Best Literary Fiction Books: Acclaimed Novels Worth Reading
Literary fiction puts character, language and ideas ahead of plot machinery. This page collects the literary novels in our catalog, many of them prize winners, from quiet family stories to ambitious modern books.
Choose it when you want a novel that lingers after the last page. Books are ordered by how many readers want to read them. Each has a one-line hook and a plain note on what you get.
Best for: Readers who want thoughtful, well-written novels.
- Scope
- Books in our catalog with this genre.
- Order
- By reader interest (Open Library want-to-read counts), then newest first. Not a quality ranking.
267 books
1961To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee
Literary Fiction · WarmScout Finch grows up in Alabama as her father defends a Black man
What you get: A tender, memorable story told through a child's eyes, full of heart, humor and moral courage. It leaves you with admiration for people who stand up for others.
2003The Kite RunnerKhaled HosseiniLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwo boys in Kabul and a betrayal that haunts one of them
What you get: A moving story of friendship and the search for redemption, set against a vivid, colorful Afghanistan. It touches the heart and is hard to forget.
1953The Old Man and the SeaErnest HemingwayLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAn old fisherman hooks a giant marlin
What you get: A simple, deeply moving story you can finish in one sitting. It leaves you with a sense of quiet strength and respect for determination.
1991American PsychoBret Easton EllisLiterary Fiction · DarkA Wall Street banker whose polished surface hides violence
What you get: A sharp, daring satire of surface and style that provokes strong reactions.
1992The Secret HistoryDonna TarttLiterary Fiction · DarkA group of classics students and a murder
What you get: A gripping, atmospheric, richly written tale that pulls you into a world of secrets, beauty and obsession.
2018Normal PeopleSally RooneyLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwo Irish teenagers whose paths keep crossing over the years
What you get: A tender, absorbing story about two people whose connection runs deep over the years. It feels intimate and true to life, and it makes you care about every moment between them.
1937Of Mice and MenJohn SteinbeckLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwo migrant workers and their dream of a farm of their own
What you get: A short, tender story about loyalty and a shared dream that is told with simple, beautiful clarity. It lingers in the heart and rewards a slow, careful read.
2012Me Before YouJojo MoyesLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA young carer and a man who has lost his wish to live
What you get: A heartfelt love story with warmth, humor and characters who grow and change each other. It is absorbing and moving, and perfect when you want a good, deep read.
1997The God of Small ThingsArundhati RoyLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwins in Kerala remember the week that destroyed their family
What you get: Lush, vivid writing that makes you feel a childhood and a place. Haunting and unforgettable.
2007Call Me by Your NameAndré AcimanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA summer romance on the Italian Riviera
What you get: Beautiful, sensual prose that captures first love and the ache of memory.
1940The Grapes of WrathJohn SteinbeckLiterary Fiction · DarkThe Joad family leaves Oklahoma for California
What you get: An epic road story with unforgettable characters and a deep sense of togetherness. It shows the strength of ordinary people and leaves you moved and inspired.
2007The RoadCormac McCarthyLiterary Fiction · DarkA father and his young son walk south across a burned America with a pistol
What you get: A deeply moving story about love between a father and son, told in beautiful, spare prose. It reminds you how much a small act of care can mean.
2002Life of PiYann MartelLiterary Fiction · HopefulA boy survives a shipwreck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger
What you get: A thrilling, original adventure on the open sea with a vividly drawn companion. It is full of wonder and leaves you with a story you will want to talk about.
2014The GoldfinchDonna TarttLiterary Fiction · DarkA boy survives a museum explosion in New York and leaves with a small painting
What you get: A richly told, page-turning story that you can sink into, with vivid places and a hero whose journey you follow with your whole heart.
1996Fight ClubChuck PalahniukLiterary Fiction · DarkAn insomniac and a soap salesman start an underground fighting club
What you get: A jolt of energy and a bold, unusual voice that makes you question modern life. It is the kind of book people love to discuss.
2001AtonementIan McEwanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA child’s lie changes lives, and she spends decades trying to make amends
What you get: A rich, gripping novel with a shattering turn and exquisite writing.
2002The Lovely BonesAlice SeboldLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA murdered girl watches over her family from heaven
What you get: A tender, original story that approaches grief with a surprising amount of warmth and hope. It touches the heart.
1921The Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA New York lawyer torn between his fiancee and her cousin in the 1870s
What you get: A beautifully observed love story full of longing and fine detail, with an ending that lingers.
1966Wide Sargasso SeaJean RhysLiterary Fiction · DarkAntoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress in 1830s Jamaica, enters an arranged marriage with an Englishman
What you get: A haunting, beautifully written story that offers a fresh perspective on a well-known tale.
1989The Joy Luck ClubAmy TanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicFour mothers and four daughters play mahjong
What you get: A rich, moving weave of family stories that helps you see your own family history with fresh eyes.
2013Crazy Rich AsiansKevin KwanLiterary Fiction · LightA New Yorker meets her boyfriend’s ultra-wealthy family in Singapore
What you get: Sparkling fun with sumptuous settings, family drama and a warm love story. A delicious, light escape.
1982Different SeasonsStephen KingLiterary Fiction · DarkFour novellas, including the story behind Shawshank
What you get: Four excellent stories of hope, friendship and suspense, easy to enjoy one at a time.
1962One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestKen KeseyLiterary Fiction · DarkA rebel is committed to a psychiatric ward and takes on the head nurse
What you get: A vivid, funny and moving story with an unforgettable rebel at its center. It makes you root for the human spirit.
1953Invisible ManRalph EllisonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAn unnamed Black man in a room lit with stolen electricity tells how he became invisible
What you get: A bold, powerful, inventive story that makes you think about who we are and how others see us.
1914DublinersJames JoyceLiterary Fiction · MelancholicFifteen stories of Dublin life
What you get: Elegant, vivid stories that you can read one at a time, each a small gem.
2017Little Fires EverywhereCeleste NgLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulTwo mothers and a custody battle
What you get: A beautifully told story of two families and the secrets that connect them. It sparks lively conversation and keeps you turning pages to find out how it all fits together.
2019The TestamentsMargaret AtwoodLiterary Fiction · TenseFifteen years after The Handmaid's Tale, three women tell the story of Gilead's decline
What you get: A gripping, fast-moving story that expands a famous world and keeps you turning pages.
1965StonerJohn WilliamsLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA quiet professor’s life
What you get: A calm, moving portrait that makes you appreciate work, love and small victories.
1989The Remains of the DayKazuo IshiguroLiterary Fiction · MelancholicAn English butler takes a road trip and looks back on his years of devoted service
What you get: A graceful, deeply moving portrait that stays with you, told in a voice you will remember.
2005We Need to Talk About KevinLionel ShriverLiterary Fiction · DarkAfter a school massacre by her 15-year-old son, Eva writes letters to her husband about their son
What you get: A gripping, thought-provoking story that keeps you turning pages and talking afterward.
