Whether you’re stuck in a rut or simply want to explore outside your comfort zone, branching into new reading territory is a good and exciting thing. But venturing into new realms can also feel intimidating. And, based on what I’ve heard from countless readers over the years, no genre feels more intimidating to the uninitiated than literary fiction.
Some readers who don’t typically read in this genre find literary fiction categorically scary. There’s no need for that! Besides, I’m willing to bet you already have some literary fiction in your reading history. I hope this list of literary novels shows how broad the genre can be, and gives you ideas for how you can easily wade in. We’re going to get comfortable with literary fiction by exploring what that genre designation means and sharing examples of literary fiction books so you know what readers are talking about when they throw that phrase around.
What is literary fiction anyway? Broadly defined, when we talk about literary fiction we’re talking about work that prioritizes style, craft, and character over plot. Sometimes it’s described as fiction that prioritizes art over entertainment. The most helpful description I’ve heard focuses not on a book’s contents but its origins: publishers often describe work as “literary” when it comes out of an MFA program. (This pragmatic insight is helpful not because it helps me assess a book’s genre but because it tells me what kinds of works are likely to be shelved as literary fiction in bookstores.) Don’t sweat the precise definition; tidy genre categorizations are rare in the reading life and that’s okay.
If you’re largely unfamiliar with literary fiction, a proven strategy that has worked for many readers is to pivot off what you already know and like. Ease your way in to literary fiction with a storyline, theme, or subject that already interests you. You could also take advantage of a personal connection to the book, like if it’s set in a city you know well or would like to visit or makes much of a topic you already find fascinating.
A growing marketplace trend is the proliferation of books that blend literary and genre fiction. Around here we call those “literary AND” books, thanks to our MMD Book Club conversation with Peng Shepherd about her novel The Cartographers, in which she praised the rise of this sort of genre-blending book: titles that are both literary AND mystery, literary AND dystopian, literary AND love story. I am here for it!
I hope you recognize some favorites in this list of literary fiction for beginners, plus spot some promising options for your TBR. What sounds good to you, and what favorite literary titles would you add to the list? Please tell us in the comments section!
Literary Fiction for beginners
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Tom Lake
This is the novel I didn't know I was longing to read, with its tender familial relationships, Michigan cherry orchard setting, and insider look at summer stock theater. When Lara is nearing sixty and the pandemic is just beginning, her three adult daughters return home for the summer. The girls have long romanticized their mother’s once-upon-a-time romance with a megastar actor, and now, all together again, the girls direct Lara to tell them the whole story from the beginning. She unspools her story slowly, over three long weeks harvesting cherries on the family property. I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending, but this story? Absolutely gorgeous. I re-read it via the audiobook, which is narrated by Meryl Streep. Yes, THAT Meryl Streep. Tom Hanks narrated Patchett’s The Dutch House. Celebrity narrators make an easy audio on-ramp to the genre. More info →
Never Let Me Go
An eerie take on the coming-of-age theme. Ishiguro expertly combines speculative fiction and literary fiction to great effect. Haunting and atmospheric, with a sad truth that dawns on you gradually. Ishiguro slowly introduces the reader to three teens in a 1990s British boarding school. His prose says so much while revealing so little, as it slowly dawns on the reader what is not-quite-right about these children's lives. More info →
Birnam Wood
Eco-thriller meets Shakespearean tragedy in this new release from Booker winner Catton. Birnam Wood is the Shakespeare-inspired name of an idealistic activist group focused on guerilla gardening efforts. When their pragmatic leader crosses paths with a powerful American billionaire, he persuades her to enter into an unlikely but perhaps mutually beneficial partnership pertaining to land adjoining a national park. But neither party is willing to acknowledge its true aims, and the consequences could be deadly. This high-stakes, action-packed tale features environmental rights, big egos, privacy concerns, politics, and more. This is compulsively readable literary fiction. The jaw-dropping ending also makes this an excellent pick for book clubs: there's so much to talk about! More info →
Interpreter of Maladies
For a bite-size intro to lit fic, try this slim but breathtaking volume of short stories. Lahiri's characters tenuously navigate the divide between their old world and their new, and taken together, the collection highlights myriad aspects of the immigrant experience. Lahiri's gift is to turn ordinary experiences into moments fraught with meaning, and she does it over and over in this Pulitzer-winning collection. (I loved this on audio, and it's less than 6 hours in that format.) More info →
The Island of Missing Trees
An intergenerational story about family, war, loss, and love. In 1974 Cyprus, a Christian Greek boy and a Muslim Turkish girl fall in love despite it being forbidden. In 2010s London we learn how the past affected the family today…and every other chapter is narrated by the fig tree that saw everything happen. Shafak said her reason for making a tree a character and giving the tree an actual voice is that she wanted a character who stood outside of time, who was there before the humans and would be there after. Literary fiction is often weird and creative and can be all the more powerful for it. More info →
Stay with Me
A powerful, emotional story about love, family, and fidelity set against the backdrop of the turbulent political climate of 1985-2008 Nigeria. The story begins with Yejide's mother-in-law arrives at her door with a guest in tow: her husband's second wife, that she didn't know he'd married. What follows is an unforgettable novel about sacrifice that sticks with me to this day. Audiobook lovers: Adjoa Andoh perfectly gives voice to the characters; her narration adds to the compulsively readable nature of this literary fiction debut. More info →
Happiness Falls
This compulsively readable literary mystery begins when a father vanishes in a D.C. area park—and the only witness to his disappearance is his 14-year-old autistic son, who doesn’t speak and thus lacks the means to verbally communicate with his family about what happened. What begins as a missing persons case quickly develops into an even more ominous investigation. First-person narrator Mia, a college student at home in 2020 due to the pandemic, takes us deep inside the workings of her Korean-American family as she relays all that unfolds during the bewildering three days following her father’s disappearance. Kim incorporates elements of music, numerology, language therapy, and more into this riveting blend of family saga and ticking-clock procedural thriller. You’ll see this on my Best of the Year list. More info →
The River
I didn’t know a book could be both gorgeous and terrifying—but then I devoured this in a day. When two college friends plan a long canoeing trip in northern Canada, they anticipate a peaceful yet memorable summer escape filled with whitewater paddling, fly fishing, and campfire cooking. The first hint of danger is a whiff of smoke, from an encroaching forest fire. The next comes from a man, seemingly in shock, who reports his wife disappeared in the woods. If these boys didn't feel compelled to do the right thing and go look for her, they’d be fine, but instead they step in to help—and are soon running for their lives, from disasters both natural and man-made. A tightly-written wilderness adventure, a lyrical mystery, and a heartrending story of friendship, rolled into one. More info →
Trust
Literary historical fiction that is a book within a book within a book, weaving a tangled web of power, wealth, and deceit. While many Americans struggled after the Wall Street crash of 1929, Benjamin and Helen Rask flourished. The popular novel Bonds, published in 1937, details their privileged upbringing, excessive lifestyle, and the cost of acquiring their fortune. But Bonds might not be the whole story or the right one. Fans of epistolary literature will appreciate the four-part structure of a novel, autobiography draft, memoir by the biographer, and diary excerpts. Every time you think you know the story, it transforms into something else. More info →
Deacon King Kong
In this story's jolting opening, a beloved drunk deacon named Sportcoat wanders into the courtyard of his Brooklyn housing project and shoots the drug dealer he'd once treated like a son point-blank, in front of everyone. McBride then zooms out to show the reader how this violent act came to take place, exploring the lives of the shooter and the victim, the victim's bumbling friends, the residents who witnessed it, the neighbors who heard about it, the cops assigned to investigate, the members of the church where Sportcoat was a deacon, and the neighborhood's mobsters (and their families). The story itself is compelling, but it's McBride's warmth and humor that really captures readers as he gently teases out these characters and their unlikely connections. The audiobook, narrated by Dominic Hoffman, was impossible to put down. More info →
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
Feyi’s husband died five years ago in a tragic accident. It’s taken this long for her to put the pieces of her life back together and, at her best friend Joy’s insistence, she’s starting to think about dating again. Not anything serious, mind you. One hot encounter during a summer party launches her back into the dating scene. As Feyi accepts an opportunity from a curator interested in launching her art career, she’s also tempted by a connection with the one person who should probably stay off limits. This is a messy tale of love, sex, and second chances. More info →
We Ride Upon Sticks
Readers, this book is weird. But if you love novels told in interconnected short stories, unique prose, and 80's nostalgia, it might work for you. Because it's written in first person plural, the narration takes some getting used to. (Barry explains her narration choice in this interview). The novel follows the 1989 Danvers field hockey team as the girls perform a witchy ritual in order to guarantee a winning season for their senior year. While they win on the field, the players experience the trials of nearing adulthood, like exploring their identities, dealing with family drama, and combating rumors at school. Though the characters are teenagers, this is not a YA novel. The ending comes as a delightful surprise and strikes an empowering tone. If you read The Crucible in high school, you'll notice tons of fun references to the play as you read. More info →
