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Book extracts

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Here you can read extracts from Booker Prize nominated books to help decide your next read.

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The International Booker Prize 2025 shortlist

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Read extracts from the International Booker Prize 2025 shortlist

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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An extract from The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Solenoid

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An extract from Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter

Small Boat

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An extract from Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson

Reservoir Bitches

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An extract from Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary

Perfection

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An extract from Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes

On a Woman's Madness

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An extract from On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer, translated by Lucy Scott

On the Calculation of Volume I

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An extract from On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland

Hunchback

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An extract from Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton

Heart Lamp

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An extract from Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi

There's a Monster Behind the Door

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An extract from There's a Monster Behind the Door by Gaëlle Bélem, translated by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert

Under the Eye of the Big Bird

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An extract from Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Asa Yoneda

Eurotrash

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An extract from Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel Bowles

The Book of Disappearance

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An extract from The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon

A Leopard-Skin Hat

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An extract from A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson

IBP 2025 longlist

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Read extracts from the International Booker Prize 2025 longlist

A Brief History of Seven Killings

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An extract from A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Image of Damion Searls

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Damion Searls: ‘Nothing is untranslatable. Anything left untranslated is what you’ve decided doesn’t matter anyway’

The Sea by John Banville

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An extract from The Sea by John Banville

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

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An extract from A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler