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I’m really happy the International Booker Prize longlist is finally out. 

This prize always brings attention to some of the most interesting books from around the world, and I love that it highlights both authors and translators. 

It’s one of the literary awards I look forward to the most every year, and now that the 2025 season has officially started, I’m excited to see what’s on the list.

I haven’t read any of the longlisted books yet, but every book has been bumped up on my TBR and I’ll get to them ASAP and this page will be updated. 

This year’s judging panel is a really interesting group. Max Porter is chairing, alongside Caleb Femi, Sana Goyal, Anton Hur, and Beth Orton. 

With their different backgrounds in writing, poetry, translation, and music, I’m curious to see what kind of shortlist they put together.

Now that the longlist is out, I’ll be reading as many of the books as I can before the shortlist announcement on April 8, 2025. 

The winner will be revealed on May 20, 2025, at Tate Modern in London. I’ll be updating this page as more details come out!

International Booker Prize 2025 Longlist

Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated from French by Helen Stevenson

This book is heartbreaking but so important. 

It takes a real-life tragedy—the 2021 migrant boat disaster in the Channel—and tells the story through the woman who answered their desperate calls for help. 

She’s being blamed, but she asks, why is she more responsible than the war, the sea, or the system that let this happen? 

It’s a deeply thought-provoking book about guilt, responsibility, and the world’s failure to protect the most vulnerable. 

And, while it’s a tough read, it’s one that really makes you think.

On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated from Danish by Barbara J. Haveland

Imagine waking up to the same day over and over again—like Groundhog Day, but lonelier. That’s what happens to Tara Selter, who has been stuck on November 18th for 122 cycles. 

Time won’t move forward for her, and she feels how little she actually matters in the grand scheme of things. 

It’s a slow, hypnotic book that makes you feel like you’re trapped in time right alongside her. 

There’s something strangely beautiful about how it plays with repetition and memory, making you notice all the tiny details in life.

Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, translated from German by Daniel Bowles

This one is a wild ride. Christian (the character, not the author or maybe both?) takes his mother on a road trip across Switzerland, trying to come to terms with their dark family history—especially his grandfather’s Nazi past. 

Along the way, they try to give away her massive fortune in the most ridiculous ways. 

It’s weird, uncomfortable, funny, and sad all at once, and it’s ultimately a story about privilege, guilt, and what we do with the weight of history.

On a Woman’s Madness by Astrid Roemer, translated from Dutch by Lucy Scott

Noenka is a woman who refuses to let anyone control her—not her abusive husband, not society, not even her own past. 

She leaves everything behind to start over, but freedom isn’t easy, and the world is quick to punish women who don’t follow the rules. 

This novel is intense, passionate, and deeply feminist, written with a lyrical, dreamlike quality. 

It’s a story about survival and love in all its messy, complicated forms.

Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated from Romanian by Sean Cotter

This is not your average novel—it’s a trip. 

A schoolteacher in Communist Romania starts out just living his ordinary life, but then reality starts to warp. 

Suddenly, we’re dealing with dream investigators, hidden dimensions, and questions about life, art, and the universe. 

It’s part diary, part philosophical deep-dive, and part surreal fever dream. 

Definitely not a light read, but if you love books that completely bend your brain, this one is unforgettable.

A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated from French by Mark Hutchinson

This one is beautifully sad. It’s about a childhood friendship—intense, full of love, but also filled with pain. 

Fanny, the narrator’s best friend, struggles with mental illness, and their bond is as heartbreaking as it is unbreakable. 

The story feels personal, almost like reading someone’s diary, and it captures that deep, aching love we sometimes feel for people we can’t quite save. 

A quiet, emotional book that lingers long after you finish.

Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated from Japanese by Polly Barton

Shaka is a young woman with a disability, stuck in a care home, but her mind is anything but limited. 

She’s funny, sharp, and rebellious, writing fantasies online and throwing out tweets that make people do a double take. 

Then she makes a bold move—offering money for a sperm donor—which changes everything. 

This book is raw, funny, and powerful, forcing us to rethink who gets to make choices about their own life. A fearless, unforgettable story.

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi

A collection of stories about the everyday lives of Muslim women in southern India, this book shines a light on the joys, struggles, and quiet strength of its characters. 

There’s humor, heartbreak, and so much warmth in these stories. 

The writing is vivid and full of life, making you feel like you’re right there, experiencing these moments alongside them. 

This one is a deeply human and moving read.

The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated from Arabic by Sinan Antoon

What if, overnight, every single Palestinian simply vanished? That’s the chilling premise of this novel. 

Ariel, an Israeli man, wakes up to find that his Palestinian friends and neighbors are just gone, and he struggles to understand what it means. 

This book is haunting, thoughtful, and deeply layered, as it shows how erasure—both literal and metaphorical—shapes history and identity.

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated from Italian by Sophie Hughes

Anna and Tom seem to have the perfect life—cool jobs, a stylish apartment, and all the trendy experiences they could want. But something feels off. 

They’re restless, disillusioned, and searching for meaning in a life that’s been curated for social media perfection. 

This book captures the unease of modern life in such a sharp and funny way, and it makes you wonder: in a world where everything is optimized, what does real happiness even look like?

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches

This collection of short stories is fierce, funny, and full of grit. 

Each story follows a different Mexican woman fighting through life—whether it’s dealing with cartel violence, escaping impossible situations, or just trying to survive in a world stacked against them. 

The writing is sharp and unfiltered and it mixes humor and heartbreak in a way that feels completely real.

There’s a Monster Behind the Door by Gaëlle Bélem, translated by Karen Fleetwood & Laëtitia Saint-Loubert

Set in 1980s Réunion, this novel explores the hidden monsters beneath the island’s surface—violence, poverty, and generational trauma—through the story of the Dessaintes family. 

While the parents grow bitter and disillusioned, their daughter clings to hope, finding solace in books and words. 

With dark humor and sharp prose, Bélem crafts a vivid, turbulent world where resistance and imagination offer a path forward.

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda

In a distant future where humanity nears extinction, small tribes live under the watchful care of Mothers, while new forms of life—part-human, part-animal, part-plant—struggle to survive. 

This speculative novel unfolds over fourteen interconnected episodes in a cocktail of science and philosophy to explore reproduction, love, and evolution in a collapsing world. 

Haunting and thought-provoking, it reimagines what it means to be human.

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Let me know which books you’re most excited about, which ones you’re rooting for to win, and which ones you’re planning to pick up. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the list and if any titles have caught your eye!