The best novels of the year so far

Our picks from the first quarter of 2025

THE AVERAGE American reader gets through about 11 books a year. No one wants to waste their precious free time on a dud. So our critics have sorted through some of the best novels published so far this year and selected a few that are truly worth your time (but will not require too much of it: none is longer than 400 pages).

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The best novels of the year so far”

From the March 22nd 2025 edition

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