×

Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date.

For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.

  1. Home 1
  2. Books 2
  3. Fiction 3
  4. Literary Fiction 4

Literary Fiction Books

Discover the best literary fiction novels to read today with our selection of bookseller favorites, new releases & more.

Featured in Books

Customer Favorites

  • B&N Top 100
  • Teens & YA Top 100
  • Kids Top 100
  • NY Times® Bestsellers
  • New Releases
  • Coming Soon
  • Books by Subject

Special Values

  • Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
  • Bestsellers 30% Off
  • Up to 30% Off Pre-Orders
  • Book Annex
  • B&N Collectible Editions
  • Coupons & Deals

Special Collections

  • Valentine's Day Gifts for All Ages
  • Our Monthly Picks
  • Book Club Selections
  • Discover Pick of the Month
  • Bookseller Favorites
  • B&N Book of the Year
  • B&N Discover Prize
  • The Paperback Store
  • Boxed Sets
  • Signed Books

Standard Order

Prices

  • Under $5
  • $5 - $10
  • $10 - $25
  • $25 - $50
  • Over $50

Formats

  • eBook
  • Paperback
  • Audiobook
  • Hardcover
  • Other Format
  • Multimedia
  • Audio CD
  • Audio Other
  • Large Print
  • Audio MP3 on CD
  • BN Exclusive
  • Signed Book

Ages

  • 0 - 2 Years
  • 3 - 5 Years
  • 6 - 8 Years
  • 9 - 12 Years
  • Teens

Language

  • English
  • German
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • Hungarian
  • Portuguese
  • Chinese
  • Russian
  • Catalan
  • Romanian
  • Swedish
  • Croatian
  • Finnish
  • Dutch
  • Polish
  • Tamil
  • Bengali
  • Serbian
  • Persian
  • Hindi
  • Greek, Modern (1453- )
  • Kannada
  • Arabic
  • Multiple Languages
  • Gujarati
  • Czech
  • Sardinian
  • Latin
  • Japanese
  • Danish
  • Hebrew
  • Afrikaans
  • Swahili
  • Belarusian
  • Esperanto
  • Assamese
  • Albanian
  • Slovak
  • Slovenian
  • Zulu
  • Rhaeto-Romance
  • Malayalam
  • Norwegian
  • Tsonga
  • Xhosa
  • Northern Sotho
  • Yiddish
  • Galician
  • Afrihili (Artificial language)
Filter

Bookseller Favorites

See All
Pride and Prejudice Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
The Shadow of the Wind Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Young Mungo Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
The Deluge Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Deluge
by Stephen Markley
Holding Her Breath: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Holding Her Breath: A Novel
by Eimear Ryan
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance: A Novel
by Alison Espach
Shutter Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Shutter
by Ramona Emerson
The Passenger Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Passenger
by Cormac McCarthy
Portrait of a Thief Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Portrait of a Thief
by Grace D. Li
Big Swiss Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Big Swiss
by Jen Beagin
Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel
by Rachel Joyce
I Will Die In A Foreign Land Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
I Will Die In A Foreign Land
by Kalani Pickhart
True Biz: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
True Biz: A Novel
by Sara Novic
The Farewell Tour: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Farewell Tour: A Novel
by Stephanie Clifford
On the Savage Side Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
On the Savage Side
by Tiffany McDaniel

Bestsellers

See All
Sea Glass Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Sea Glass
by Anita Shreve
American Boy Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
American Boy
by Larry Watson
Demon Copperhead (Oprah's Book Club Pick) Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Demon Copperhead (Oprah's Book Club Pick)
by Barbara Kingsolver
1984 Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
1984
by George Orwell, Erich Fromm (Afterword)
A Man Called Ove Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
Daisy Jones & The Six Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Shadow of the Wind Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Lucia Graves (Translator)
Where the Crawdads Sing Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens
To Kill a Mockingbird Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
The Alchemist (25th Anniversary Edition) Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Alchemist (25th Anniversary Edition)
by Paulo Coelho
Marjorie Morningstar Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Marjorie Morningstar
by Herman Wouk
The House on Mango Street Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
Delta Wedding Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Delta Wedding
by Eudora Welty
The Kite Runner (10th Anniversary Edition) Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Kite Runner (10th Anniversary Edition)
by Khaled Hosseini
Pride and Prejudice Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen, Vivien Jones (Editor), Tony Tanner (Introduction)