1996Bridget Jones’s DiaryHelen FieldingLiterary Fiction · LightA single woman’s year in a diary of calories, cigarettes and Mr Darcy
What you get: Laugh-out-loud humor and a heroine you cannot help cheering for. It feels like chatting with your most honest, funniest friend.
2014Everything I Never Told YouCeleste NgLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA family looks for the reason a daughter died
What you get: A moving, carefully built story that explores love, expectation and the things we leave unsaid.
1974Gravity's RainbowThomas PynchonLiterary Fiction · DarkAt the end of World War II, a story built around the V-2 rocket with over 400 named characters
What you get: A dazzling, challenging book that rewards you with imagination, humor and big ideas.
1981A Confederacy of DuncesJohn Kennedy TooleLiterary Fiction · LightIgnatius J. Reilly and his misadventures in New Orleans
What you get: Pure comic delight in the streets of New Orleans, with a cast of eccentrics you will not forget.
1993TrainspottingIrvine WelshLiterary Fiction · DarkEdinburgh heroin users told in thick Scottish voices
What you get: A bold, energetic read full of dark humor and vivid voices.
1958Breakfast at Tiffany’sTruman CapoteLiterary Fiction · WarmA young New York socialite and her writer neighbour
What you get: A charming, bittersweet little book you can enjoy in one sitting, with a character you will not forget. Elegant, witty and wistful.
2000The Blind AssassinMargaret AtwoodLiterary Fiction · DarkAn old woman tells the story of her sister's death and a novel that may reveal the truth
What you get: A layered, absorbing novel with stories within stories, rewarding you for paying attention.
2014Big Little LiesLiane MoriartyLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulThree mothers and a death at a school trivia night
What you get: Sharp wit and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.
2013The Rosie ProjectGraeme SimsionLiterary Fiction · LightA professor sets out to find a wife by questionnaire
What you get: Witty, warm and utterly charming, with plenty of laughs and a love story you will root for.
2010RoomEmma DonoghueLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA boy’s world is one locked room, and his mother plans to leave it
What you get: A moving, unforgettable story about a mother and son that is as hopeful as it is intense.
1999DisgraceJ. M. CoetzeeLiterary Fiction · DarkA Cape Town professor loses his job after an affair and retreats to his daughter's farm
What you get: A concise, honest story that makes you think about dignity and how we live with each other.
2019The OverstoryRichard PowersLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulNine strangers, each changed by an encounter with a tree, fight to save the old forests
What you get: A new sense of wonder for the trees around you, woven through the lives of memorable people. Expansive, moving and eye-opening.
1986Forrest GumpWinston GroomLiterary Fiction · LightA kind man with a low IQ drifts through decades of American history
What you get: A warm, humorous ride through decades of history with a hero who wins your heart.
2023Demon CopperheadBarbara KingsolverLiterary Fiction · DarkDavid Copperfield retold: a boy born in a Virginia trailer to a teenage mother
What you get: A gripping, funny and heartbreaking story told by a narrator you will root for from the first page. It stays with you for a long time.
1932The Good EarthPearl S. BuckLiterary Fiction · DarkA Chinese farmer's rise and fall, and the wife who works beside him
What you get: A moving, simply told story of a family across years that shows what really endures.
2003MiddlesexJeffrey EugenidesLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulCal tells the story of his Greek family, from Asia Minor in 1922 to Detroit
What you get: A warm, inventive story that moves from a Greek village to modern America and makes you feel part of the family.
2008The Art of Racing in the RainGarth SteinLiterary Fiction · WarmA race car driver’s dog tells the story
What you get: A heartfelt, funny and tear-jerking story of loyalty and family.
1985White NoiseDon DeLilloLiterary Fiction · DarkA professor of Hitler studies faces his fear of death after a chemical cloud drifts over his college town
What you get: A sharp, witty look at family, fear and shopping malls that feels uncannily current.
1967The ChosenChaim PotokLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulTwo Brooklyn boys and a deep friendship
What you get: A warm, absorbing story about two boys from different worlds becoming friends.
2000Interpreter of MaladiesJhumpa LahiriLiterary Fiction · MelancholicNine stories about Indian and Indian-American characters at home and abroad
What you get: Graceful, quietly powerful stories you can enjoy one at a time, each with its own small revelation.
2008The White TigerAravind AdigaLiterary Fiction · DarkA village boy becomes a driver in Delhi and writes a letter explaining how he became an entrepreneur
What you get: A lively, darkly comic voice that grabs you at once and carries you through a clever, quick read.
1965The MagusJohn FowlesLiterary Fiction · TenseNicholas Urfe takes a teaching job on a Greek island and is drawn into a wealthy recluse's psychological games
What you get: A puzzling, atmospheric story that keeps you guessing about what is real.
2010FosterClaire KeeganLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA girl sent away for a summer
What you get: A small, perfect story about kindness that stays with you.
1962Pale FireVladimir NabokovLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA 999-line poem and the commentary of a neighbor who tells a separate story of an exiled king
What you get: A dazzling, inventive book that invites you to read between the lines and enjoy every clue.
2011A Visit from the Goon SquadJennifer EganLiterary Fiction · MelancholicLinked stories of people in the music business, from punk-era San Francisco to a near-future New York
What you get: A playful, clever mosaic of lives that jump through time. It feels fresh, human and surprisingly moving.
2019Girl, Woman, OtherBernardine EvaristoLiterary Fiction · WarmTwelve characters, mostly Black British women, connect across a century
What you get: A joyful, generous chorus of voices that celebrates life, friendship and change.
- Please Look After Mom2008Please Look After MomKyung-sook ShinLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
A family searches for their mother in Seoul
What you get: A moving, thoughtful story that may make you call your mother.
2005GileadMarilynne RobinsonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAn aging Iowa minister writes a long letter to his young son in 1956
What you get: A calm, beautifully written letter from father to son that helps you slow down and notice small joys.
2001The CorrectionsJonathan FranzenLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAn aging Midwestern couple tries to get their three grown children home for one last Christmas
What you get: A witty, absorbing family story that is tender and comic in equal measure.
1999The HoursMichael CunninghamLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulThree women, three decades, one day each
What you get: A beautiful, intimate story that links lives across time and makes an ordinary day feel full of meaning.
2008The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoJunot DíazLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA Dominican-American boy in New Jersey wants to be a writer and fall in love, and his family is cursed
What you get: A bright, energetic story full of humor, nerdy joy and deep feeling for family. The voice alone is worth the trip.
2011Salvage the BonesJesmyn WardLiterary Fiction · TenseA Mississippi family prepares for Hurricane Katrina while a pit bull has puppies and a girl learns she is pregnant
What you get: A vivid, powerful novel with rich, poetic language and a strong sense of love.
1990PossessionA. S. ByattLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulTwo scholars uncover a hidden love affair between two Victorian poets
What you get: A rich double love story with a scholarly treasure hunt, full of poetry, secrets and delight.
