Modern & Literary Fiction Books
Strange Beasts of China by Ge Yan
Find Strange Beasts of China by Ge Yan from publishers Tilted Axis Press at Books2Door! ; ; Published: 26/11/2020
I'm Thinking Of Ending Things by Iain Reid
Find I'm Thinking Of Ending Things by Iain Reid from publishers Text Publishing at Books2Door! ; 208 pages; Published: 27/08/2020
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
The author of the multi-prize-winning The Year of the Runaways returns with a novel of forbidden love that echoes across the generations'China Room...
View full detailsPond by Claire-Louise Bennett
Feverish and forthright, Pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pitfalls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the...
View full detailsAn Island by Karen Jennings
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE'An Island concerns itself with lives lived on the margins, through the story of a man who has exiledhimself fr...
View full detailsPanenka by Ronan Hession
His name was Joseph, but for years they had called him Panenka, a name that was his sadness and his story. Panenka has spent 25 years living with t...
View full detailsSHOULD WE FALL BEHIND -The BBC Two Between The Covers Book Club Choice by Sharon Duggal
Jimmy Noone walks from one side of a sprawling city to the other, looking for Betwa, a friend he found and lost on the bustling city streets. Jimmy...
View full detailsThe Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil warColombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war phot...
View full detailsThe Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa
Find The Crow Eaters by Bapsi Sidhwa from publishers Daunt Books at Books2Door! ; 304 pages; Published: 16/04/2015
One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In the book which put South America on the literary map, Marquez tells the haunting story of a community lost in the depths of that almighty contin...
View full detailsThe Collected Stories by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is celebrated as a novelist and man of action. He is perhaps most famous for WHOM THE BELL TOLLS and A FAREWELL TO ARM...
View full detailsThe White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2008Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. His family is too poor for him to afford ...
View full detailsBeach House Summer by Sarah Morgan
'Gloriously romantic, the perfect summer escape!' Cathy Bramley 'Beach House Summer is a perfect slice of joyful summer escapism from Sara...
View full detailsThe Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan
The feel-good Sunday Times Top 5 bestseller! 'The road trip of a lifetime - terrific fun, and will have you reaching for your car keys' Ve...
View full detailsFamily For Beginners by Sarah Morgan
Don't miss the new feel-good novel from Sarah Morgan, The Summer Seekers - out May 2021! 'Joyful, uplifting and overflowing with love. Sar...
View full detailsThe Hungry Road by Marita Conlon-McKenna
The No.1 bestselling novel of the Great Irish Famine from one of Ireland's most beloved writersIreland's hopes for freedom are dashed with the arri...
View full detailsFor Any Other Truth: A D.C.I. Daley Thriller by Denzil Meyrick
A SUNDAY POST TOP PICK FOR SUMMER READING'This latest DCI Daley thriller is deftly plotted and peopled with sympathetically drawn local characters ...
View full detailsWashington Black by Esi Edugyan
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018WINNER OF THE GILLER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2020FINALIST FOR THE CA...
View full detailsPeople From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi (Y) Kawakami
Take a story and shrink it. Make it tiny, so small it can fit in the palm of your hand. Carry the story with you everywhere, let it sit with you wh...
View full detailsThe Last Children of Tokyo by Yoko Tawada
Yoshiro thinks he might never die. A hundred years old and counting, he is one of Japan's many 'old-elderly'; men and women who remember a time bef...
View full detailsHuman Acts by Han (Y) Kang
Gwangju, South Korea, 1980. In the wake of a viciously suppressed student uprising, a boy searches for his friend's corpse, a consciousness searche...
View full detailsHow Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino
Publishing in English for the very first time, Japan's beloved coming-of-age classic on what really matters in life The streets of Tokyo swarm belo...
View full detailsGilead by Marilynne Robinson
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION and THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDAN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICKIn 1956, towards the end of Reverend Jo...
View full detailsHis Dark Materials: Gift Edition including all three novels Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
Now a major critically acclaimed BBC series This special collection features all three titles in the award-winning trilogy: Northern Lights, The Su...
View full detailsThe African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart No Longer at Ease Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe is considered the father of African literature in English, the writer who 'opened the magic casements of African fiction' for an inte...
