Fiction

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What a Time to Be Alive

What a Time to Be Alive

What a Time to Be Alive follows twenty-one-year-old Sickan Hermansson, a young woman who arrives at Stockholm University determined to reinvent herself. After a lonely childhood in a small Swedish town, marked by social exclusion and a lack of meaningful connections, she sees university as an opportunity to experience the things she has missed: friendship, intimacy, love, and the freedom to become someone new. Just as Sickan begins to find her place among a group of friends, she meets Abbe, a charming and confident young man who seems to offer the possibility of romance and belonging. Yet navigating relationships proves more complicated than she imagined, forcing her to confront her insecurities and the compromises she is willing to make to be accepted. With sensitivity and understated humor, Jenny Mustard explores loneliness, class, sexuality, and the pressures of young womanhood. The novel captures the awkwardness and intensity of early adulthood, asking how much of ourselves we are willing to change in the pursuit of love and acceptance.

A Shipwreck in Fiji

A Shipwreck in Fiji

Set in Fiji in 1915, during the First World War, A Shipwreck in Fiji follows Sergeant Akal Singh, an Indian police officer still struggling to establish himself in the British colonial administration. Recently transferred to the Pacific island colony, Akal is sent to Ovalau, a neighbouring island, to investigate reports of German soldiers supposedly hiding thousands of miles from the European front. He is also tasked with accompanying two visiting European women on a sightseeing trip and supervising a young local constable. What begins as a series of seemingly routine assignments soon becomes complicated when a controversial local shopkeeper is found dead and a group of Norwegian sailors is imprisoned in a Fijian village. Accompanied by his friend and colleague Taviti Tukana, Akal must navigate conflicting accounts, local politics, and the prejudices of colonial society. Meanwhile, the aspiring journalist Katherine has her own reasons for visiting the island. Blending historical mystery, humour, and social commentary, Rao explores colonial power, racial and class divisions, and the challenges of seeking justice in a society shaped by unequal authority.

Death of the Author

Death of the Author

Death of the Author follows Zelu, a Nigerian American writer who faces professional setbacks and personal challenges after losing her academic job. Unable to find success with the literary fiction she has been writing, she turns to science fiction and creates Rustic, a novel set in a distant future where robots struggle to understand humanity after a global catastrophe. The book unexpectedly becomes a bestseller, transforming Zelu’s life while raising difficult questions about authorship, recognition, and the relationship between a writer and her work. As Zelu navigates newfound fame, family tensions, and questions about her physical disability, her fictional world unfolds alongside her own story. The novel moves between these narratives, exploring how stories shape our understanding of humanity and whose voices are permitted to imagine the future. Blending speculative fiction, literary metafiction, and social commentary, Okorafor examines disability, technology, race, creativity, and the meaning of storytelling. The novel challenges conventional ideas about literary value and asks who has the authority to tell stories—and what happens when those stories take on a life of their own.

Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad

Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad

In this remarkable and darkly humorous short story collection, Damilare Kuku takes us deep into the heart of modern Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, and the lives of a collection of audacious women who cope with romantic difficulties by brilliantly turning the tables on the men who wrong them. One hardworking married woman calmly threatens sharp-edged revenge on her lazy, hypocritical husband. Another skillfully protects her own business interests by shielding her pastor-husband from allegations of cheating that may or may not be true. A group of wealthy wives deceived by their husbands join forces in a WhatsApp support group called the Virtuous Wives Guild. And a discerning dater fed up with Nigerian men makes a vow to date only oyibos before discovering that white men can act just as badly. A bestseller in Damilare Kuku’s native Nigeria, Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad is a raunchy, satisfying, and outrageous example of contemporary African fiction steeped in the chaos and allure of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest city. It’s also a love letter to Nigerian women: the women in these stories may be confronted at every turn with liars, scammers, and cheaters in their quests for love, but they always figure out how to come out victorious.

Second Chance Convenience Store

Second Chance Convenience Store

The Second Chance Convenience Store follows Dokgo, a homeless man living near Seoul Station who has lost his memory and struggles to make sense of his past. His life begins to change after he finds and returns a wallet belonging to Mrs Yeom, a retired teacher who owns a small convenience store. Grateful for his honesty, she offers him food and eventually gives him a job at her shop. As Dokgo becomes part of the neighbourhood, his quiet kindness begins to transform the lives of customers and colleagues dealing with loneliness, family conflict, and personal disappointment. Yet his mysterious past continues to cast a shadow over his new beginning. Through the everyday encounters taking place inside the store, Kim explores social isolation, economic insecurity, and the importance of community. The novel celebrates compassion and suggests that small acts of kindness can help people recover their dignity and rebuild their lives.

The Women's Courtyard

The Women's Courtyard

Khadija Mastoor

The Women’s Courtyard follows Aliya, a young Muslim girl growing up in an extended family in the years surrounding the Partition of British India. Much of the family’s life unfolds within the secluded courtyard of their home, where women manage domestic responsibilities, negotiate relationships, and respond to the political changes taking place beyond their walls. While the men become absorbed in the struggle for independence, the women face mounting financial difficulties and the consequences of decisions made largely without their participation. Aliya, meanwhile, longs for an education and a future that extends beyond the limits imposed on her. Through the everyday experiences of the household, Mastur presents a distinctive perspective on a period usually narrated through political leaders and public events. The novel explores gender inequality, family obligations, and women’s quiet determination to claim greater control over their lives.

