The most-talked-about books of 2023

Recently announced as the winner of 2023’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Hernan Diaz’s Trust is undisputedly the book of the moment. Told in four parts, Trust is a novel of extraordinary ambition and scope, recounting the story of an enigmatic Wall Street tycoon and his wife, an elusive figure shrouded in mystery. Readers can enjoy the privilege of unravelling the secrets and uncovering the lies in this ingenious work of metafiction. Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Donna Tartt, Trust is an American classic in the making.

Described by the Casual Readers Book Club as ‘Our most explosive discussion yet . . . The PERFECT book club book’, Everything’s Fine is this year’s most hotly anticipated debut and one to add to your pre-order list immediately. When Jess, a liberal Black woman, and Josh, a preppy white conservative, fall reluctantly, complicatedly, deeply in love, they are forced to ask themselves whether love can overcome two very different ways of seeing the world. This is an utterly original and deeply moving debut that is totally unforgettable.

If you haven’t heard of Hanya Yanagihara’s million-copy bestseller A Little Life just yet – where have you been?! – then you must surely have heard of the critically acclaimed stage adaptation, starring James Norton, that has recently hit the West End. The totally raw and unflinching adaptation has had everyone talking, with many deciding to return to the source material for a re-read or to pick it up for the very first time. Be among the many re/discovering the powerful emotional story of Willem, JB, Malcolm and the brilliant but tragic Jude. 

Don’t be the last to discover this word-of-mouth sensation that has touched the hearts of its many readers. An intriguing and moving story about a small Japanese café that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time and change the course of their lives, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, is the first in million-copy bestselling series. Once you’ve devoured the first instalment in Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s heartwrenching series, you’ll be delighted to hear there are three more books to discover. 

Harriet Gibsone’s memoir, Is This Ok?, is the book that all your favourite writers and comedians have been talking about. Bob Mortimer called this book 'a delight – very real and very entertaining'; Caitlin Moran described it as 'persistently funny, ill-advisedly honest and deadly accurate' and Lou Sanders lauded it as ‘hilarious and brutal!' An honest, outrageously funny account of growing up as a millennial woman in the era of the early internet – from bad MSN boyfriends to the tyranny of Instagram mumfluencers – join the world’s funniest people in reading this book before it blows up!

Fans of Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-winning Shuggie Bain, won’t want to miss Sparrow by James Hynes, one of The Guardian’s top fiction reads to look out for in 2023.  A powerful story of a young enslaved boy growing up in a Roman brothel,  Sparrow's world is limited to a kitchen, a herb-scented garden, a loud and dangerous tavern, and the mysterious upstairs where the ‘wolves’ conduct their business. A hard fate awaits him, one that involves suffering, murder, and mayhem, but he is always in pursuit of that glimmer of hope and love.