Surprise package of the Booker International long list so far is Matteo Melchiorre's The Duke (though I'm only 120 pages in) from @foundryeditions.bsky.social

Excited to see this is coming out though it sounds a bit mental (I see you've also been reading older Kracht as well).

Looking forward to this!

Last Day of a Prior Life by Andres Barba

Always a delight to discover a new Andrés Barba is on its way (translated by Lisa Dillman).

The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood Born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, Lady Caroline Blackwood was, for many years, largely known as a socialite and muse. Her marriages to the artist Lucian Freud, the pianist Israel Citkow…

'She had the pathos of those hopelessly flawed objects which one often sees being put up for sale in junk shops. She gave the immediate impression of having something vitally important missing. She reminded me of some tea-pot with a missing spout...' 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/t...

The Deserters Mathias Enard’s The Deserters, beautifully translated as usual by Charlotte Mandell, is two novels for the price of one. The first takes place in a war-torn landscape where a deserter returns to hi…

My latest #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review is Mathias Enard's The Deserters, translated by @avecsesdoigts.bsky.social -
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/t...

1) A Wreath for the Enemy by Pamela Frankau 2) Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair 3) The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence 4) The Devastating Boys by Elizabeth Taylor 5) Old New York by Edith Wharton 6) The Skin Chairs by Barbara Comyns 7) Pilgrimage 1 by Dorothy Richardson

A new blog post today on some of my favourite Virago Modern Classics
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/s...

It probably doesn't help that some of the UK's artiest publishers don't do cover design!

Yes, it looks like this is the UK version. A similar thing happened with Queen - Archipelago in the US, Faber in the UK.

Yes, I don't really see the point of it.

The interesting ones (for me) are the ones which may include new work as there are newly translated stories for Jacqueline Harpman and Eileen Chang (as far as I can tell).

No, it also include short bits of longer books!

A Parish Chronicle by Halldor Laxness

Water Melon Sugar by Richard Brautigan

The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino

Some of the covers for Vintage Classics Brief Encounter series (coming in July). Little information on the titles where they are not clearly already published however.

The Deserters Mathias Enard’s The Deserters, beautifully translated as usual by Charlotte Mandell, is two novels for the price of one. The first takes place in a war-torn landscape where a deserter returns to hi…

My latest #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review is Mathias Enard's The Deserters, translated by @avecsesdoigts.bsky.social -
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/08/t...

The Notebook Trilogy by Ágota Kristóf

The cover for the Penguin Classics edition of Ágota Kristóf's Notebook Trilogy coming later this year.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

30 years ago, in March 1996, I was reading Kate Atkinson's debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. She has written 12 further novels since then.

She Who Remains Though the International Booker Prize longlist contains a number of well-known names, it also features writers appearing in English for the first time. She Who Remains (translated by Izidora Angel)…

Another #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review, Rene Karabash's She Who Remains, translated by Izidora Angel and published by Peirene Press:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/04/s...

Thanks - it's always a difficult balance!

That's very similar to my view - no complaint about it being on the long list but I don't think I see it going any further.

She Who Remains Though the International Booker Prize longlist contains a number of well-known names, it also features writers appearing in English for the first time. She Who Remains (translated by Izidora Angel)…

Another #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review, Rene Karabash's She Who Remains, translated by Izidora Angel and published by Peirene Press:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/04/s...

The Barracks by John McGahern First published in 1963, The Barracks was John McGahern’s debut novel, written when he was in his late twenties. Now considered one of Ireland’s greatest authors, McGahern wrote about a world he kn…

New on the blog today, I've written about THE BARRACKS by John McGahern.

A sad, quietly devastating novel that delves deep into character, raising the question of whether the protagonist - a housewife in her early forties - has lived a meaningful life. 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/t...

The Wax Child is so well written - I love the scene with the king!

I'm just going to assume it will be on the shortlist and leave it for now!

Taiwan Travelogue: The Past Is a Different Country Yang Shuang-zi: Taiwan Travelogue, transl. by Lin King, Graywolf Press, 2024 I think I like the English language cover most, although it is relatively simple – the double window imagery feels…

I've reviewed Taiwan Travelogue (loved it) and will be reviewing the ones I read but I won't read all of them
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I've still got plenty to be reading - I've read 4 so far, The Director, The Wax Child, The Deserters and She Who Remains. Now on the sadly ironic The Nights are Quiet in Tehran.

It's quite weird that all the unpublished novels in this UK prize list are available in the US!

The Wax Child Olga Ravn’s first novel to be translated into English, The Employees, is set in the 22nd century and features such science fiction staples as androids and spaceships; her second, My Work, is a more…

My first #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review is Olga Ravn's The Wax Child, translated by Martin Aitken:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/t...

The Wax Child Olga Ravn’s first novel to be translated into English, The Employees, is set in the 22nd century and features such science fiction staples as androids and spaceships; her second, My Work, is a more…

My first #InternationalBookerPrize2026 review is Olga Ravn's The Wax Child, translated by Martin Aitken:
1streading.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/t...

Yes, I loved it - like you, I'd read some of her work before but it's a different experience reading chronologically.

Greyhound – Joanna Pocock Joanna Pocock’s ‘Greyhound’ is a wonderful work of hybrid literature that artfully combines memoir, travel writing, reportage, and social commentary seen through the prism of her Greyhound bus journey...

My new blog post on Joanna Pocock's GREYHOUND - a wonderful, gripping narrative that is a blend of memoir, travel writing, reportage, and social commentary. I loved it @joannapocock.bsky.social.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2026/02/27/g...