1994The Shipping NewsAnnie ProulxLiterary Fiction · WarmA reporter starts over in Newfoundland
What you get: Salty humor, vivid weather and a gentle hero finding his footing. A cozy-yet-wild escape to the Newfoundland coast.
1980Sophie's ChoiceWilliam StyronLiterary Fiction · DarkA young writer in a Brooklyn boarding house befriends a Polish survivor of Auschwitz and her volatile lover
What you get: An intense, beautifully written story that stays with you and deepens your sense of what people carry.
1947All the King's MenRobert Penn WarrenLiterary Fiction · DarkThe rise of a populist governor, told by his aide
What you get: A rich, voice-driven portrait of ambition and conscience that remains thought-provoking and gripping.
2020Shuggie BainDouglas StuartLiterary Fiction · DarkA boy in 1980s Glasgow cares for his alcoholic mother
What you get: A compassionate, vivid story that moves you and shows the strength of a child's loyalty.
2017Sing, Unburied, SingJesmyn WardLiterary Fiction · DarkA road trip to Parchman prison to pick up a father, with ghosts along for the ride
What you get: Beautiful, vivid prose and voices you will not forget, written with great tenderness.
2019An American MarriageTayari JonesLiterary Fiction · MelancholicNewlyweds Celestial and Roy see their marriage tested when Roy is wrongfully convicted and imprisoned
What you get: A moving, intimate novel told in alternating voices, full of feeling and hard questions.
2004The Line of BeautyAlan HollinghurstLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA young gay man lodges with a Conservative MP's family in Thatcher's London
What you get: A stylish, absorbing story full of period flavor and sharp observation.
1969Portnoy's ComplaintPhilip RothLiterary Fiction · LightAlexander Portnoy confesses his life story to his psychoanalyst in one continuous monologue
What you get: Fast, funny, fearless monologue that is as entertaining as it is honest.
2018LessAndrew Sean GreerLiterary Fiction · LightA minor novelist turning fifty accepts every invitation abroad to avoid his ex's wedding
What you get: A sparkling comedy of travel and heartache with a lovable hero. It is funny, gentle and quietly uplifting.
1995High FidelityNick HornbyLiterary Fiction · LightA record shop owner reviews his top five breakups
What you get: A charming, witty look at love and music that feels very familiar.
1988The Bean TreesBarbara KingsolverLiterary Fiction · WarmA young woman finds an abandoned child
What you get: A bright, hopeful story with big heart and humor.
2003The Devil Wears PradaLauren WeisbergerLiterary Fiction · LightAn assistant at a fashion magazine and her impossible boss
What you get: A sparkling, quick read with sharp wit and a heroine finding her feet. Great fun when you want a stylish escape.
2016The SelloutPaul BeattyLiterary Fiction · DarkA Black farmer in Los Angeles tries to bring back segregation to save his town
What you get: A fast, inventive comedy that gives you a lot to think about.
1962The MoviegoerWalker PercyLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA New Orleans stockbroker who finds more meaning in movies than in daily life begins a search at Mardi Gras
What you get: A charming, reflective story set in New Orleans.
2006The Inheritance of LossKiran DesaiLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA retired judge in the Himalayas, his orphaned granddaughter and a cook's son in New York
What you get: A vivid, moving novel set in the Himalayas that draws you into its characters.
1998About a BoyNick HornbyLiterary Fiction · LightA shallow bachelor befriends a lonely twelve-year-old
What you get: A funny, endearing story about growing up at any age.
1985The Bone PeopleKeri HulmeLiterary Fiction · DarkAn artist, a mute boy and his foster father form an uneasy family on the New Zealand coast
What you get: A rich, powerful story with a strong sense of place on the New Zealand coast.
1965HerzogSaul BellowLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulMoses Herzog, a professor in a midlife crisis after a divorce, writes letters in his head that he never sends
What you get: A funny, moving, intelligent portrait of a restless mind.
2013The Orphan Master's SonAdam JohnsonLiterary Fiction · DarkA boy from a North Korean orphanage is pulled into the state's machinery
What you get: A bold, vivid story that mixes adventure, humor and heart, giving a strong sense of a hidden world.
1960Rabbit, RunJohn UpdikeLiterary Fiction · DarkA former basketball star runs from his life
What you get: Beautiful prose and a vivid, complicated hero that makes you think about choices.
1980The Executioner's SongNorman MailerLiterary Fiction · DarkGary Gilmore, from his release from prison in 1976 to his execution
What you get: A massive, gripping portrait of a man and the people around him, told with the pace of a novel.
2014The Storied Life of A. J. FikryGabrielle ZevinLiterary Fiction · WarmA bookseller’s life changes when a package arrives
What you get: A charming celebration of reading and second chances that is full of warmth. Ideal for a comfortable evening.
1978The Sea, the SeaIris MurdochLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA retired theatre director settles by the sea and meets his first love again
What you get: A rich, funny and haunting story full of surprises.
2011The Sense of an EndingJulian BarnesLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA retired man receives a mysterious bequest that makes him reexamine his school friendships
What you get: A compact, thought-provoking story with a quiet twist that makes you reconsider your own memories.
2001Skipping ChristmasJohn GrishamLiterary Fiction · LightA couple decides to skip Christmas altogether
What you get: Laugh-out-loud holiday fun with a warm heart.
2006On BeautyZadie SmithLiterary Fiction · LightTwo families, one English-American and one Trinidadian-British, in a Boston-area university town grow more tangled
What you get: A funny, warm, lively story with sharply drawn characters and a lot to think about.
2012The Round HouseLouise ErdrichLiterary Fiction · TenseIn 1988, a thirteen-year-old on a North Dakota reservation investigates the attack on his mother
What you get: A powerful, tender mystery told through a thirteen-year-old's eyes.
2012The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryRachel JoyceLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA retired man sets out to walk the length of England
What you get: A touching, quietly funny journey about hope, regret and the kindness of strangers. It leaves you feeling uplifted.
2009Olive KitteridgeElizabeth StroutLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA blunt retired math teacher in a Maine town, seen through thirteen linked stories
What you get: Tender, interlinked stories that make ordinary lives feel deep and real. You come away with a gentler view of difficult people and a lot of feeling.
1987The Shell SeekersRosamunde PilcherLiterary Fiction · WarmA woman looks back as she is about to sell her painting
What you get: A comforting, richly detailed story about family and what truly matters.
1983Life & Times of Michael KJ. M. CoetzeeLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA gardener pushes his sick mother across a country at war in a homemade cart
What you get: A quiet, powerful novel about a man's simple wish for peace and a patch of earth.
1954The Adventures of Augie MarchSaul BellowLiterary Fiction · WarmA boy from a poor Chicago family drifts through jobs, loves, homes and schooling toward a settled life
What you get: A free-spirited, funny and wise story that makes you love its hero.
