Book bloggers are perhaps the most honest literary critics of our time. They read because they are in love with books, and they talk about these works to their audience with the same enthusiasm. That’s why the Book Bloggers’ Award, held as part of the “Book Country” festival, has become one of the most reliable guides for Ukrainian readers. If a book makes it onto their list, it’s truly worth checking out.
This season, the jury included well-known book influencers. Together, they compiled a longlist of 35 books spanning a wide variety of genres: from literary fiction and fantasy to thrillers and science fiction. And the best translated book will be selected on September 19 during the “Book Country: Mysterious” festival. Journalists from UA.News reviewed this list and selected the books that, in our opinion, deserve special attention.
“Midnight’s Children”
Author: Salman Rushdie
Genre: magical realism, historical novel, classic prose
Salim Sinai was born at an extraordinarily significant moment—exactly at midnight on August 15, 1947, just as India declared its independence. His birth was accompanied by the jubilation of the crowds in the streets, festive fireworks, and even a personal congratulatory message from the prime minister. However, it later turns out that this incredible coincidence has ominous consequences: the boy, endowed with magical powers, becomes a living reflection of his country. His every step, his health, and his well-being are inextricably linked to the existence of the multinational state, and all his actions reverberate many times over in its fate. The most remarkable of Selim’s supernatural gifts is telepathy. This connection links the young man to a thousand other “midnight children” who were born almost simultaneously with him and also possess unique abilities.
It is a rather profound work about memory, roots, the impact of grand history on the individual, and the search for one’s place in an ever-changing world. The novel won the 1981 Booker Prize, and thanks to its cinematic quality and vivid atmosphere, it was successfully adapted for the screen in 2012.
"
Our Wives at the Bottom of the Sea"
Author: Julia Armfield
Genre: mystical drama, contemporary fiction, horror, queer literature
What is it like to wait for a loved one, only to feel that they haven’t fully returned? After an agonizing wait, Mira finally reunites with her wife, Leah, who has returned from a deep-sea mission. However, her joy is instantly shattered by reality. Something incomprehensible and mysterious that happened there, at the very bottom of the ocean, has changed her forever.
Physically, Leah is home, but mentally she is still underwater. At times, her face is frozen in a chilling anxiety, as if she were staring into a dark abyss that refuses to let her go. Finding herself alongside a stranger in her own wife’s body, Miri is forced to cling to her memories. She tries with all her might to understand, to support, and to continue loving. The author has written an incredibly poignant, heart-wrenching story of love, boundless longing, and loss that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.
*A
Thousand Splendid Suns*
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Genre: historical novel, social and psychological drama, contemporary fiction
Two women, two radically different fates, ruthlessly brought together by a devastating war. From childhood, Mariam was told she should never have been born. Deprived of her mother’s love, at the age of fifteen she becomes the wife of a man three decades her senior. At first respectful, he quickly turns her life into years of endless physical and emotional abuse. Growing up right beside her is Laila—a girl from a progressive and modern family, for whom, it would seem, all doors are open. Yet the war takes everything away from her.
Seeking refuge, Laila finds herself under the same roof as Mariam. As explosions continue to rock the streets of Kabul and the Taliban takes power, their home becomes yet another front line. In a world where the systematic oppression of women is reinforced by law and religion, where nothing but submission and silence are expected of them, these two become each other’s sole source of support. An incredibly deep bond forms between them, stronger than the ties of blood.
*Birnam Wood*
Author: Eleanor Catton
Genre: psychological thriller, contemporary fiction, humor
A massive landslide blocks the Korovai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, effectively cutting off the town of Thorndyke from civilization. For everyone else, it’s an environmental disaster, but for “The Birnam Wood,” it’s the perfect cover. This unregulated, guerrilla-style gardening collective is accustomed to secretly—and sometimes illegally—planting their crops where no one will notice them. This territory, hidden from prying eyes, is their unique chance to finally become financially viable.
