The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Lale Sokolov was one of 1500 men transported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp from Slovakia in April 1942. Here, he found himself in the horrific position of choosing between certain death, and life working as a death camp tattooist, a Tatowierer. He chose the latter and was resigned to his fate – until a young woman, Gita, appears and gives his life new purpose. Full of beauty and heartbreak, this novel is based on years of interviews that Heather Morris conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig Sokolov.

The Only Story by Julian Barnes

The Only Story is an achingly beautiful novel by one of fiction’s greatest mappers of the human heart. A young man, on the cusp of adulthood, begins an unconventional love affair which becomes more and more challenging as he grows older. Our reviewer writes: ‘In this work, Barnes forces us to reflect on the very essence of what makes a love story. Of course, he raises more questions than he answers but, surely, this is his gift to us.’ Read the full review here.

Lullaby by Leila Slimani (translated by Sam Taylor)

When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect caretaker for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite and devoted woman who sings to their children, cleans the family’s chic apartment in Paris’s upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late without complaint and is able to host enviable birthday parties. The couple and nanny become more dependent on each other, and as resentment and suspicions increase, their idyllic tableau is shattered.

The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier

1932: Ernie and his family have lost almost everything in the Depression. Abandoning their failing wheat farm and small-town gossip, they make a new start on the west coast of Australia where they begin to build a summer guesthouse. But forming new alliances with the locals isn’t easy. Then Ernie’s shell-shocked brother-in-law, Tommy, wanders into their life, fresh from three harrowing years on the road following incarceration. His arrival will disturb deep secrets. Inspired by the author’s own family history, this is a haunting, memorable and moving tale of the search for belonging.

Her Body & other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

In this story collection, Carmen Maria Machado demolishes the borders between magical realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. A wife refuses her husband’s entreaties to remove the mysterious green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague spreads across the earth. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery about the store’s prom dresses. One woman’s surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted house guest. Our reviewer recommends this work as a ‘thrilling, queer, feminist delight’. Read the full review here.

No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts

JJ Ferguson has returned home to Pinewood, North Carolina, to build his dream house and to pursue his high school sweetheart, Ava. But as he reenters his former world, where factories are in decline and the legacy of Jim Crow is still felt, he’s startled to find that the people he once knew and loved have changed just as much as he has. This includes his sweetheart – Ava is now married and desperate for a baby, her husband and parents embroiled in their own affairs. A riff on The Great Gatsby for Trump’s America, No One Is Coming to Save Us is an exciting fiction debut and the first pick for Sarah Jessica Parker’s new book club.

The Whole Bright Year by Debra Oswald

Set in the summer of 1976, The Whole Bright Year is a wry and tender new novel from the creator of Offspring. When her husband was killed as a bystander in an armed robbery, Celia left the city with her newborn daughter Zoe and settled on an Australian stone-fruit orchard in the hopes of a secure life. Zoe, now 16 and passionate, is chafing against her mother’s protectiveness. Barging into this world as itinerant fruit-pickers come two strangers from Sydney – Sheena dragging along her wild younger brother, Kieran. Zoe and Kieran are drawn to each other the instant they meet, sparking excitement, worry and plenty of trouble.

The Cage by Lloyd Jones

When two mysterious strangers appear at a hotel in a small country town, they stir up unwanted questions. Who are they? Where have they come from? What catastrophe are they fleeing? The townspeople want answers, but the strangers are unable to speak of their trauma. And it isn’t long before wary hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear, and the care of the men slides into appalling cruelty. This fable-like novel from Lloyd Jones is profound and unsettling in equal measure.