2022The Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaShehan KarunatilakaLiterary Fiction · DarkA murdered war photographer wakes in the afterlife with seven moons to find his killer
What you get: A bold, imaginative afterlife mystery full of wit, color and unexpected feeling.
1982Dinner at the Homesick RestaurantAnne TylerLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA family dinner that never goes to plan
What you get: A gentle, wise story about a family and its meals.
1972The Complete StoriesFlannery O'ConnorLiterary Fiction · DarkThirty-one stories, including every story from A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Everything That Rises Must Converge
What you get: A brilliant collection that surprises you at every turn.
1922The Enchanted AprilElizabeth von ArnimLiterary Fiction · HopefulFour strangers rent an Italian castle for a month
What you get: A warm, funny and healing story of friends who find new life in a lovely place.
1970DeliveranceJames DickeyLiterary Fiction · TenseFour men from a Georgia city take a weekend canoe trip down a river about to be dammed
What you get: A fast, gripping story that keeps you on edge.
1958A Death in the FamilyJames AgeeLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA Knoxville family in 1915 copes with a sudden loss
What you get: A quiet, beautifully written story that captures love and loss in a family.
1993Paddy Clarke Ha Ha HaRoddy DoyleLiterary Fiction · WarmA ten-year-old in 1968 Dublin narrates street games while his parents' marriage unravels
What you get: A fresh, vivid voice that makes you feel like a kid in sixties Dublin.
1998Big FishDaniel WallaceLiterary Fiction · WarmA son tries to understand his father’s tall tales
What you get: A warm, imaginative story about a father and son that mixes myth with life.
1995The Stone DiariesCarol ShieldsLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulThe fictional autobiography of Daisy Goodwill, born in 1905
What you get: A beautiful, unusual portrait of one woman's life that makes you notice the meaning in ordinary years.
1995Sabbath's TheaterPhilip RothLiterary Fiction · DarkA sixty-four-year-old former puppeteer, out of work and in crisis after the death of his lover, thinks about suicide
What you get: A wild, energetic and daring novel with a voice that cannot be ignored.
1979A Bend in the RiverV. S. NaipaulLiterary Fiction · DarkSalim, an Indian merchant, opens a shop in a remote riverside town in a newly independent African country
What you get: A rich, atmospheric story with sharp observations.
1967The Third PolicemanFlann O’BrienLiterary Fiction · DarkA murder, a policeman and a very strange afterlife
What you get: A madcap, inventive adventure with a unique voice and plenty of surprises.
2026The CorrespondentVirginia EvansLiterary Fiction · WarmSybil Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer in Annapolis, writes letters to relatives, old colleagues and favorite authors
What you get: A warm, thoughtful story about the power of letters and keeping in touch.
2025FleshDavid SzalayLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA Hungarian teenager's life unfolds from a small town to the wealthy circles of London
What you get: A restrained, absorbing story that lets you live alongside its hero and feel the weight of small choices.
2025The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)Rabih AlameddineLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA philosophy teacher in his sixties tells family stories while his mother loses her memory
What you get: A lively, funny and tender story told by a voice you quickly grow fond of.
2024OrbitalSamantha HarveyLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulSix astronauts circle the Earth sixteen times in a single day on the International Space Station
What you get: Gorgeous, meditative writing that gives you a new sense of wonder about our planet.
2023Prophet SongPaul LynchLiterary Fiction · TenseIn a near-future Ireland sliding into tyranny, a mother tries to keep her family safe
What you get: A gripping, emotionally intense story that makes you feel what a family would do to protect each other.
2023BlackoutsJustin TorresLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwo men in a place called the Palace try to finish a lost study of queer lives
What you get: A bold, poetic story about uncovering lives that were nearly forgotten.
2022The NetanyahusJoshua CohenLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA small college in 1959 considers hiring an Israeli scholar who arrives with his whole family
What you get: A witty, original story of a small college at the end of the fifties and a visiting family that upends everything.
2022The Rabbit HutchTess GuntyLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulResidents of one run-down apartment building in an Indiana town, as developers plan to remake it
What you get: A fresh, energetic novel full of color, humor and sharp observation of lives that touch.
2022The Book of Form and EmptinessRuth OzekiLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAfter his father dies, Benny Oh begins hearing voices from objects and spends time in a public library
What you get: A tender, imaginative novel where objects speak, perfect for anyone who loves books.
2021The PromiseDamon GalgutLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA white South African family keeps failing to keep a promise to its Black servant, across four funerals
What you get: A beautifully constructed story across decades that stays with you.
2021Hell of a BookJason MottLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA touring novelist sees visions of The Kid, while a child named Soot is bullied on the bus
What you get: A clever, heartfelt story that blends humor with big questions about being seen.
2020Interior ChinatownCharles YuLiterary Fiction · LightWillis Wu plays Generic Asian Man in a TV cop show and wants to become Kung Fu Guy
What you get: An inventive story written like a script, full of wit, heart and sharp observation.
2020Anxious PeopleFredrik BackmanLiterary Fiction · WarmA failed bank robber flees into an apartment viewing and takes everyone hostage
What you get: A delightful mix of humor and heart, with a cast you grow to love. It leaves you feeling more kindly toward everyone.
2019Trust ExerciseSusan ChoiLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulTwo students at a performing-arts school fall in love, and then the book changes who is telling the story
What you get: A sharp, absorbing story set at a theater school that keeps surprising you.
2018MilkmanAnna BurnsLiterary Fiction · TenseA young woman is pursued by a paramilitary man in an unnamed city divided by conflict
What you get: A bold, stream-of-thought narrator who pulls you in and keeps you thinking about her world.
2018The FriendSigrid NunezLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA writer in Manhattan takes in her late friend's Great Dane, though her building bans dogs
What you get: A gentle, thoughtful story that offers comfort and a lot to think about.
2018Home FireKamila ShamsieLiterary Fiction · TenseAfter Isma is stopped at Heathrow, she reaches Amherst, where she meets Eamonn Lone, the Home Secretary's son
What you get: A powerful, fast-moving story with a classic spirit and modern urgency.
2017Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely FineGail HoneymanLiterary Fiction · WarmA woman with a carefully ordered life starts to change when a colleague shows kindness
What you get: A funny, big-hearted story about one woman's journey toward friendship and joy. It leaves you with a sense of hope and a little more kindness in your day.
2015A Brief History of Seven KillingsMarlon JamesLiterary Fiction · DarkMany voices tell the story of the attempt on Bob Marley's life and its aftermath
What you get: A vivid, energetic story with a rich sense of music, place and history.
2015Fortune SmilesAdam JohnsonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulSix stories: an AI president, a hurricane, a Stasi prison warden and two North Korean defectors
What you get: Six bold, imaginative stories that make you see the world in a new way.
2015How to Be BothAli SmithLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA grieving teenager in modern Cambridge and a Renaissance painter in Ferrara tell two halves of one book
What you get: An inventive, two-part story that you can read in either order, full of wit and feeling.
- A Spool of Blue Thread2015A Spool of Blue ThreadAnne TylerLiterary Fiction · Warm
Three generations of a Baltimore family and their house
What you get: A gentle, human story centered on a family and its house.
2014RedeploymentPhil KlayLiterary Fiction · DarkTwelve stories by a Marine veteran about fighting in Iraq and coming home
What you get: Vivid, human stories that give a close-up view of life after service.
2014A Girl Is a Half-formed ThingEimear McBrideLiterary Fiction · DarkAn unnamed Irish girl's bond with her disabled brother, her religious mother and her troubled sexuality, in fragmented prose
What you get: An intense, original voice that pulls you into its rhythm.
2013May We Be ForgivenA. M. HomesLiterary Fiction · DarkHarry Silver, a New York professor of "Nixonology," begins an affair with his brother's wife
What you get: A fast, funny, surprising story of a family shaken up.
2013Life After LifeKate AtkinsonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulUrsula Todd lives, dies and begins again, through two world wars
What you get: A clever, beautifully written story that gives you a lot to think about.
2012The Spinning HeartDonal RyanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA village after the crash
What you get: A fresh, many-voiced portrait of community.
2011The Tiger's WifeTéa ObrehtLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA young doctor recalls her grandfather's stories of a tiger that befriends a deaf-mute girl
What you get: A haunting, beautifully imagined tale that mixes folklore and real life.
2010TinkersPaul HardingLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA dying clock repairer remembers his father, a traveling tinker in rural Maine
What you get: Luminous, delicate writing that draws you into a lifetime of memory in the Maine woods.
2010The Finkler QuestionHoward JacobsonLiterary Fiction · LightTwo widowers and an old teacher meet for dinner in London, and one is mugged
What you get: A witty, humane story that makes you laugh and think.
2010Lord of MisruleJaimy GordonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulFour horse races, and the people at a struggling racetrack who bet on them
What you get: A lively, inventive novel full of memorable characters and the thrill of the races.
2010Major Pettigrew’s Last StandHelen SimonsonLiterary Fiction · WarmA widower and a Pakistani shopkeeper in an English village
What you get: A charming, funny story set in a village full of eccentric neighbors.
2009Let the Great World SpinColum McCannLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulNew York on the August day in 1974 when a man walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers
What you get: A moving, many-voiced portrait of a city that links strangers in surprising ways.
2009HomeMarilynne RobinsonLiterary Fiction · MelancholicGlory and Jack return to Gilead, Iowa, to live with their father, the Reverend Boughton
What you get: A gentle, luminous story that makes you slow down.
2009The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and DisappearedJonas JonassonLiterary Fiction · LightA man escapes from his nursing home on his hundredth birthday
What you get: Cheerful, quirky storytelling with a hero who shows that it is never too late for adventure.
2009Cutting for StoneAbraham VergheseLiterary Fiction · EpicTwin brothers born in an Addis Ababa mission hospital grow up among its doctors and nurses
What you get: A rich, immersive saga that carries you from Ethiopia to America.
2008The Road HomeRose TremainLiterary Fiction · HopefulLev, a widowed immigrant from eastern Europe, goes to London to earn money for his family
What you get: A warm, humane story of hope and resilience.
2007The GatheringAnne EnrightLiterary Fiction · DarkA woman goes through her brother's wake and remembers what happened in her grandmother's house
What you get: A raw, beautifully written portrait of a family looking back.
2006The Echo MakerRichard PowersLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAfter a truck accident, a Nebraska man believes his sister has been replaced by an impostor
What you get: A gripping, original story about a man, his sister and what it means to know someone.
2005The SeaJohn BanvilleLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA widowed art historian returns to the seaside town where he spent a childhood summer
What you get: A lyrical, reflective story of a man looking back at a childhood summer.
- Q & A2005Q & AVikas SwarupLiterary Fiction · Hopeful
A waiter from the slums wins a quiz show, and is accused of cheating
What you get: A lively, inventive novel that makes you cheer for its hero.
2004Hannah CoulterWendell BerryLiterary Fiction · WarmA farm widow recalls the people she loved
What you get: A tender, peaceful story about love, loss and gratitude.
2004A Redbird ChristmasFannie FlaggLiterary Fiction · WarmA small Alabama town and a visiting cardinal
What you get: A cozy, uplifting tale full of heart and community.
2003Vernon God LittleDBC PierreLiterary Fiction · DarkA teenage boy in small-town Texas is blamed after a school shooting
What you get: A sharp, energetic novel that grabs you with its voice from the first page.
- The Namesake2003The NamesakeJhumpa LahiriLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
A boy named after Gogol and a family that moved from Calcutta
What you get: A quiet, beautifully told story about names, belonging and growing up between two worlds.
2003Notes on a ScandalZoë HellerLiterary Fiction · DarkA teacher’s account of a colleague’s affair with a pupil
What you get: A quick, wicked story told in a memorable, unreliable voice.
2002Empire FallsRichard RussoLiterary Fiction · WarmA man who has spent his life at the Empire Grill in a fading Maine mill town
What you get: The comfort of a well-drawn town and a hero you root for, with humor and tenderness on every page.
2002Three JunesJulia GlassLiterary Fiction · WarmThree narrators and three Junes: a widower in Greece, a bookseller in New York, and a pregnant woman
What you get: A gentle, richly human story told in three parts that stays with you.
2002Bel CantoAnn PatchettLiterary Fiction · TenseTerrorists seize a birthday party for an opera-loving businessman and take the guests hostage for months
What you get: A beautiful, atmospheric story where music brings people together in extraordinary circumstances.
2001The Idea of PerfectionKate GrenvilleLiterary Fiction · LightAn engineer sent to replace an old timber bridge meets a museum curator who opposes his work
What you get: A gentle, witty novel about two people finding connection.
2001The Bonesetter’s DaughterAmy TanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA daughter finds her mother’s memoir
What you get: A rich, moving story that links generations.
- Jayber Crow2000Jayber CrowWendell BerryLiterary Fiction · Warm
A barber looks back on a lifetime in a Kentucky town
What you get: A gentle, lyrical story that helps you slow down and appreciate community.
2000Winter SolsticeRosamunde PilcherLiterary Fiction · WarmA retired actress starts over in a Scottish village
What you get: A warm, comforting read for a long winter evening.
1999WaitingHa JinLiterary Fiction · MelancholicFor eighteen years, a Chinese army doctor tries to divorce his village wife so he can marry a nurse
What you get: A simple, moving story that captures the slow rhythm of waiting and hope.
1999A Crime in the NeighborhoodSuzanne BerneLiterary Fiction · TenseIn a sleepy Washington, D.C. suburb in 1972, ten-year-old Marsha tells of the murder of a young boy
What you get: A tense, atmospheric story that stays with you.
1999PlainsongKent HarufLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA small Colorado town, two boys and a pregnant girl
What you get: A simple, moving story of kindness and community.