Coming Soon

See All
I Have Some Questions for You Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
I Have Some Questions for You
by Rebecca Makkai
Big Swiss Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Big Swiss
by Jen Beagin
Sea of Tranquility: A novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Sea of Tranquility: A novel
by Emily St. John Mandel
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel
by Amor Towles
On the Savage Side Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
On the Savage Side
by Tiffany McDaniel
Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel
by Rachel Joyce
The Candy House: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Candy House: A Novel
by Jennifer Egan
Demon Copperhead: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Demon Copperhead: A Novel
by Barbara Kingsolver
Our Wives Under the Sea: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Our Wives Under the Sea: A Novel
by Julia Armfield
True Biz: A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
True Biz: A Novel
by Sara Novic
Daisy Jones & The Six (TV Tie-in Edition): A Novel Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Daisy Jones & The Six (TV Tie-in Edition): A Novel
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Accidental Influencer Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Accidental Influencer
by Mick Audrey
Young Mungo Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
Shutter Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Shutter
by Ramona Emerson
Booth Pre-Order Now Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Booth
by Karen Joy Fowler

New Releases

See All
The Passenger Box Set Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Passenger Box Set
by Cormac McCarthy
Stella Maris Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Stella Maris
by Cormac McCarthy
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella
by Alan Bennett
No Longer Human Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
No Longer Human
by Osamu Dazai, Donald Keene (Translator)
Native Son Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Native Son
by Richard Wright
The Books of Jacob Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Books of Jacob
by Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft (Translator)
Sandy Wishes Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Sandy Wishes
by Judith Keim
Hiding Places Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Hiding Places
by Skye Warren
Reef Road: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Reef Road: A Novel
by Deborah Goodrich Royce
After Sappho: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
After Sappho: A Novel
by Selby Wynn Schwartz
The Things We Do to Our Friends: A Novel Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Things We Do to Our Friends: A Novel
by Heather Darwent
The Tide Between Us: An Epic Irish-Caribbean Story of Slavery & Emancipation Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
The Tide Between Us: An Epic Irish-Caribbean Story of Slavery & Emancipation
by Olive Collins
Passion and The Shadow Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Passion and The Shadow
by Emma Ritto
Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie
by O. E. Rolvaag, O. E. Rlvaag
A Man Called Ove Add to Wishlist
QUICK ADD
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman, J. K. Simmons (Read by)

B&N Reads

The Whiskers on a Berry: An Exclusive Guest Post From Jackie Polzin, Author of Brood
Guest Author
Truth and Memory: The Unreliable Narrators of Kazuo Ishiguro
BN Editors
I Loved Writing this Book: An Exclusive Guest Post from Jane Smiley, Author of Perestroika in Paris
Guest Author

Understanding Literary Fiction

What are some examples of literary fiction? Pride and Prejudice is a literary fiction novel that focuses in-depth on character development, which is one of the main aspects of literary fiction writing. The reader gets to know famous literary fiction characters like Elizabeth Bennet and perceive each of the Bennet sisters’ personal thoughts and dreams. Literary fiction dives more into literary elements such as the plot or the underlying theme of the novel. Literary fiction books such as Of Mice and Men tend to explore and reflect on the human condition. Some literary fiction plots focus on political or social conditions of a given time-period or place. For example, Things Fall Apart is a popular work of literary fiction that describes political tensions between Nigeria’s colonial government and the indigenous Igbo people in the 1890’s. George Orwell’s 1984 not only explores the political state of the nation, but also social conditions of its people. Literary texts are more likely to have a darker tone and slower pace compared to genre or popular fiction. Famous literary authors not only include such bookcase staples as F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, but modern literary fiction writers like The Kite Runners' Khaled Hosseini or Cloud Cuckoo Lands' Anthony Doerr. Shop at Barnes & Noble for literary fiction books everyone is talking about, as well as the best literary graphic novels and literary romance classics to add to your reading list. Looking for literary fiction to read immediately? Download literary fiction eBooks to your smartphone, tablet, or NOOK device and start reading today!

Browse some of the best literary fiction books in 2022 including:

  • The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
  • Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
  • A Little Hope by Ethan Joella
  • Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
  • The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
  • I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
  • Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
  • The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy