All the contenders for this year’s prize are a reflection of the crisis in masculinity

Jarvis Cocker, one of the judges for this year’s Booker prize, has expressed surprise that the shortlist, announced this week, contains four male authors and only two female writers, because, “generally speaking, the male-written books weren’t as good as the ones written by women”.

The Pulp frontman might be on to something. Over the past 10 years, however, seven Booker winners have been men; the number of women boosted to four by the controversial joint win between Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood in 2019. The 2024 Booker shortlist was the first to have five female authors in the prize’s history. Last year’s winner Flesh, by British-Hungarian author David Szalay, stripped what being a man means down to its bones.

Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from a Booker-winning tale of one man’s life to a gossipy account of the golden age of magazines