Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, including Flashlight, The Correspondent and Audition. Some of the other long-listed books feature writers as characters, which gets us talking about turn-offs in novels. Our book of the week is DEPARTURE(S) by Julian Barnes. This is the final book by the Booker Prize-winning author. It is a novel about a couple who reunite later in life, with authobiographical elements from Barnes' own life, or it could be a memoir containing a short story. There is also Proust, philosophy and some observations on memory. Described as 'elegant' (The Times) and 'unmistakably Barnes' (Observer), it got us thinking: Where is the line between memoir and novel? Is DEPARTURE(S) a love story? Are the memory bits too Oliver Sacksy? Coming up: SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood. Follow us: Email: [email protected] Instagram: @abailliekaras Substack: Books On The Go Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

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