View full detailsBel Canto by Ann Patchett
Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The poignant - and at times very funny - nove...
View full detailsHappy Hour by Marlowe Granados
With the verve and bite of Ottessa Moshfegh and the barbed charm of Nancy Mitford, Marlowe Granados's stunning debut brilliantly captures a summer ...
View full detailsEveryone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
'Funny about death, real about anxiety, witty about the things that worry us the most' Emma Gannon, author of Olive 'So fundamentally kind that you...
View full detailsMemorial by Bryan Washington
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR'This feels like a vision for the 21st-century novel... It made me happy' Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Brie...
View full detailsHow to Stop Time by Matt Haig
If you loved The Midnight Library, read How to Stop Time next!HOW MANY LIFETIMES DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE?Tom Hazard has a dangerous secre...
View full detailsA Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
In the wake of the 2011 tsunami, Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home in British Columbia. Within it lies...
View full detailsPaper Cup by Karen Campbell
What if going back means you could begin again?Rocked by a terrible accident, homeless Kelly needs to escape the city streets of Glasgow. Maybe she...
View full detailsA Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories by Leonard Cohen
An unprecedented glimpse into the formation of the legendary talent of Leonard Cohen. Before the celebrated late-career world tours, before the G...
View full detailsThe Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam
'Poignant as well as savagely witty' Observer'Stylish and funny' Sunday Times'Hits every note perfectly' Kamila ShamsieA life-changing app. The w...
View full detailsHow Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
A PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST'Sweeping and quietly devastating' New York Times'A David and Goliath story for our times' O, the Oprah MagazineSet in...
View full detailsMrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZEMrs Death tells her intoxicating story in this life-affirming fire-starter of a novelMrs Death has had enough....
View full detailsThe Second Cut by Louise Welsh
SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE'I doubt I'll read a better book this year' Val McDermid'Compelling, immersive and brimming with life' Graeme M...
View full detailsTime After Time by Louise Pentland
Number one bestselling author Louise Pentland is back with her brand new novel that will make you laugh, make you cry and thoroughly charm you!Some...
View full detailsRogue by James Swallow
The explosive new book from the master of the modern espionage thriller and Sunday Times bestseller James Swallow. ___________________In modern e...
View full detailsThe Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
Corbin College, not-quite-upstate New York, winter 1959-1960: Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian-but not an historian of the Jews-is co-opted onto a hi...
View full detailsThe Story: 100 Great Short Stories Written by Women by Victoria Hislop
A special reissue from Head of Zeus's bestselling anthology collection of the best 100 short stories written by women, selected by Victoria Hislop,...
View full detailsEvery Leaf a Hallelujah by Ben Okri
A Guardian Children's Book of the Year An environmental fairytale made for our times, written to be read by adults and children, from the Booker Pr...
View full detailsDeath and Croissants by Ian Moore
Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and rea...
View full detailsThe Uncommon Reader: Alan Bennett's classic story about the Queen by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett's classic story about Queen Elizabeth IIWhat would happen if the Queen became a reader of taste and discernment rather than of Dick Fr...
View full detailsWe Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
'Wise, provocative and wildly endearing' Guardian'Readably juicy and surreptitiously smart' Barbara KingsolverTHE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLERRosemary d...
View full detailsA Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi
'A beautiful little novel about books, history, ambition and the importance of literature.' Nick Hornby'Truly potent ... Adimi confronts us with ep...
View full detailsActs of Service by Lillian Fishman
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 - VOGUE, BuzzFeed, LitHub"A bold, promising debut." MARY GAITSKILL *** "Thoughtful, savage" RAVEN LEILANI *** "Radi...
View full detailsFresh Water for Flowers: Over 1 million copies sold by Valerie Perrin
*A NUMBER 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*A TLS' BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021: "Beautifully written and compelling to read.""An appealing indulgence in nature,...
View full detailsCreative, formula-bending, genre-defying, character-focused, and most importantly, a literary exploration of the human condition—contemporary & modern literary fiction is arguably the most experimental genre within literature.
The landscape of literary fiction is constantly being revolutionised by literary fiction authors; that are known to constantly push the boundaries of genre fiction and blur the lines of distinction between literary fiction and other genres of literature.
