Podcast Summary: The Book Review

Episode: "10 Novels We're Looking Forward To This Fall"

Host: Gilbert Cruz
Co-Host: Joumana Khatib
Date: September 5, 2025

Overview

In this engaging episode, editors Gilbert Cruz and Joumana Khatib from The New York Times Book Review share their most anticipated novels for the Fall 2025 season. The pair banter about seasonal joys, book trends, and dig into why fall is a particularly exciting time for book lovers. With sharp wit and insider knowledge, they preview major releases, emerging voices, unexpected titles, and some highly awaited returns by acclaimed authors. Listeners are left with a wealth of options for their reading lists and a taster of upcoming screen adaptations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Allure of Fall for Book Lovers

• Fall is described as the best season for book releases and "to be a person, to wear cardigans," especially in New York.
  • Joumana: “It bears repeating that fall is really the best season to be a new book lover.” [01:09]
• Gilbert and Joumana riff on their fashion preferences while joking about the unrelenting New York humidity.

Featured Forthcoming Novels

1. Dan Brown, The Secret of Secrets

Release: Early September

• Sixth installment in the Robert Langdon series.
• Langdon’s new girlfriend disappears in Prague, likely tied to ancient local mythology.
• Filled with signature Dan Brown puzzles and mysteries.
• Light riffs on the concept of “manuscript wife guy” and numerology appeal.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Joumana: “Numerology is a big deal to Robert Langdon.” [02:37]
    • Gilbert jokes: “Look in a mirror. And then you figure it out.” [02:49]
      Timestamps: [02:06]–[04:36]

2. Adam Johnson, The Wayfinder

Release: Mid-October

• Sweeping, Polynesia-set epic by the Pulitzer winner.
• Follows a young heroine, Koriro, as her threatened island society confronts upheaval via a mysterious interloper from Tonga.
• Emphasizes unique setting, classic adventure tone, and "doorstop" length.
  • Joumana: “You got a plucky young heroine, you've got an interloper, you got maps and...a huge book.” [06:25]
    Timestamps: [04:41]–[07:08]

3. Mick Herron, Clown Town

Release: Early September

• Ninth in the Slough House series (basis for Apple TV's "Slow Horses").
• Centers on misfit British spies, led by profane Jackson Lamb.
• Appeal: The joys of long-running series and creatively vulgar antiheroes.
  • Gilbert: “There’s just nothing that is as satisfying as locking fully into a series, as I know many people have with this one.” [08:25]
    Timestamps: [07:12]–[08:25]

4. Kiran Desai, The Loneliness of Sonya and Sunny

Release: End of September

• Author’s first novel since her 2006 Booker-winning The Inheritance of Loss.
• A love story set between India and Vermont, blending romance with immigrant experience and family saga.
• Explores themes of isolation and generational dynamics.
  • Joumana: “[It’s] classic, sprawling...a romance story, a social novel. Satisfying on a lot of those fronts.” [10:46]
    Timestamps: [08:25]–[11:07]

5. Richard Osman, The Impossible Fortune

Release: September

• Fifth in the beloved Thursday Murder Club series.
• The amateur sleuths (elderly Brits) become wedding planners—“I don’t know what that means,” Gilbert quips.
• Netflix adaptation with major stars (Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley) is launching simultaneously.
• Joumana shares a delightful tangent about Osman’s TV persona and British comedy shows.
  • Joumana: “He's so deadpan. He's so quick, he's hysterical.” [12:42] Timestamps: [11:07]–[14:28]

6. Mona Awad, We Love You, Bunny

Release: End of September

• Follow-up to cult hit Bunny, skewering MFA culture with dark humor and horror elements.
• The protagonist is ambushed by her frenemy group (“the Bunnies”) on a book tour—madness ensues.
• Noted for its cracked, satirical tone and willingness to get truly weird:
  • Joumana: “It’s really smart and funny and weird and dark and it’s just—who comes up with this? Mona Awad comes up with this.” [16:07]
    Timestamps: [14:36]–[17:27]

7. Thomas Pynchon, Shadow Ticket

Release: Unspecified (likely Fall)

• Mysterious as always: The hosts have not seen a copy yet.
• Set in the 1930s, follows PI Hicks McTaggart on a search for a vanished cheese heiress, with Nazi-intrigue elements.
• Extended riff on Pynchon’s legendary character names and penchant for literary puzzles.
  • Gilbert: “We don't know what he looks like. We don't know what this book looks like...” [19:18]
  • Joumana: “Mostly I just want to know what the cheese heiress is named.” [21:18]
    Timestamps: [19:10]–[22:10]

8. Ian McEwan, What We Can Know

Release: Late September

• Post-apocalyptic "science fiction without the science," set in a partially submerged England.
• A future scholar researches a "lost poem" from the present day.
• Nods to McEwan’s literary standing and his prior work Atonement and its famous film adaptation.
  • Gilbert: “Given that this is Ian McEwan, a great literary novelist, it’s actually a story about poetry.” [23:20] Timestamps: [22:50]–[24:12]

9. Amy Baradale, Trip

Release: Out Now

• "Strange, idiosyncratic," fast-moving novel.
• Documentarian Sandra dies during a Buddhist conference and navigates the Bardo (afterlife), while her neuro-divergent son’s storyline unfolds in parallel.
• Praised for insider wit, Donald Barthelme–George Saunders energy, and Buddhist references.
  • Joumana: “It reads like the best kind of weird Donald Barthelme story.” [25:18] Timestamps: [24:12]–[27:14]

10. Joe Hill, King Sorrow

Release: Late October

• Long-awaited horror novel (Hill's first in a decade).
• A Maine college student is blackmailed into stealing rare books, including one rumored to summon a milk-drinking dragon.
• Leans into fantasy, literary horror, and the “manuscript” motif that the episode opened with.
  • Gilbert: “He is a master of modern horror fiction and this is his first novel in almost a decade.” Timestamps: [27:16]–[29:00]

Screen Adaptations and Pop Culture Tie-Ins

• Hamnet (dir. Chloe Zhao): Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about Shakespeare’s family coming to screen—a likely Oscar contender.

  • Joumana: “It’s about Shakespeare and his wife grieving their young son whose name is Hamnet.” [29:51]

• The Housemaid (dir. Paul Feig), The Running Man (dir. Edgar Wright), and Frankenstein (dir. Guillermo del Toro, starring Jacob Elordi as the monster and Oscar Isaac as Dr. Frankenstein).

  • Gilbert: “[Jacob Elordi] is starring as Frankenstein’s monster...I love the idea that Frankenstein’s monster is really just considered, like, this teen heartthrob icon.” [31:13]

Timestamps: [29:17]–[31:41]

Fun Segment: Celebrity Memoir Quiz

Gilbert quizzes Joumana on upcoming celebrity memoirs. Highlights:

• The Book of Sheen (Charlie Sheen) [32:28]
• Night People: How to Be a DJ in 90s New York City (Mark Ronson) [32:36]
• Last Rites (Ozzy Osbourne, posthumous) [33:10]
• Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run (Paul McCartney) [33:30]
• Bread of Angels (Patti Smith) [34:02]
• Kid: A Memoir (Sir Anthony Hopkins) [34:09]
• The Uncool (Cameron Crowe) [34:21]

Memorable dialogue:

• Gilbert (re Cameron Crowe): “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.” [35:13]
• Joumana: “How much do you take that advice to heart?”
• Gilbert: “I wouldn't be here if I didn't think about that quote every day.” [35:16]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Joumana, on big books: “My martyr cape is just at the cleaners right now.” [06:50]
• Gilbert, on the popularity of fall books: “You’re going to hear about so many books. So many books.” [00:56]
• Joumana, on Pynchon character names: “Mike Fallopian is great. You know what else I like? Yashmin Half Court. Amazing.” [21:19]
• Gilbert, on Atonement: “Cecilia, even if you haven't seen the movie, you can see her in that green dress. It is one of the more memorable movie costumes of this century, I think.” [23:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fall Books Overview: [00:35]–[02:06]
• Dan Brown, The Secret of Secrets: [02:06]–[04:36]
• Adam Johnson, The Wayfinder: [04:41]–[07:08]
• Mick Herron, Clown Town: [07:12]–[08:25]
• Kiran Desai, The Loneliness of Sonya and Sunny: [08:25]–[11:07]
• Richard Osman, The Impossible Fortune: [11:07]–[14:28]
• Mona Awad, We Love You, Bunny: [14:36]–[17:27]
• Thomas Pynchon, Shadow Ticket: [19:10]–[22:10]
• Ian McEwan, What We Can Know: [22:50]–[24:12]
• Amy Baradale, Trip: [24:12]–[27:14]
• Joe Hill, King Sorrow: [27:16]–[29:00]
• Screen Adaptations: [29:17]–[31:41]
• Celebrity Memoir Quiz: [31:41]–[35:23]

Closing Thoughts

The episode is a lively, funny, and highly informative guide to the most buzzed-about fiction of Fall 2025. From blockbuster thrillers and speculative epics to quirky literary outings and long-awaited returns, Gilbert Cruz and Joumana Khatib give listeners the inside track on what to read—and watch—for the rest of the year.