1999ChocolatJoanne HarrisLiterary Fiction · WarmA chocolate shop opens in a French village during Lent
What you get: A charming, delicious tale of change, community and a little magic.
1998AmsterdamIan McEwanLiterary Fiction · DarkTwo old friends make a pact after the funeral of a woman they both loved
What you get: A neat, witty and tightly plotted story that you can finish quickly and enjoy for its clever surprises.
1998Charming BillyAlice McDermottLiterary Fiction · WarmAfter Billy Lynch's funeral, relatives piece together his life and a lost love from conflicting stories
What you get: A tender, funny and moving story told by those who loved Billy.
1998Larry's PartyCarol ShieldsLiterary Fiction · WarmLarry Weller, a Winnipeg florist who becomes a maze designer, followed through marriages and divorces over five decades
What you get: A warm, witty and humane story you can enjoy at an easy pace.
1997Fugitive PiecesAnne MichaelsLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA seven-year-old survives a raid on his family's home in Poland and is found by a Greek geologist
What you get: Beautiful, haunting language and a story that moves you deeply.
1996Independence DayRichard FordLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA real estate agent's Fourth of July weekend
What you get: A warm, reflective weekend with a narrator who feels like a thoughtful friend.
1996Last OrdersGraham SwiftLiterary Fiction · MelancholicFour old friends drive to the sea to scatter a butcher's ashes
What you get: A tender, human story of friendship and memory told in many voices.
- The Reader1995The ReaderBernhard SchlinkLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
A teenager’s affair with an older woman and a secret from the war
What you get: A spare, moving story that stays with you and raises hard questions.
1994How Late It Was, How LateJames KelmanLiterary Fiction · DarkSammy wakes after a two-day drinking binge in Glasgow, beaten and suddenly blind
What you get: A raw, inventive story told in a unique voice you will not forget.
1994A Frolic of His OwnWilliam GaddisLiterary Fiction · LightA writer sues a film producer for stealing his unpublished play, and the lawsuits multiply from there
What you get: A clever, funny story told almost entirely in dialogue.
1994At Home in MitfordJan KaronLiterary Fiction · WarmA priest in a small Blue Ridge town
What you get: A cozy visit with kind neighbors that makes you feel at home.
1993A Good Scent from a Strange MountainRobert Olen ButlerLiterary Fiction · MelancholicStories told by Vietnamese immigrants and others tied to the war, mostly set in Louisiana
What you get: Beautiful, varied stories that make you feel what it is like to live between worlds.
1993The Christmas BoxRichard Paul EvansLiterary Fiction · WarmA widower, a stranger and a Christmas box
What you get: A short, moving story to read with a cup of cocoa.
1992A Thousand AcresJane SmileyLiterary Fiction · DarkAn Iowa farmer gives his thousand-acre farm to his three daughters, and the youngest objects
What you get: A powerful, absorbing story of family, land and what is passed down.
1991Rabbit at RestJohn UpdikeLiterary Fiction · MelancholicRetired Harry Angstrom spends winters in Florida while his son runs the family car dealership
What you get: A reflective, beautifully observed finale that stays honest and humane.
1991The Famished RoadBen OkriLiterary Fiction · EpicA spirit-child in a Nigerian town keeps being pulled back toward the world of spirits
What you get: A lush, imaginative journey seen through the eyes of a spirit child, full of wonder and color.
1991MatingNorman RushLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulAn American anthropology student in Botswana pursues a controversial scholar who has founded a village run by women
What you get: A lively, thoughtful story set in Botswana with a memorable voice.
1991Saint MaybeAnne TylerLiterary Fiction · WarmA man accidentally becomes a father to his brother’s children
What you get: A gentle, humane story about love and responsibility.
1990Amongst WomenJohn McGahernLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA father and a family in the Irish countryside
What you get: A beautifully observed portrait of a father and his family.
1990Circle of FriendsMaeve BinchyLiterary Fiction · WarmTwo girls, a Dublin university and a first love
What you get: A cozy, heartfelt story full of humor and affection.
1989Breathing LessonsAnne TylerLiterary Fiction · WarmOne long day of driving to a funeral, one long marriage
What you get: A gentle, witty story that makes you smile at the stubborn love between two people.
1989SpartinaJohn CaseyLiterary Fiction · TenseA Rhode Island fisherman stakes everything on finishing a fifty-foot boat in his backyard
What you get: A vivid, absorbing portrait of a man and his dream of a boat.
- Like Water for Chocolate1989Like Water for ChocolateLaura EsquivelLiterary Fiction · Warm
Cooking, desire and magic in revolutionary Mexico
What you get: A sensuous, imaginative tale that mixes food, love and a touch of magic.
1988Paris TroutPete DexterLiterary Fiction · DarkA respected storekeeper and loan shark in a small Georgia town kills a young Black girl over a debt
What you get: A gripping, atmospheric novel that holds your attention.
- The Alchemist1988The AlchemistPaulo CoelhoLiterary Fiction · Hopeful
A shepherd boy follows a dream to Egypt
What you get: A warm, uplifting journey that makes you want to chase your own dreams. Simple and lyrical, it leaves you with a hopeful lift and a few lines you will want to remember.
- A Summons to Memphis1987A Summons to MemphisPeter TaylorLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
A New York editor is called home to stop his father's remarriage
What you get: A graceful, wry story of a man called home to a family drama.
1987Paco's StoryLarry HeinemannLiterary Fiction · DarkA badly wounded Vietnam veteran arrives in a Midwestern river town, and a ghost from his company tells his story
What you get: A haunting, memorable narrative that stays with you.
1987The CommitmentsRoddy DoyleLiterary Fiction · LightA young man starts a soul band in Dublin
What you get: A fast, foul-mouthed, joyful story of a band that wants to be great.
1986The Old DevilsKingsley AmisLiterary Fiction · LightOld friends in a Welsh town drink their way through retirement until a famous writer returns
What you get: A lively comedy of habits, friendships and the surprises of retirement.
1986World's FairE. L. DoctorowLiterary Fiction · WarmA boy grows up in the Bronx in the late 1930s as the 1939 World's Fair draws near
What you get: A warm, funny and lively memory of a Bronx childhood in the thirties.
1985Foreign AffairsAlison LurieLiterary Fiction · LightTwo American academics in London, each with a very different trip
What you get: A sharp, funny look at two Americans in London and what travel reveals.
1985PerfumePatrick SüskindLiterary Fiction · DarkA man with a perfect sense of smell and no scent of his own
What you get: A vivid, richly written tale that makes you feel the world through scent.
1985Love in the Time of CholeraGabriel García MárquezLiterary Fiction · WarmA man waits fifty-one years for the woman he loves
What you get: Gorgeous, flowing prose and a love story that spans a lifetime.
1984IronweedWilliam KennedyLiterary Fiction · DarkA drifter returns to Albany over three days at Halloween
What you get: A powerful, deeply humane portrait of a man facing his past over three days.
