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NON-FICTION
Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum
Originally published in 2024, the book gained a new audience in 2025 with the release of its paperback edition, coinciding with global elections and a rise in democratic backsliding. Applebaum’s critical and sharp tracing of how modern autocrats collaborate across borders through money, technology, surveillance and disinformation reads like a veritable thriller. Its timeliness is almost worrying. A great synthesis of investigative journalism and her deep understanding of geopolitics, the book gathered much critical acclaim, and for good reason.
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
This is what the hacks called the ‘publishing event’ of the year, and its reception in both Indian and international markets quite matched the pre-release hype. With her signature lyrical prose and imagery, in Mother Mary, Roy blends religion, political history, and her own raw memories to write a book that is perhaps, in many ways, too intimate and tender to handle. Interestingly, it was praised for its stylistic restraint, something Roy is often accused of not adhering to in her political essays and novels.
The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder by Siddharth Kara
Siddharth Kara returns with his second deeply researched work after the Pulitzer-nominated Cobalt Red, his investigation into child labour and everyday violence in the Congo. In Zorg, he reconstructs the horrific voyage of a slave ship and the massacre of enslaved Africans that eventually sped up the abolitionist movement in Europe. Kara’s strength lies in his ability to weave deeply human tales of greed and violence with the so-called ‘colder’ issues of economic interests outpacing moral values and modern systems of exploitation.
Speaking of History: Conversations about India’s Past and Present by Romila Thapar & Namit Arora
A far-reaching conversation between two eminent historians, the book examines how India’s past is researched, interpreted and disputed in public life. It translates complex academic arguments into clear, readable prose without flattening their nuance, helping readers understand why history continues to be a site of intense political and cultural struggle in the present. A must-read in these times of contested histories and post-truth anomalies.
Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company by Patrick McGee
A deeply reported work of corporate and geopolitical journalism, the book traces how Apple’s growing reliance on China transformed not only the company’s business model but also the architecture of global manufacturing. Drawing on extensive reporting, it reveals the hidden interdependence between technology firms, labour systems and state power, and the political compromises embedded in modern supply chains. Many critics have praised it as the year’s defining work on global capitalism.
Called by the Hills by Anuradha Roy
Anuradha Roy excels in blending storytelling and lyricism, and what better place to do so than near the Himalayas! The book delves into the author’s relocation to the mountains, her growing bond with the landscape around her, as well as the local communities and the daily rhythms of solitude that she comes to love. This is nature writing at its best, evoking a sense of yearning and guilt, for it makes you deeply consider our responsibility towards our natural world.
Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
A raw and haunting memoir of loss and motherhood, this work emerged as one of the year’s most widely examined nonfiction titles. Li eschews comfort, approaching grief with measured philosophical insight and unflinching honesty. Her narrative has influenced ongoing discussions about how personal sorrow and resilience are expressed in modern literature.
A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey by Devesh Kapur & Arvind Subramanian
A seminal work of economic history, this book reinterprets India’s post-independence path as a unique and ongoing experiment in development. Merging macroeconomic analysis with political commentary, it examines how policy decisions, institutional frameworks, and social priorities have shaped the nation’s growth. It also offers a comprehensive account of the challenges and achievements that have defined India’s developmental journey.
FICTION
We Do Not Part by Han Kang
A haunting and lyrical exploration of friendship, memory, and the echoes of historical trauma. Set on Jeju Island, the novel traces the enduring impact of the Jeju massacre through intimate, dreamlike sequences, blending personal emotion with historical weight. Its poetic narrative and deeply felt character work make it a standout in contemporary fiction.
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A sweeping literary novel that interlaces the lives of four women across Nigeria and the US, examining friendship, inequality, privilege, and resilience. Adichie’s nuanced characterisation and deft storytelling illuminate the complexities of personal and social ties, making it an essential read for its richness and scope.
Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq (translated by Deepa Bhasthi)
This collection of short stories, originally in Kannada, illuminates the everyday lives, struggles, and resilience of women in India. With elegance and empathy, each story captures the textures of community, personal desire, and social tension, highlighting the power of regional narratives brought to a wider audience.
Audition by Katie Kitamura
A tense, psychological narrative centred on an actress confronted by a young man claiming to be her son. Kitamura’s precise, controlled prose explores identity, perception, and the boundaries of truth, crafting a story that is as unsettling as it is compelling. Its depth and psychological subtlety make it a defining novel of the year.
The Beast Within by Rudraneil Sengupta
A gripping crime novel set in Delhi, weaving a haunting murder investigation with social insight. Sengupta’s narrative examines caste, class, and justice while maintaining suspense and emotional depth, marking it as a standout work in Indian crime fiction.
Flesh by David Szalay
An expansive narrative connecting episodes across the life of a Hungarian man, exploring desire, mortality, and the human experience. With formal inventiveness and emotional intensity, the novel offers a sweeping view of life’s pleasures and challenges, solidifying its place among 2025’s most ambitious works.
Railsong by Rahul Bhattacharya
A richly layered literary novel following Charulata Chitol as she leaves her railway township for Bombay, navigating personal growth against the backdrop of political and social change. Bhattacharya’s elegant prose and intricate portrayal of individual and national transformation make this a compelling, immersive read.
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
Set in a near‑future Kolkata, this novel intertwines the lives of a mother and a petty thief whose fates collide over a stolen passport. Majumdar’s story combines moral complexity with human resilience, examining hope, survival, and the choices that define us, making it a deeply resonant literary achievement.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
Quite the most talked-about literary novels of 2025, Kiran Desai was a favourite to win the Booker this year. Although the novel did not eventually win, the sweeping saga that follows Sonia and Sunny, two Indian immigrants whose life throbs with the ache of displacement even while they criss-cross loves, continents, cultures and aspirations. Desai's prose was uniformly praised for its restraint and elegance.
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Much praised for its blend of speculative dystopian sensibility with urgent political and contemporary issues, this was longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction. The novel tells the story of Sara Hussein, a Moroccan-American museum archivist and mother who is detained by a mysterious government agency. What initially looked like an anomaly stretches into a nightmarish ordeal. Lalami's take on AI surveillance and data stealing feel eerilly close to reality, despite the so-called dystopian setting, or perhaps because of it.