Shehan Karunatilaka wins the Booker Prize 2022 for his ‘daring’ novel – find out more about the top title now

Against the backdrop of murderous mayhem in Sri Lanka, beset by civil war, comes Karunatilaka’s second novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Full of ghosts and gags, the novel dissects the dark side of Sri Lanka’s history and it’s full of energy.

Taking the reader on a rollercoaster journey, chair of judges Neil MacGregor described it as being an “entirely serious philosophical romp that takes the reader to ‘the world’s dark heart’ – the murderous horrors of civil war Sri Lanka”. Once there, the title works to expose “tenderness and beauty, the love and loyalty, and the pursuit of an ideal that justify every human life”.

Examining a dysfunctional white South African family living on a farm, The Promise is set during four funerals across four decades and exposes the anguish at the centre of the characters’ lives. Galgut reinvents the role of the narrator here, shifting from traditional narration to directly addressing the reader – cleverly sliding between characters and in and out of personae. It’s said to be a convincing and heartfelt novel.

Chair of the judges in 2021, Maya Jasanoff noted that the book “manages to pull together the quality of great storytelling and great ideas, with a remarkable attention to structure and literary style”. She added that “with every reading it reveals something new”, making it the ideal addition to any bookshelf.

Set in the Eighties, this is the unforgettable story of young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, who spends his pivotal years in run-down public housing in Glasgow. Exploring Thatcher’s politics, it’s a heartbreaking story of addiction and love. Portrayals of working-class families are so rarely seen in fiction, making Stuart’s all the more noteworthy.

It’s a story that is hard to forget – it’s intimate, challenging and compassionate. Margaret Busby, chair of the Booker judges in 2020, said it was “destined to be a classic”. It not only won the 2020 Booker Prize but was also crowned Overall and Debut Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020, Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives and loves of 12 black, British, cisgender and genderqueer women, illuminating modern British life. It’s about personal struggle but also about love, sex, friendship, joy and mistakes. Evaristo’s powerful prose weaves through different times and places with compelling originality. This unique voice allows the reader to truly feel connected to the characters.

It took the crown in our guide to the best book club books, with our writer noting that it is a “sunny, electrifying, and artfully assembled book”, calling it “a thing of absolute wonder, at once recognisable and inspiring – and fantastic”. This is a must-read.

This eagerly anticipated sequel was published 35 years after Atwood’s seminal The Handmaid’s Tale and answers questions that were left unanswered – notably, what happened to Offred? Critiquing gender politics, oppression and authoritarianism, this is a dystopian masterpiece you need to devour.

It, of course, featured in our review of the best Margaret Atwood books, with our writer noting that it “has cemented Atwood as a master of the speculative and dystopian novel”.

Set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Milkman is told by an 18-year-old unnamed narrator. While she reads 19th-century literature obsessively, she does not care much for the political turmoil that surrounds her and attempts to avoid the unwanted attention from a man many years her senior. Through short and arresting prose, it’s a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. Expect to feel instantly immersed.