The 20 best books of 2024
The New Statesman’s choice of the year’s essential fiction and non-fiction.
ByFiction reviews
Discover the best contemporary literature with the New Statesman’s expert reviews. From debut novels to short stories and literary veterans, get inspired here.
Anthony Burgess’s Napoleon complex
In Napoleon Symphony, the life of the French statesman was transformed into a virtuoso romp that still dazzles 50 years…
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James Lee Burke’s garden of good and evil
Over 24 novels, the bruised Louisiana detectives Robicheaux and Purcel have become one of crime writing’s great partnerships.
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The making of Barbara Kingsolver
In Holding the Line, the author’s newly republished account of the 1983 Arizona miners’ strike, the novelist and the reporter…
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The resurrection of John le Carré
In Karla’s Choice the late spy novelist’s son Nick Harkaway has revived George Smiley – but he cannot match the…
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Sally Rooney’s adventures in style
In Intermezzo, the Irish writer swaps polished wit and graphic sex for something deeper, messier and more mature.
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Janet Frame’s asylum dreams
The New Zealand author, born 100 years ago, was both tormented and inspired by her experience of mental illness.
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Romance on the run in the Old West
Kevin Barry’s new novel The Heart in Winter sets passion against violence on the brutal American frontier.
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The insular world of Rachel Cusk
The novelist’s fans revere her ruthless restraint – but in Parade it leads to a narrative dead end.
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Colm Tóibín’s genre trouble
The Brooklyn sequel Long Island is a rich tale of secrets and betrayal. Is it more than a romance novel?
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Alba de Céspedes’s life of resistance
Informed by the novelist’s fight against Fascism in Italy, Her Side of the Story is a remarkable investigation into selfhood.
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Stephen King’s Carrie and the horror of girlhood
The triumph of the writer’s debut novel, published 50 years ago, is its understanding of a teenage girl’s destructive anger.
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From Lyndsey Stonebridge to Sophie Elmhirst: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Spent Light by Lara Pawson and Moral AI And How We Get There.
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From Philip Ball to Rachael Allen: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring My Friends by Hisham Matar and Veiled Threat by Nadeine Asbal.
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The Wizard of the Kremlin takes us inside the mind of Putin’s spin-master
Giuliano da Empoli’s fictionalised portrait of Vladislav Surkov dramatises the birth of the post-truth world.
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From Bettany Hughes to Aniefiok Ekpoudom: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Our Moon by Rebecca Boyle and Trapped in History by Nicholas Rankin.
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2024: The year in fiction
This year’s books highlights include new works from Kevin Barry, Sarah Perry and Ali Smith.
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From Nathalie Olah to Stephen Marche: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Alexandria by Islam Issa and The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada.
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Karl Ove Knausgaard’s thought experiment
The Norwegian novelist doesn’t just want to show his characters’ inner lives, he wants us to take leave of our…
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From Naomi Alderman to Francis Spufford: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Revolutionary Temper by Richard Darnton and The Wisdom of Sheep by Rosamund Young.
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