On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin with an admission: Ian was wrong! He got the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize wrong! He got the longlist for the National Book Award wrong! What is he even doing talking about literature at all? Nevertheless, the two books on the slab this month remain The Fisherman by John Langan [9:00] and By Light We Knew Our Names by Anne Valente [42:25].

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:12:25 for brief final remarks. The books up for discussion next month's are two horror/dark novels:

• White Tears by Hari Kunzru
• Confessions by Kanae Minato

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!