Wellness: A Novel
Lovers of complicated marriage and family stories, this one’s for you. Jack and Elizabeth fell in love during college, part of 1990s Chicago’s thriving art scene. Twenty years later, they’re far from the idealistic dreamers they used to be. Jack and Elizabeth are looking to buy their first home in an expensive part of the city in the face of disappointing careers and the difficulties of parenting. Hill explores modern marriage in the age of diet culture, Facebook, therapy, and cults and the result is both moving and humorous. More info →
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
A short story collection about love, sex, relationships, work, mistakes, and triumps. Each story explores the unique predicament of one character, but they flow seamlessly from one woman's life to another, thanks to Philyaw's evocative prose and rich detail. Some stories are quick five page reads, and others are closer to 40 pages—all of them make you feel like you're right there in the main character's life. I read my favorite story “How to Make Love to a Physicist” twice (on paper) because I loved it so much. This is fantastic on audio, as narrated by Janina Edwards. More info →
The Sentence
By turns delightful and dreadful, this is set inside the very real independent bookstore Birchbark Books, owned by novelist Louise Erdrich, and takes place from November 2019 to November 2020. Wonderful and beautiful and at times laugh-out-loud funny, but also heart-stopping in its descriptions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd (which took place just a few miles away). Avid readers take note: this book about books includes more than 150 book recommendations, which are thoughtfully compiled in an appendix. Make sure to take a look at the back matter, or download the audiobook supplement if you read in that format, as I did. More info →
The Thirteenth Tale
This moody literary mystery, set firmly in the tradition of gothic greats like Jane Eyre, kept me guessing from start to finish. A little dark and deliciously creepy, perfect for curling up with on a cold day. When one of Britain's most celebrated novelists reaches out to the young and relative novice Margaret Lea, Margaret has one question: Why? While she decides whether to take on the assignment, she begins reading one of the author's works: Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. She is captivated by the stories, and puzzled by them because the book only contains twelve stories. Where is the thirteenth tale? More info →
Lucy by the Sea
I sat down with this book on a Saturday and read the entire thing all at once because I couldn't put it down. It is a pandemic story, following Lucy as she escapes with her companion from New York City to the coast of Maine. The conversations in this book are about the pandemic, but also about the fragility of life and what it means to be in relationship with others, and I found it touching, sad, but ultimately life-affirming. Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang touches on similar themes. More info →
Everything I Never Told You
"Lydia is dead, but they don't know this yet." That’s not a spoiler, that's the opening line of Ng's stunning debut novel. When this unexpected loss is discovered, the family begins to fall apart, and as they struggle to understand why it happened, they realize they don't know their daughter at all. Ng's use of the omniscient narrator is brilliant: she reveals what's going on in her characters hearts and minds, allowing the reader to learn the truth of the tragedy, even if the family never does. An exploration of love and belonging, fraught with racial and gender issues. When I was in NYC I watched a woman miss her bus stop because she was utterly absorbed in this novel. It's that good. Powerful, believable, utterly absorbing. More info →
Demon Copperhead
If you're new to lit fic, am I really going to recommend you read a 600 pager? YES! Damon Fields, known as Demon Copperhead for his red hair, grows up impoverished in the southern Appalachian mountains in Virginia. We first meet him at age 11 and then follow along as he watches his mother become addicted to opioids, enters the foster care system, and later wrestles with substance abuse himself. Just as David Copperfield was an impassioned work of social activism, this update examines the ravages in southwestern Virginia and how the people Demon loves and identifies with are oppressed by those who have power. No familiarity with Dickens's original is required but if you have read it, you’ll appreciate her updates. More info →
Silver Sparrow
Set in 1980s Atlanta, this has one of the best opening lines: "My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist." Jones writes about the link between two African-American half sisters, one legitimate and one secret, only one of whom knows the other exists. That is, until the secret of their father's second marriage starts to force its way into the open. Rather than writing back-and-forth between two perspectives, the reader encounters almost all of one sister's point of view in the first half, followed by the other's. The result is an absorbing coming-of-age narrative wrapped in a complicated family novel. (This was the
Have you read any of these literary novels? What literary fiction would you recommend to someone wanting to explore the genre? Please share in the comments.