Guardian and a Thief

Guardian and a Thief

Set in a near-future Kolkata devastated by extreme heat and environmental crisis, A Guardian and a Thief follows two families whose lives become entangled through desperation and difficult moral choices. Ma, a mother determined to secure a future for her young daughter and elderly father, is preparing to leave India for the United States. Her plans are threatened when a young thief steals the documents her family needs to emigrate. The thief, meanwhile, is struggling to feed his own child in a city where poverty and climate catastrophe have made survival increasingly difficult. As their stories unfold over a single week, Majumdar explores the boundaries between right and wrong when people are pushed to desperate extremes. The novel examines inequality, parenthood, migration, and the moral compromises people make when protecting their families becomes a matter of survival.

When the Fireflies Dance

When the Fireflies Dance

When the Fireflies Dance tells the story of Lalloo, a young boy growing up in poverty near Lahore, Pakistan, where his family is trapped in a system of bonded labour at a brick kiln. After witnessing the brutal murder of his brother, Lalloo struggles to overcome the trauma of that night while confronting the exploitation and violence that govern his family’s existence. His parents and sisters remain trapped in a cycle of debt, forced to work endlessly under oppressive conditions. Determined to change their circumstances, Lalloo must find the courage to confront his past and seek a different future. Inspired by the realities of bonded labour in South Asia, Hassan explores injustice, family loyalty, and the human cost of exploitation. The novel portrays the resilience required to challenge an oppressive system and the hope that can survive even in the darkest circumstances.

The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran

Set in Tehran across three transformative decades, The Lion Women of Tehran follows Ellie and Homa, two girls from different social backgrounds who form a close friendship in the 1950s. After her father’s death, Ellie moves with her mother to a poorer neighbourhood, where she meets Homa, an outspoken and ambitious girl who dreams of becoming a judge and fighting for women’s rights. The girls share their hopes for the future, but changing circumstances eventually separate them. When they reunite years later, their friendship is tested by political upheaval, personal ambition, and a devastating betrayal. Against the backdrop of Iran’s changing political landscape, Kamali explores female friendship, social inequality, and the consequences of choices made in moments of fear and uncertainty. The novel examines how childhood relationships shape adult identities and how forgiveness can become a path towards understanding and redemption.

Six days in Bombay

Six days in Bombay

Set in Bombay in 1937, Six Days in Bombay follows Sona, a young Indian woman whose encounter with an enigmatic French artist draws her into a world of art, ambition, and personal transformation. Against the vibrant backdrop of colonial-era India, Sona navigates the social expectations surrounding women while discovering new possibilities for her own future. Her experiences over six pivotal days challenge her understanding of herself, her relationships, and the boundaries that society has established for her. As the story unfolds, art becomes a means of exploring both individual expression and the tensions between tradition and change. Joshi combines historical atmosphere with an intimate portrait of a woman confronting the possibilities of a different life, examining how brief encounters and unexpected experiences can alter the course of a person’s identity and ambitions.

House of Day, House of Night

House of Day, House of Night

House of Day, House of Night is a fragmentary, dreamlike novel set in a small village near the Polish-Czech border, where everyday life intertwines with folklore, history, dreams, and the supernatural. Through a series of interconnected stories, memories, recipes, local legends, and reflections, Olga Tokarczuk explores the lives of the village’s inhabitants and the mysterious forces that shape their existence. The narrative moves between past and present, blending the ordinary with the uncanny and revealing how individual lives become woven into a larger tapestry of collective memory. Among its recurring subjects are the boundaries between life and death, the fluidity of identity, the relationship between humans and nature, and the spiritual dimensions of seemingly mundane experiences. Rather than following a conventional plot, Tokarczuk creates a mosaic of voices and perspectives that invites readers to discover connections between seemingly unrelated events. The novel transforms a remote borderland into a place where personal stories, forgotten histories, and myth coexist, questioning the limits of rational understanding and the nature of belonging.

Exit Zero

Marie-Helene Bertino

Exit Zero is a collection of twelve surreal and imaginative short stories that explore the strange, often unsettling experiences of ordinary people. Blending magical realism, dark humour, and reflections on mortality, Marie-Helene Bertino creates worlds where the boundaries between everyday life and the extraordinary begin to dissolve. In the title story, Jo returns to her estranged father’s home after his death and discovers that she has inherited an unexpected companion: a unicorn living in the backyard. Elsewhere, former lovers fall mysteriously from the sky, gardens become sites of communication between the living and the dead, and familiar objects take on uncanny significance. Beneath the collection’s fantastical premises lies a thoughtful exploration of loneliness, family relationships, grief, and the difficulty of navigating an unpredictable world. Bertino’s stories invite readers to look beyond the apparent absurdity of everyday existence and consider the connections, losses, and moments of wonder that give life meaning.

United States 2025

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