1984Hotel du LacAnita BrooknerLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA romance writer is sent to a quiet Swiss hotel after a social scandal
What you get: A refined, witty novel with a calm and reflective feeling.
1984Victory Over JapanEllen GilchristLiterary Fiction · LightStories about Rhoda Manning, a willful girl in the last months of World War II, and the women who follow
What you get: A bright, spirited collection with an unforgettable girl at its center.
1983The Collected Stories of Eudora WeltyEudora WeltyLiterary Fiction · WarmAll of Eudora Welty's published short fiction in one volume, plus two stories that had never been collected
What you get: A rich collection that celebrates ordinary lives with humor and grace.
1982Rabbit Is RichJohn UpdikeLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulRabbit Angstrom at forty-six, finally comfortable
What you get: A sharp, funny and wise portrait of comfort, family and restlessness.
1982So Long, See You TomorrowWilliam MaxwellLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA man looks back fifty years to a killing in his Illinois hometown and to a friend he failed
What you get: A beautiful, concentrated story that lingers long after you finish.
- The House of the Spirits1982The House of the SpiritsIsabel AllendeLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
Three generations of women in a Latin American family
What you get: A rich, colorful story of a family across generations, full of passion and wonder.
1981Plains SongWright MorrisLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulFour generations of women on a Nebraska farm and in the wider world, from the 1900s to the 1970s
What you get: A calm, evocative family portrait across four generations.
1980The World According to GarpJohn IrvingLiterary Fiction · WarmThe life of T. S. Garp, a novelist, and his mother Jenny Fields, a nurse who became a feminist figure
What you get: A warm, wild, richly inventive story with unforgettable characters and plenty of humor and heart.
1979The Stories of John CheeverJohn CheeverLiterary Fiction · MelancholicSixty-one stories of American suburbs and what lies under them
What you get: A treasure of finely drawn stories that you can read one at a time.
1979OffshorePenelope FitzgeraldLiterary Fiction · WarmLondoners live on houseboats on the Thames at Battersea Reach
What you get: A tiny gem of dry humor and quiet feeling.
1979Going After CacciatoTim O'BrienLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA soldier on watch imagines his squad chasing a deserter who is walking from Vietnam to Paris
What you get: A moving, original story that shows what dreams can do for a soldier.
1978Elbow RoomJames Alan McPhersonLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulTwelve stories about race and everyday life in America
What you get: Twelve fresh, human stories that give you a wider view of life.
1978Blood TieMary Lee SettleLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulExpatriates in a hotel on the Turkish coast, and how their failings drive the story
What you get: A thoughtful, atmospheric story of people far from home.
1977Staying OnPaul ScottLiterary Fiction · WarmAn elderly British couple stay on in India long after Independence
What you get: A tender, humorous and deeply human portrait of a long marriage.
1977The Spectator BirdWallace StegnerLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA retired literary agent, after an old friend's postcard arrives, goes back to the diary of a trip to Denmark
What you get: A warm, wise story of memory and what we carry.
1976Humboldt's GiftSaul BellowLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA successful writer remembers his poet mentor
What you get: A lively, inventive story full of wit and warmth about a writer remembering his mentor.
1976SavilleDavid StoreyLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA miner's son from a Yorkshire pit village wins a scholarship and leaves his class behind
What you get: A moving, detailed portrait of a boy's chances and the price of change.
1976J RWilliam GaddisLiterary Fiction · LightAn eleven-year-old schoolboy builds a vast paper fortune out of penny stocks, using only payphones and money orders
What you get: A bold, wildly original satire that rewards your patience.
1976A River Runs Through It and Other StoriesNorman MacleanLiterary Fiction · MelancholicTwo brothers, their father and fly-fishing in Montana
What you get: Beautiful, calm writing that makes you feel the river and the bonds of family.
1975The Hair of Harold RouxThomas WilliamsLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA depressed professor spends a spring weekend in 1970 while the novel he is writing unfolds inside the book
What you get: A clever, thoughtful book that nests stories within a stories.
1974The ConservationistNadine GordimerLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA wealthy white industrialist buys a farm, and an unidentified body is found on it
What you get: A precise, atmospheric novel that stays with you.
1974HolidayStanley MiddletonLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA man spends a week at an English seaside town while his marriage has ended
What you get: A gentle, thoughtful novel set at an English seaside resort.
1974A Crown of Feathers and Other StoriesIsaac Bashevis SingerLiterary Fiction · WarmTwenty-four stories translated from Yiddish, from "A Crown of Feathers" to "Grandfather and Grandson"
What you get: Twenty-four stories full of humor, folklore and human feeling.
1973The Optimist's DaughterEudora WeltyLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA daughter returns to Mississippi after her father's death
What you get: A quiet, beautifully written story about returning home and understanding the past.
1973ChimeraJohn BarthLiterary Fiction · LightThree linked novellas that retell Scheherazade's story and the myths of Perseus and Bellerophon
What you get: A playful, witty book that makes ancient stories feel new.
- The Summer Book1972The Summer BookTove JanssonLiterary Fiction · Warm
A grandmother and a girl spend a summer on an island
What you get: A calm, beautiful read that helps you slow down.
1971In a Free StateV. S. NaipaulLiterary Fiction · DarkTwo expatriates drive through an unnamed African country on the edge of civil war
What you get: A sharp, vivid study of people on the road through a country on the edge.
1971Mr. Sammler's PlanetSaul BellowLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulArtur Sammler, a Holocaust survivor in 1960s New York, watches a society excited by the Moon landings
What you get: A thoughtful, richly voiced novel with sharp observations of the city.
1971Rabbit ReduxJohn UpdikeLiterary Fiction · DarkRabbit, ten years later
What you get: A sharp, daring continuation with lots to think about.
1970The Collected Stories of Jean StaffordJean StaffordLiterary Fiction · MelancholicThirty stories of people who are far from home
What you get: Thirty polished stories that capture people far from home with precision and wit.
1970The Elected MemberBernice RubensLiterary Fiction · DarkA Jewish rabbi's son in London is locked in a spiral of drugs and delusion
What you get: A sharply written, deeply felt portrait of a family under strain.
1970themJoyce Carol OatesLiterary Fiction · DarkA family's story from a violent teenage romance in the 1930s to the Detroit riots of 1967
What you get: A vivid, absorbing story that makes you feel the energy of a changing city.
1969House Made of DawnN. Scott MomadayLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA veteran returns to a New Mexico pueblo and cannot settle
What you get: Poetic, spare writing that makes you feel the pull of land and tradition.
1969Something to Answer ForP. H. NewbyLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA British drifter arrives in Port Said just as the Suez crisis breaks
What you get: A tense, original novel with a complicated hero in a sharp setting.
1969StepsJerzy KosińskiLiterary Fiction · DarkLoosely connected vignettes told in the first person, with no named characters or places
What you get: A series of sharp, vivid scenes you can read in any mood.