Given the creative ambiguity of contemporary literary fiction; the genre witnesses a dazzling lineup of highly acclaimed debuts and fresh progressive voices each year. From trailblazing memoirs to the cultural history of humanity—no other genre captures the exactness of our collective life experience more creatively than literary fiction.
The list of bestselling literary fiction is an exciting mix of very distinct literary techniques and contrasting voices. Precisely why, we at Books2Door bring you and a carefully curated collection of the best literary fiction books of all time whilst also helping you gain an acute understanding of what qualifies as modern & literary fiction.
Formula-bending, genre-defying, and experimental
Modern and Contemporary Literary Fiction or experimental fiction is possibly the literature’s most rebellious genre. It doesn’t follow any literary formulas, nor does it adhere to any rules. In that, literary fiction authors are free to build an unpredictable narrative. Anything can transpire; exciting or unnerving. In literary fiction, any established literary theme can be turned on its head. For instance, literary fiction authors have challenged the good-triumphs-over-evil theme; so common otherwise in genre fiction books.
George Orwell’s social satire Nineteen Eighty-Four is one example. A book best categorised as dystopian literature; (remember the recently trending hashtag #makeorwellfictionagain ?) Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four not only challenged the good vs evil theme but also blurred the lines of distinction between genre fiction and classic literary fiction.
Employees creative storytelling
Considering literary fiction doesn’t adhere to any rules of genre or sub-genre; every literary fiction author is free to be creative and create his own rules. This makes the storyline an adventure, that can take its readers by surprise.
Devoid of any rules, the literary fiction writer is free to break convention and employ his creativity. This practice has birthed some extraordinary literary works. For example, Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife where Niffenegger’s uses dual narrators from the first person point of view, in the present tense.
Thought-provoking and introspective
Like we said earlier, no other genre captures the exactness of the human condition and our collective life experience more creatively than literary fiction. Whilst most genres are designed to entertain the readers, literary fiction is meant to do more than that. Literary fiction seeks to make sense of the world. It is meant to be thought-provoking, and introspective and is meant to push the reader to think critically of the human condition.
Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, for instance, explores the mind of a depressed, anxious, and neurotic young woman. Whilst the book has a coming-of-age plot line; it is the inner dialogue of this character that truly makes it a memorable book. This strong character study is what makes literary fiction a character-focused and introspective genre.
Explores the human condition
Stories in literary fiction do not shy away from dealing with difficult subjects and the realities of the human condition with artistic honesty. Literary fiction, therefore, is not always designed to help the reader escape. It can make the reader uncomfortable and push them to think about issues.
Literary fiction however is not non-fiction; so it doesn’t just report the truth. Instead, it relies on creative techniques and artsy symbolism to convey a deeper meaning. Literary fiction relies on metaphors and creative storytelling to convey meaningful messages. As a result, the takeaway from these stories is more than just the story, the takeaway is the experience, the message, and at times the characters.
Literary fiction is character-driven
Whilst genre fiction is focused on the story, plotlines, and on being an engaging read; literary fiction is more stressed on the characters or on conveying a meaningful message or idea. At times, it is focused on both. The characters in literary fiction can have layers, the depth of a character's actions and psyche are explored to forward the plot. Literary fiction doesn’t just show a character’s story, it shows how their actions and circumstances change the character.
Literary fiction can be as absurd and ambiguous as life itself
Literary fiction is experimental in nature much like absurd art, which means it doesn’t have to have a happy ending or an ending at all. Art movements like absurdism, dadaism and surrealism, are all, artsy cousins of experimental prose.
Literary fiction gives writers the liberty to let a story end abruptly or for the entire plot to be absurd. Stories in this genre don’t necessarily have to resolve but they have to have meaning. The meaning however is left to the reader’s interpretation.
Literary fiction is good for the reader
Because literary fiction pushes boundaries, employs a unique perspective, searches for meaning, and is designed for intellectual and emotional stimulus--it is much like the art you see hanging in galleries and the movies that bring meaningful conversations alive. Just like artsy movies and art itself, the creative genius of literary fiction is largely open to criticism. Some of the best contemporary literary fiction books have won critical acclaim and awards but missed out on winning the masses.
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