Simon Mayo's Books of the Year

Multimillion bestselling author, Sebastian Faulks, joins Simon and Matt for a chat about his brilliant new novel 'Farewell To Eden'.They chat about the inspirations for the story - which are rooted in Sebastian's father's own experiences - and have a not-so-heated debate about Gilbert & Sullivan. And after being prompted by a listener email - Simon also asks Sebastian about Homer's 'Odyssey' - and whether it is worth our time... Here's a little more about 'Farewell To Eden': Philip Deval, a soldier recently returned from the beaches of Normandy, arrives in Palestine on a peace-keeping mission in the final days of the British Mandate. The Sea of Galilee glitters in the distance as war-weary troops marvel at the novelty of oranges and sun – a paradise that belies a fierce new conflict about to erupt.Some years later, Philip begins work teaching at a school in the English countryside and meets the enigmatic music mistress, Frances Darwood. Over long evenings spent listening to records in her music room, they grow close.But Philip is a changed man, and must confront the secrets and scars of all he has lived through – which threaten, even now, to upend his future.

Journalist and bestselling author, Jon Ronson, joins Simon and Matt for a chat about his brilliant new book 'The Castle'. They discuss the manosphere, masculinity, performative male...and how the idea for this book came from his own son's story of being lured into a mysterious castle in the forest...Here's a little more info on the book:When Jon Ronson received a series of disquieting texts from his son Joel who’d been lured to a mysterious castle in the forests of New England late one night, it sets Ronson Sr. off on an adventure into an underworld of unmoored and disaffected men.As Jon deepens his investigation into the castle and the wider ‘man crisis’ – where some are feeling tossed around in a sea of conflicting ideologies of what it means to be a man – urgent questions come to light. What exactly is ‘Princessing’? Why did a lawn care influencer dress as a baby in front of billions of online viewers, with catastrophic results? And more pressingly, why are two recently released murderers on their way to pay Jon a visit?From the death of utopian factory towns to the false promise of YouTube influencer culture, Jon shows us our rapidly changing world like never before, and the men caught in the middle. A world drained of purpose, of collapsing institutions, where a new era of disinhibited behaviour has taken hold of our online and real-world selves. And as the castle mystery twists and turns into a cat-and-mouse story, will Jon be able to discover its terrifying secret hidden from the world?

Matt Haig joins Simon and Matt to talk about his new novel, 'The Midnight Train'. They discuss the inspirations for this book, how Matt see's it as a sibling to The Midnight Library- and why he wants us to challenge the fears of getting older. Matt talks about optimism and hopefulness, wasting time (and life) on the wrong things and what we should do about regrets.They also talk about the film adaptation of The Midnight Library, which is going to star Florence Pugh as Nora Seed - and we're very excited to see it. Remember you can watch all our episode now on our YouTube channel!TOP QUOTES:'These will always be the good old days!' 'This part of the book was an exquisite type of torture' 'Sometimes happiness has the least to teach us.'Here's a little more info on the book: When your life flashes before your eyes, what will matter most?For Wilbur it was his time with Maggie, the love of his life. Their honeymoon in Venice. Before he threw it all away.Years later, on the brink of his own death, a train arrives. It can take Wilbur back in time. To relive his most important moments. Soon he realises just how much he would have changed.An adventure through time, The Midnight Train is a story of love and second chances, from the world of The Midnight Library.

Bestselling author and Screenwriter - Anthony Horowitz - joins Simon and Matt for a natter about his new 'Hawthorne' novel. They chat about his meta approach to having himself as a character in his books, his dislike when readers guess his endings and twists - and why his writing is getting funnier. Anthony also talks positively and optimistically about the future of books and reading - and whilst no dragons are going to appear in any of his novels anytime soon - he loves the fact Romantasy is getting people into reading (and into the charts) Here's a little more on Anthony's new novel, 'A Deadly Episode': How do you investigate your own murder…?The good news is that The Word is Murder, the first book in the Hawthorne series, is being turned into a major feature film.The bad news is that the director is pretentious, the two stars hate each other, and the producer has run out of money.And things are about to get much worse.In the middle of shooting, the actor playing Hawthorne is stabbed – which leaves the real Hawthorne with no choice. He has to step in and investigate his own murder.Because the killer may not have got the right man. Was it Hawthorne himself who was meant to be the target?

