Books of the year: Berlin millennials, Belfast mothers, crime, and word-of-mouth successes

Social media malaise, moral reckoning, art and faith, crime fiction at its peak, and a quietly devastating debut all feature in Marjorie Brennan’s selection of the best books of 2025

Vincenzo Latronico: His novel, 'Perfection', which  skewers millennial life shaped by social media is a smart, sharp, and wryly humorous read. Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (translated by Sophie Hughes)

This book about millennials living a social media-curated life in Berlin enjoyed a very meta popularity, its minimalist blue Fitzcarraldo jacket beloved of hipsters popping up everywhere on Instagram.