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Literary Fiction Books

Discover the best literary fiction books to read today including bestselling classics, bookseller favorites, new releases & more.

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New From Han King: Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature - A story of community and history, humanity and hope. Shop Now

Just Announced: An immersive and genre-bending novel from the Booker Prize winning author of Atonement. Pre-Order

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Parallels, Parents and Perspective: A Q&A with Adam Haslett

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Discover Literary Fiction

Shop at Barnes & Noble for literary fiction books everyone is talking about, as well as the best literary graphic novels and literary 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!

What is considered literary fiction?

Literary Fiction is a type of fiction that focuses on introspection and human character. Whereas most types of fiction are driven by plot (romance, mystery, fantasy, etc), literary fiction is a fiction of ideas that puts the human condition under the microscope. Works of literary fiction are considered to be works of art.

What is literary fiction vs. fiction?

Literary fiction is a subgenre of fiction that focuses its attention on character development, the human condition or social commentary.

What are some examples of literary fiction?

Pride and Prejudice is a literary fiction novel that focuses in-depth on character development, one of the main aspects of literary fiction writing. The reader is introduced to famous literary fiction characters like Elizabeth Bennet and observes each of the Bennet sisters’ individual thoughts, dreams and aspirations. Literary fiction books such as Of Mice and Men explore and reflect on the human condition. Other literary fiction novels focus on political or social conditions of a given time-period or place. For example, Things Fall Apart, a popular work of literary fiction, 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.

10 of the Best Literary Fiction Novels to Read in 2025:

We Do Not Part by Han Kang
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Lazarus Man by Richard Price
City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim
Absolution by Alice McDermott
Rental House by Weike Wang

Literary Fiction Books

Discover the best literary fiction books to read today including bestselling classics, bookseller favorites, new releases & more.

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