Critics’ Picks: The Top Books of 2025 (So Far)

In his follow-up to On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Vietnamese American author Ocean Vuong crafts a luminous novel set in a working-class Connecticut town. A young man’s suicide attempt is interrupted by an elderly widow with dementia, sparking a bond that redefines both of their lives. Kirkus Reviews describes it as “a sui generis take on the surprising and cruel ways violence is passed on across generations.”

Ever wonder why housing costs so much or why we can't build enough clean energy? Two leading journalists explain how we got here—and, more importantly, how to fix it. New York Times Opinion columnist David Brooks calls their vision "spectacular" for showing the "good things actually within our grasp."

Inspired by the true story of Marguerite de La Rocque, this “lushly painted, surprisingly feminist historical fiction” follows a young woman and her lover marooned on an island after their forbidden relationship is discovered. "A work of tremendous imagination that draws on harrowing historical records to spin a story of self-determination, courage and faith," praised The New York Times.

“A sweaty masterpiece... honestly, I haven't felt quite like this about a book since I was dazzled by Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections almost 25 years ago,” wrote Ron Charles of The Washington Post. In The Slip, a teen boxer’s disappearance in 1998 Texas sparks a complex, decades-spanning search. Told through incisive, compelling voices, this debut novel explores queerness, race, and transformation in a changing America.

"Landing during a period of global economic turmoil, this meaty history by a longtime New Yorker staff writer tells the story of capitalism's ascent through a provocative prism: its critics." - The New York Times

“Kitamura’s novels are short, sharp, and deadly. I’m not sure there’s anyone better writing in America today,” declared The Guardian in their roundup of fiction to watch in 2025. In Audition, an accomplished actress and an attractive younger man meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. As the encounter unfolds, competing narratives emerge, questioning the roles we play and the truths we conceal.

In this Tertulia staff pick and Read with Jenna book club selection, a woman lands at LAX, where agents detain her based on a chilling prediction: their dream-surveillance algorithm shows she will harm her husband. Confined to a retention center for "observation," she joins other women also held captive by their own dreams. It’s a deeply human story about privacy, freedom, and resistance in an age of digital surveillance.

In 1938, as Jewish families in Vienna faced mounting peril, some turned to British newspapers in a desperate bid to find safe havens for their children. Decades later, journalist Julian Borger discovers one such plea that led to his father's rescue. Through meticulous research, Borger traces the lives of seven children saved through these appeals, revealing stories of survival, loss, and the enduring impact of inherited trauma.

Inspired by the life of G.W. Pabst, one of cinema’s greatest directors, The Director follows his journey from Hollywood to Nazi-occupied Austria. Forced to create propaganda films for the regime, Pabst confronts the blurred lines between artistic integrity and survival, while grappling with his pact with the devil. "A surpassingly gifted storyteller," raved The New York Times. "[Kehlmann] is a master at depicting decent people making terrible choices, with results that are both droll and catastrophic."

The latest from the Pulitzer Prize finalist author of Swamplandia! transforms the Dust Bowl into a surreal stage of secrets and sorcery. A “Prairie Witch” guards memories like treasures, a cursed farmer’s blessings turn deadly, and a time-traveling camera reveals the buried sins of a crumbling town. "An inspired and unforgettable fusion of the gritty and the fantastic," raves Publishers Weekly.