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: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras Substack: Books On The Go   Credits   Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz