Booker Prize 2026: The Full Longlist, Reviewed

The 2026 Booker Prize longlist came out on 28 July with 13 titles. I'm trying to read and review as many of them as I can before the winner is announced — the shortlist of 6 lands on 22 September, and the winner on 9 November. This page is the running tracker: every book I've reviewed so far, and everything still on the pile.

Reviewed so far

• Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman
  A slim, stylistically risky novella that didn't land for me.
• The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
  A plot-light slice-of-life novel that just wasn't for me.
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
  My favorite of the first batch — a quietly devastating look at secrets and second chances.
• Black Bag by Luke Kennard — 4/5
  An absurdist stand-out — the first of the longlist I've genuinely loved.
• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry — 4/5
  The best of the list so far, and a book I'd love to see make the shortlist.

Still on the pile

• The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
• Switzy by Emma Cline
• The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
• The Disappearers by Marlon James — currently reading
• The Renovation by Kenan Orhan
• John of John by Douglas Stuart
• All Them Dogs by Djamel White
• The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams

Tags aren't precise enough to drive this list on their own — some of these reviews cover more than one longlisted title in a single post — so this page is updated by hand as new reviews go up. Check back after each review, or after the shortlist and winner announcements.