International bestselling author, Michael Connelly, joins Simon and Matt for a natter about his new novel 'Ironwood'. Set on the island of Catalina, they discuss settings, sense-of-place, and how certain landscapes or communities inspire Michael's stories.They also chat about his iconic characters - Bosch, Ballard and Haller - and why he can't help himself write cameos for them all in other books. As well as this, they delve a little into his writing process - and - check that Harry Bosch isn't close to retirement yet! Here's a little more info on 'Ironwood': Sworn to protect a scenic island meant to be far from the evils of the mainland, Detective Sergeant Stilwell can feel danger closing in.Detective Sergeant Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated-by twenty-two miles of ocean-from the troubles of Los Angeles County. But now a threat is coming to his safe haven.Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell and his deputies watch a plane land in the middle of the night at the Airport in the Sky, a remote airstrip in the mountains. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and the deputies move in, but things quickly go sideways. While Stilwell chases the fleeing pickup man into the mountainside brush, shots are fired on the runway and the plane flies off.An internal inquiry follows, putting Stilwell on the bench until he is cleared of responsibility for the disastrous operation. But he is determined to find out who brought deadly violence to his island, and begins his own secret investigation into the drug deal gone wrong.While under orders to remain in the sheriff's substation, he finds in the lost and found a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces it to a woman who disappeared while hiking on the island four years ago. But then why was the pack only turned in two months back? Now thoroughly intrigued, he follows the mystery all the way to the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, and soon realize they are on the trail of a criminal who revels in taunting the authorities. Meanwhile, frustrated at being shut out of an investigation on his own island, Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the department to pursue a case whose reach is wider than he ever imagine.

Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome podcaster, journalist, marathon-runner, broadcaster and author - Bryony Gordon - to the podcast, to chat about her debut novel for adults. They discuss the London Marathon (which Bryony ran this year in her underwear with her good friend Adele Roberts), columnists who don't write what they truly believe - and - people pleasing, which is the central theme in Bryony's novel. Here's a little bit more about 'People Pleaser: Olivia Greenwood has been trying very hard to please people for a very long time.But today is going to change Olivia in a big way. A soul-crushing career disappointment, a fiery young woman with a chip on her shoulder and a cigarette in her hand, and one single blue hallucinogenic gummy all lead to a raucous night out and one hell of a hangover. And when Olivia wakes up the next morning, it seems she’s unable to please anyone but HERSELF.So who actually is Olivia Greenwood, when she’s not trying to be what everyone else wants her to be?

Journalist and author, John Lanchester, joins Simon and Matt to chat about his new darkly comic novel, 'Look What You Made Me Do' They dissect the characters in the novel, explore house ownership in the 90s versus owning property now and look at inter-generational tensions. John also talks about being an 'outsider' and writing from the perspective of having lots of different flags to wave. 'Look What You Made Me do' is one of Simon's favourite books of the year - and we hope you love it too!

Booker Prize winning author, Yann Martel, chats to Simon and Matt about his new novel 'Son Of Nobody'. They talk about The Iliad - one of his inspirations behind the book - as well as how we understand ancient history in 2026, and how we should tell those stories. The novel explores how stories become facts, the price we pay to share them and how we live – then, now and always.Here's a little more info on 'Son Of Nobody' Harlow Donne has devoted his life to the Classical world. When a chance comes up to study an obscure collection of papyrus fragments at Oxford University, he seizes it. Though it means leaving his daughter and fracturing marriage back home in Canada, this is the kind of career break he desperately needs.In the depths of the Bodleian Library, Harlow discovers a lost account of the Trojan War, a glimpse into the founding of Western civilization itself. He names the epic poem The Psoad, after its protagonist, a Greek commoner identified as Psoas of Midea but known to all as ‘son of nobody’.As sole translator and interpreter of the Psoad, Harlow dedicates the poem and its modern footnotes to his daughter, Helen. Under his gaze, the text unlocks echoes of Ancient Greece into the present day, and a personal message to his beloved child appears. Despite the three-thousand-year gap between the two, a thread hasn’t frayed: the universal song of homesickness and regret, of ambition and grief.