However, American billionaire Robert Lemuan has set his sights on this very land. He openly admits that he has his own, far more ambitious plans: to build an impregnable bunker here in case of the end of the world. The eco-activists and the influential capitalist have diametrically opposed ideals and stand on opposite sides of the barricades, but it suddenly turns out that they are threatened by common enemies. Can such different people trust each other to achieve a common goal?
“The
Covenant of Water”
Author: Abraham Vergis
Genre: historical novel, family saga, contemporary fiction
She is only 12 years old, and tomorrow morning she is to be married. Sent off in a boat to meet a stranger, the young girl sees her husband for the first time only at the wedding. She joins a wealthy Christian family in Kerala, in southern India, and will eventually become the Great Ammachi—the steadfast matriarch of an extraordinary family. Over the next decades, she will lead her family through grueling trials, great triumphs, and unimaginable changes that will shake the country.
Yet a chilling curse hangs over this family: in every generation, at least one person inevitably dies in the water. This fatal secret is bizarrely intertwined with the fate of a Scottish doctor from Glasgow, whom the twists and turns of life have unexpectedly brought to India.
“The Ave Maria Project”
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: science fiction, space fiction, contemporary fiction
Imagine waking up on a spaceship incredibly far from Earth. You don’t remember your name or the mission you’re supposed to carry out, and all around you are the bodies of the deceased crew members. Gradually, with every fragment of memory that returns, the true scale of the catastrophe becomes clear: a mysterious danger threatens the Sun and the future of all Earthlings. And now, only one person can unravel this cosmic mystery and save humanity.
The novel has deservedly won numerous awards, including the Goodreads Choice Award and the Dragon Award in 2021, and was a finalist for the Hugo Award in 2022; it also received a highly acclaimed film adaptation released in 2026.
“Catabasis”
Author: Rebecca Kwan
Genre: dark fantasy, contemporary fiction
Alice Lo is a brilliant but deeply insecure Cambridge graduate student whose life is entirely devoted to studying analytical magic and striving for the approval of her powerful mentor. In this stifling world of intellectual perfection, the pressure to achieve is absolute. So when her mentor meets a brutal and mysterious death—one in which Alice finds herself indirectly implicated—she makes the hardest decision of her life. To complete her studies and prove her worth, she sets off for Hell to retrieve her mentor’s soul.
However, the underworld turns out to be nothing like it was described in university treatises. Familiar magic is powerless here, and every step is accompanied by attacks from local monsters and lost souls seeking to destroy all living things. On this journey, she’ll have to face not only mortal danger but also her own ghosts from the past, unhealed wounds, and long-hidden feelings.
“My Friends”
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: contemporary fiction, psychological novel
In one of the world’s most famous paintings, most people see only an ordinary seascape, without even noticing the three tiny figures at the edge of the pier. But 18-year-old Louise, who dreams of becoming an artist, senses that real life is hidden behind these silhouettes. Twenty-five years ago, in a remote seaside town, this dilapidated pier truly became a refuge for four teenagers. There, hiding from their disappointments, they shared secrets, dreamed, and became each other’s sole source of support—the reason to wake up in the morning.
That unforgettable summer gave birth to a work of art that, a quarter of a century later, accidentally found its way into Louise’s hands. Eager to unravel the mystery behind the creation of her favorite painting, the young woman embarks on a journey full of surprises that will irrevocably change her own destiny. The book became a New York Times bestseller, won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award, and was nominated for the 2026 British Book Awards.
*If Cats Disappeared from the World*
Author: Genki Kawamura
Genre: contemporary fiction, philosophical fable
A young, lonely mailman suddenly receives a devastating diagnosis: he is terminally ill, and he has very little time left. All his hopes for a quiet, peaceful life are shattered. His only solace in this empty world is a sweet cat named Kapusta, a warm reminder of his late mother.
However, the devil himself unexpectedly appears in his home with a treacherous offer in the finest traditions of Mephistopheles. The terms of the deal are such that the young man’s life will be extended by one day for every item he allows to be erased from the face of the earth forever. But what will happen when the stakes reach their peak? Is it even possible to imagine that, for the sake of one extra day of existence, he’ll have to give up what’s most precious to him—his cat?