1969The PromiseChaim PotokLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA sequel about the same two friends
What you get: A warm, thoughtful continuation about friendship, study and growing up.
1968The Eighth DayThornton WilderLiterary Fiction · TenseAfter a shooting at a weekend gathering of two families in an Illinois mining town, John Ashley is accused
What you get: A rich, wide-ranging novel that rewards your attention.
1966The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne PorterKatherine Anne PorterLiterary Fiction · MelancholicEvery story she finished and published, in one volume
What you get: A rich collection of finely made stories that rewards slow reading.
1965The Keepers of the HouseShirley Ann GrauLiterary Fiction · DarkSeven generations of an Alabama family in one house
What you get: A sweeping, thoughtful story across generations in the American South.
1964The CentaurJohn UpdikeLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA schoolteacher and his art-minded son in a Pennsylvania town, both wanting to get away, seen through Greek myth
What you get: A tender, imaginative novel that blends myth and daily life.
1963The ReiversWilliam FaulknerLiterary Fiction · LightAn eleven-year-old boy, a stolen car and a racehorse
What you get: A bright, charming caper that shows another side of a great writer.
1963Morte d'UrbanJ. F. PowersLiterary Fiction · LightA charismatic priest in a stagnant order is sent from Chicago to a run-down Minnesota retreat house
What you get: A witty, humane story with a hero you cannot help liking.
1962The Edge of SadnessEdwin O'ConnorLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA priest, a recovering alcoholic, comes home to his old parish
What you get: A gentle, humane story of a priest returning to his old parish.
1961The Waters of KronosConrad RichterLiterary Fiction · MelancholicAn aging writer drives back to the Pennsylvania town where he grew up and finds it under water
What you get: A calm, poetic novel about memory and time.
1960Advise and ConsentAllen DruryLiterary Fiction · TenseA Senate fight over a nominee for Secretary of State
What you get: A gripping, clearly told story of a Senate fight with plenty of tension.
1960Goodbye, ColumbusPhilip RothLiterary Fiction · LightA low-paid Newark library worker spends a summer with Brenda Patimkin, a college student from a wealthy family
What you get: A quick, lively read full of wit and honest feeling.
1959The Magic BarrelBernard MalamudLiterary Fiction · MelancholicThirteen stories set in New York and Italy, including the title tale of a student rabbi and a marriage broker
What you get: Thirteen short stories full of humor, humanity and surprise.
1958The Wapshot ChronicleJohn CheeverLiterary Fiction · WarmThe Wapshots of a Massachusetts fishing village: Leander, his sons Moses and Coverly, and Cousin Honora
What you get: A lively, charming story full of humor and heart.
1958Mrs. ’Arris Goes to ParisPaul GallicoLiterary Fiction · WarmA London cleaning lady dreams of a Dior dress
What you get: A delightful, uplifting story full of warmth and fashion.
1957The Field of VisionWright MorrisLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulVacationing in Mexico, Walter McKee runs into Gordon Boyd, an old friend he has not seen in about fifteen years
What you get: A clever, unusual novel set at a Mexican bullfight.
1956Ten North FrederickJohn O'HaraLiterary Fiction · MelancholicJoseph Chapin wants to be president, and his wife, two rebellious children and a mistress complicate his path
What you get: A sharp, absorbing portrait of an American family.
1955A FableWilliam FaulknerLiterary Fiction · DarkA corporal in World War I France orders his troops to stop fighting
What you get: A bold, serious novel that invites reflection on peace and sacrifice.
1954Under the NetIris MurdochLiterary Fiction · LightJake Donaghue, a homeless and broke writer, looks up old acquaintances and is led into a series of comic adventures
What you get: A quick, charming comic novel with clever scenes.
1951Collected Stories of William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulForty-two Faulkner stories, selected under his supervision and arranged in six sections
What you get: Rich, atmospheric stories that open a whole world one piece at a time.
1950The Man with the Golden ArmNelson AlgrenLiterary Fiction · DarkA Chicago card dealer and amateur drummer struggles to steady his home life and a morphine habit
What you get: A vivid, energetic portrait of life in Chicago's streets.
1944Journey in the DarkMartin FlavinLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA man's life from poverty to prosperity in a small American town
What you get: A thoughtful, steady story of ambition and what it costs.
- In This Our Life1942In This Our LifeEllen GlasgowLiterary Fiction · Thoughtful
A 1941 novel of a family whose members pursue freedom and struggle with spouses and kin
What you get: A sharp, absorbing story of sisters, choices and the freedom to live your own way.
1939At Swim-Two-BirdsFlann O’BrienLiterary Fiction · LightA student writes a novel about an author writing a novel
What you get: A witty, clever and wonderfully odd story-within-a-story.
1938The Late George ApleyJohn P. MarquandLiterary Fiction · LightA satire of Boston's upper class, told as a memoir
What you get: A witty, affectionate portrait of a man and his well-ordered world.
1938Miss Pettigrew Lives for a DayWinifred WatsonLiterary Fiction · LightA governess has one day of glamour
What you get: A sparkling, cheerful story that leaves you smiling and refreshed.
1935Now in NovemberJosephine JohnsonLiterary Fiction · DarkA Missouri farm family in the Depression, told by the middle daughter
What you get: A lyrical, beautifully observed story told in a fresh, sensitive voice.
1931Years of GraceMargaret Ayer BarnesLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA woman's life from her teens to age 54, from the 1890s to the 1930s
What you get: A thoughtful, steady portrait of one woman across changing decades.
1930Laughing BoyOliver La FargeLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA young Navajo man and Slim Girl, in the Southwest of 1915
What you get: A tender, atmospheric love story set among beautiful desert landscapes.
1929Scarlet Sister MaryJulia PeterkinLiterary Fiction · WarmA woman among the Gullah people of the South Carolina Low Country
What you get: A lively, colorful story that brings to life a distinctive place and a strong woman.
- Early Autumn1927Early AutumnLouis BromfieldLiterary Fiction · Melancholic
A New England family of wealth and its restless daughter-in-law
What you get: A calm, elegant story of a family, tradition and one woman's search for her own place.
1926ArrowsmithSinclair LewisLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA young doctor's struggle to stay true to science
What you get: An inspiring story of a young doctor's search for honest work in medicine.
1925So BigEdna FerberLiterary Fiction · HopefulA schoolteacher turned farmer raises her son alone
What you get: An absorbing, heartfelt story about courage and hard work.
1922Alice AdamsBooth TarkingtonLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA young woman lies to hide her family's modest means
What you get: A sympathetic, sharply drawn portrait of a young woman's wish to belong.
1919The Magnificent AmbersonsBooth TarkingtonLiterary Fiction · MelancholicA wealthy family's decline as its Midwestern town industrializes
What you get: A graceful, wistful story of a proud family and a growing city.
1918His FamilyErnest PooleLiterary Fiction · ThoughtfulA widowed New York businessman and his three grown daughters
What you get: A warm, human portrait of a father finding his place in a changing family.
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