Stockholm, Sweden – Dagens Nyheter has released its list of the best books of 2025, with Richard Flanagan’s “Fråga 7” (“Question 7“) taking the top spot.The annual compilation, lauded by critics for its diverse range and literary merit, also highlights Christian Kracht’s “Air” and a selection of international and Swedish authors.The list, compiled by the publication’s literary critics, offers a snapshot of the year’s most impactful and critically acclaimed works, with translations playing a prominent role.
10. Kristoffer Leandoer, ”Det är läsaren som skriver boken”
Natur & Kultur
The magic of reading – how small letters on a page unlock new worlds and connections – is at the heart of Kristoffer Leandoer’s new essay collection. In ”Det är läsaren som skriver boken” (translated as “It is the Reader Who Writes the Book”), Leandoer explores the often-overlooked role of the reader in bringing stories to life. He delves into literary history, criticism, and the personal experiences of readers, offering a compelling look at the collaborative nature of storytelling. DN’s Malin Ullgren described the book as “a continuing invitation to a pleasure reader’s world of thought.”
9. Friederike Mayröcker, ”Tuperad ros och morgon fylld av mången hjärter knekt”
Övers. Ulla Ekblad-Forsgren, Ellerströms
Considered a writer’s writer and a poet’s poet, particularly in her native Austria, Friederike Mayröcker passed away in 2021. Now, a selection of her later work, ”Tuperad ros” (translated as “Teased Rose”), has been released with a brilliant translation by Ulla Ekblad-Forsgren and a foreword by Aris Fioretos. This volume concludes the publisher’s release of seven books of her work. Critics have likened her style to a combination of Edith Södergran and Gunnar Björling, but with a distinctly urban intensity and a wisdom that spans a lifetime – she lived to be 96 years old.
8. Marie Darrieussecq, ”Att tillverka en kvinna”
Övers. Lisa Lindberg, Norstedts
“This is what literature is,” wrote DN’s Anna Hallberg in her review of ”Att tillverka en kvinna” (translated as “To Make a Woman”), the fourth, standalone installment in French author and psychoanalyst Marie Darrieussecq’s series about friends Rose and Solange. Growing up together in the small southern French village of Clèves, the two are opposites yet inextricably linked. Darrieussecq herself said in a DN interview (November 22nd), “The big difference between them is that Solange loves to dance while Rose can’t dance.” The story of Rose and Solange is a story of liberation, freedom, sex, power, and the relationships between women.
7. Lina Wolff, ”Liken vi begravde”
Albert Bonniers förlag
Lina Wolff was awarded the August Prize in 2025 for ”Liken vi begravde” (translated as “The Corpses We Buried”). She previously received the same honor in 2016 for her novel “De polyglotta älskarna.” Wolff is a confident and assured author, drawing comparisons to a modern Kerstin Ekman, sharing her ability to create unforgettable scenes and a sense for the darkness within humanity. The novel begins in Hörby, Skåne, where disturbing events continue to impact the community, and follows the diverging paths of two sisters. She is quickly establishing herself as one of Sweden’s major contemporary authors.
6. Hanna Johansson, ”Body double”
Norstedts
A case of mistaken coats at a department store café sets off a fateful relationship in Hanna Johansson’s latest novel, ”Body double”, evoking echoes of “Persona,” “Mulholland Drive,” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” The novel is a suggestive, symbolic psychological thriller about desire and identity, where every glance, strand of hair, or peach seems significant. Set in an undefined European city, the setting is so vividly described it feels like “an irresistible place, dangerous, often ugly but erotic,” according to Sandra Stiskalo of DN. The novel features a slowed and distorted rendition of Christer Sjögren’s “I love Europe” playing faintly in the background.
5. Eduardo Halfon, ”Tarantel”
Övers. Hanna Nordenhök, Tranan
Eduardo Halfon’s autobiographical project continues with ”Tarantel”, following the acclaimed release of “Canción” last year. The novel begins in 1984, when thirteen-year-old Eduardo and his younger brother are sent to a Jewish youth camp outside Guatemala City at their father’s behest. Halfon’s multiple identities – as a Jew, Guatemalan, American, and now European – give him a unique perspective on the fractures between groups and the betrayals that can occur.
4. Virginia Woolf, ”Mrs Dalloway”
Övers. Eva Åsefeldt, Albert Bonniers förlag
Clarissa Dalloway steps out into the city on the morning of a grand party, and the world comes alive in all its richness. London, the flowers, a past love… and the lingering shadow of World War I. All unfolds over a single day, with beauty and pain dancing together on the page. Reading it again, at a similar age to Clarissa, is a powerful experience. With ”Mrs Dalloway”, Virginia Woolf created something truly remarkable a century ago, and Eva Åsefeldt’s new translation brings it all back to life with fresh clarity.
3. Niels Fredrik Dahl, ”Fars rygg”
Natur & Kultur
Niels Fredrik Dahl was the recipient of the Nordic Council Prize in 2025 for ”Fars rygg” (translated as “Father’s Back”). The novel traces the author’s search for his own father, blending fact, photographs, and imagination. The father grew up in Alexandria in the 1920s, then was sent alone to schools and boarding schools in Europe during the 1930s. With dreamlike and poignant scenes, Dahl portrays a reserved and lonely man who never quite became the protagonist of his own life. This is a beautiful and moving novel.
2. Christian Kracht, ”Air”
Övers. Anna Bengtsson, Ersatz
2025 saw Swiss author Christian Kracht finally gain significant recognition in Sweden. Library loan queues across the country have reportedly stretched for hundreds of readers, a remarkable feat for a novel as unique as ”Air”. The novel begins as another portrait of a very modern man, obsessed with sourdough and natural materials, but quickly evolves into something else entirely. It centers on a reclusive interior designer stranded on the Scottish Orkney Islands, and soon intertwines with a parallel story of a mysterious magician and an orphaned girl fleeing an evil duke. “Air” is both a “The Brothers Lionheart” for adults and a truly exceptional novel.
1. Richard Flanagan, ”Fråga 7”
Övers. Niclas Hval, Albert Bonniers förlag
“Fråga 7” unfolds like a nuclear reaction. The story – somewhere between a novel and an essay – begins with a trip to Japan, where Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan meets the guard who tortured his father during World War II. Then comes the atomic bomb, a love affair in London in the early 20th century, the unique rainforests of Tasmania, and the grief over ecological collapse. It’s a richly detailed depiction of individual lives and grand history, with a language that reaches into the reader’s soul thanks to Niclas Hval’s perfect translation. Praised and awarded internationally, DN’s critics agree: this is the book of the year.
Läs också DN:s kritikers personliga favoritböcker från 2025 här
