Seasoned LitFic reader – make a rec based on what I enjoyed in 2025

I have read between 25 – 45 books per year since the 90s, and have been pretty active on this sub for a couple of years, often recommending books for others. I have not yet asked for recs for myself so I thought I would try for 2026.

Here are my top reads from last year, 5/5:

Sense of an Ending – Julian Barnes (re-read): so much space for my own conclusions. Was the £500 money Tony had sent Veronica's mother for an abortion?

Notes On a Scandal – Zoe Heller: narrator's caustic wit made me laugh out loud.

The Safekeep – Yael VanDer Wouden: did Eva prostitute herself just to get her family home back?

Nutshell – Ian McEwan: such a funny and unique narrator, laughed so much. "Claude, as in Debussy?"

London Fields – Martin Amis: weird, strange, laugh-out-loud. Darts!

My Friends – Hisham Matar: beautiful meditation on friendship and life's path.

Here are a couple I was less impressed with, but still 2.5-3/5:

Affinity – Sarah Waters: Atmosphere 10/10 but the plot matured a little too slowly for me.

The Secret History – Donna Tartt: Part 2 was so boring and repetitive and it got to the stage where I really couldn't care less about any of the characters.

And one I hated:

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – Olga Tokarczuk: Only DNF from the past couple of years

I read a lot, and I'd like to think my reading is quite varied, though I do tend to steer clear of a lot of genre fiction. I absolutely love books where I get to make up my own mind about what the characters are actually thinking, why they are doing things, etc. and I hate books that try to enforce their morals on me.

Just now, while typing this post, I realised that many of the books I have rated highly this year have first person narrators, often unreliable.

Looking for suggestions – with a short one liner on why you think it is a good fit for me.

Thanks.