P.S. 15 literary novels that will have you compulsively turning the pages and 10 literary fiction audiobooks narrated by their authors.
22 comments
My absolute favorite genre. Give me literary fiction every time! Thank you for the list. I’ve read some and totally agree they are worthy reads. Please offer more literary fiction posts!
I’m out of Audible credits so I’ve been sweeping through my library for long lost forgotten books that I never listened to. (It can’t be just me, right?) The Thirteenth Tale is one of those books & I just pushed it to the top. Just for reference, other books that I didn’t connect with at first or cashed in too many credit at once and had gotten lost included Educated by Tara Westover, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera. All this to say, look at your Audible libraries, there are some great books in there!
Clearly this is my reading sweet spot- I’ve read 14 of these books and another one is on my TBR.
I have read quite a few of these books from your list and particularly loved Tom Lake, The Thirteenth Tale, Demon Copperhead, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, The River, Lucy by the Sea and Never Let Me Go.
I do prefer reading Literary Fiction and am always on the lookout when some of my favorite authors of this genre have published a new book. I will definitely look up a those books on this list that I haven’t yet read.
I chose The Secret Lives of Church Ladies as my choice for book club after hearing about it on the show and it did not disappoint! Happy to add more of these to my TBR.
I love so many of these! Silver Sparrow is one of my favorite books of all time.
Sadly I have lost two comments with the ads jumping on this page.
So will just say I loved several of these titles and this genre.
I have read several of these titles, and currently reading one, Tom Lake, and have a few others on my TBR list. Evidently I love literary fiction, though I was not quite sure what the distinction was. And now, thanks to this list, I have added a few more to my TBR. It just keeps growing! Thank you Anne!
Fantastic list of my favorite genre. I’ve read about half of these and am excited to read the others. I do want to add that any discussion of literary fiction should include Jonathan Franzen. Whether “The Corrections,” “Freedom,” or “Purity,” they are all excellent examples of the genre.
“The Thirteenth Tale” has been in my Kindle TBR forever. It gets moved to the top today! Thanks so much!
Well done crafting such a worthy list!
I really loved Lucy By the Sea.
Literary fiction is by far my favorite genre. It feels the most satisfying and memorable afterward. I love it when a book has an emotional resonance, and often find it in LitFic. Love stories (not romance),family sagas, and historical fiction are delightful, when they lean literary. Sign me up!
I can’t believe you didn’t put William Berry’s Jayber Crow on this list!! One of my favorite books. I hugged this endearing when I finished it. William Berry writing is fantastic. & I heard about it from MMD.
I love Jayber Crow also. I think spell check took over your post. The author is Wendell Berry.
I love recommending Claire Keegan. I find her writing to be lovely and compassionate, and the size of her novellas makes her a great starting point.
My favorite genre so thank you for the recommendations: A Gentleman from Moscow by Amor Towles (maybe my favorite book of all time), The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lang, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, The River We Remember by William Kent Kruger are all fairly new releases (except for Amor Towles) and would make great additions to any literary fiction list. So many good books, so little time. . .
I agree with you completely that there is absolutely no reason for anyone to feel intimidated by literary fiction. There is something for everyone. I love the focus on character and how a person (or people) changes over time, intersecting with the forces of other people, their time, and their environment.
Love this list of literary titles! I’ve got Wellness on my TBR shelf . After reading The Nix , I’m looking forward to his new book. I would also add John Irving’s The Last Chairlift. Both of these titles will comprise my “winter reads”.
Demon Copperhead was the best audiobook I’ve listened to this year! Tom Lake was also brilliant, as narrated by Meryl Streep. A number of these are on my TBR (and I’ve just added a few more; thank you very much!) , and I love literary fiction.
Any novel by Barbara Kingsolver. My absolute favourite is still The Lacuna.
Goodness,I didn’t know that so many of the books that I love were classified as literary fiction. I’ve read 7 of these books and two more are soon to be read. Clearly, I need to look into some of the other ones.
new to this classification! Thank you. I will second Birnam Wood, Never Let Me Go, Tom Lake, and thanks for introducing me to Rebecca Makkai (just finished ‘I have some questions for you’) and to ‘The Heart’s Invisible furies’. ‘Trust’ was a DNF for me. I just also finished Claire Keegan’s brief and beautiful ‘Foster’ and am reading the very witty and unique ‘Less’by Andrew Sean Greer right now.