and to strap in and enjoy the ensuing rollercoaster ride.
As the title suggests, the book plays with ideas of performance both on and off the stage, exploring the impact of the stories we tell about our choices and the details we revealingly leave out. Psychologically searching and packed with detail, this character-driven novel is an intense and memorable experience, not to be missed.
Booker brilliance
Catch up on some of the many worthy prizewinners of the past…
Milkman by Anna Burns
Written wholly in vernacular with few paragraph breaks, this experimental novel is better read aloud. It follows a nameless 18-year-old girl through the divided society of 70s Northern Ireland, as she tries to throw off the attentions of an older, more powerful man known as ‘the milkman’.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
A surreal, satirical adventure through Sri Lanka’s underworld. Photographer Maali Almeida has woken up dead, and his ghost has seven nights to lead his friends to hidden photos that, he hopes, will change Sri Lanka’s destiny. Once read, never forgotten.
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
At the end of her life, 76-year-old historian Claudia decides to write a history of the world, but ends up telling her own life story – jumping through time, memories and between viewpoints. Small but spellbinding, it was a Golden Booker nominee, one of the best of the prize’s first 50 years.
Check out October’s Book Club and the literary masterpieces that celebrate Black History Month 2025
