I never claimed I wasn’t dramatic. So, as dramatic as it may be, I accidently got sucked into the most experiencial, life changing, poetic and existential literature that is literary fiction.

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I am someone who reads. A lot. But as much as I love to explore genres, I end up always coming back to romance, fantasy or classics occasionally.

Literary fiction in my head was always something that intellectuals read, something not accessible to me. And honestly, I was scared that books which sounded so good wouldn’t be good for me and that I would fall short of having understood it (much like when I read Normal People way too early to understand the point of it—it did later on a reread because of a friend though).

So, on an average Saturday afternoon, after I’ve finished reading Onyx Storm (which left me completely destroyed by the way), with nothing to read, I decide to put a pause on the building reading slump and pick up an audiobook. I scrolled through the list of the ones I’d added to a tag on my Libby account. “Convenience Store Woman, huh! It’s been on the list for a while, and it’s only three hours. I might as well.” But little did I know that that would be the beginning of a whole new side of my reading journey.

What is literary fiction?

Before I dive into more of the books I’ve read, let’s understand what literary fiction actually means. I never really understood it, it seems like something we just labelled to mean something because when you look at the term in a more general context, “literary fiction”, don’t the two words just mean a written text, a sort of literature, and something that’s made up and not wholly relational to real life?

I mean that is possibly one of the most confusing parts of not really knowing what the genre consists of, right? Here’s a simple definition:

Literary fiction encompasses fiction books and writings that are more character-driven rather than plot-driven, that examine the human condition, or that are simply considered serious art by critics.

Take the Quiz: Which Literary Fiction Should You Read Next?

Jump into the world of literary fiction with the one of these novels based on your existing favourites.

Reccomendations

So after all this, I have read quite a few books and I have some recommendations for you.

Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

This novel is by Anne Tyler that follows Gail Baines, beginning on a particularly bad day when she loses her job or quits, I guess. But tomorrow, her daughter Debbie is getting married, and she wasn’t invited to the spa day organised by the groom’s mother. Then, her ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit.

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The true crisis takes place when Debbie shares with her parents about her husband-to-be, which stirs up Gail and Max’s past. Tyler’s writing brings humour and joy and tells the story of heartbreak and love and marriage and families, making for an excellent read.

I personally listened to the audiobook and it was just as engaging and fulfilling, if not more.

Convenience Store Women by Sayaka Murata

Keiko has never fit in, not in her family, not in school, not in society, so when at the age of eighteen, she begins working at a convenience store, she finds her place, some peace in life.

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She has the store’s manual, rules of social interaction laid out for her line by line—it’s the best way for her to be a “normal” person, more or less. This is perfect because she is happy, and so is everyone else, until years later, when she’s still working at the convenience store. People close to her, family, friends, begin putting increasing pressure on her to find a husband, find a “proper” job ,which prompts her to take desperate action…

This was one that jarred me at times with Keiko’s complete unflinching honesty, but it was a hooking and shot read that definitely left me with something to think about.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

On an average day in Newport, Rhode Island, Phoebe checks into the Cornwall Inn, the very one she saw years ago in a magazine, wearing an emerald silk dress and gold heels without any luggage, and without her husband, being recently divorced. Everyone mistakes her to be in the wedding party—one of the wedding people—when she is the only guest not at the Cornwall for the wedding.

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On the other hand, the bride is micromanaging and accounting or every detail and possible disasters, except for well, Phoebe and what she’s planning…

Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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In a small back alley in Tokyo, there’s a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for the last hundred years. But what makes it so unique, you might ask? It gives its customers a special opportunity: the chance to travel back in time.

In the first book in the series of numerous heartwarming stories, we meet four visitors who hope to make use of the time-travelling services to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

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But it isn’t as easy as it seems: customers need to sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café and lastly, they must return before the coffee gets cold.

The calm ambience, the heartbreaking stories, and the poetic prose, leaves you to explore the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? But, who would you want to meet?

Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo is a booklover’s paradise: an old wooden building with a shop full of hundreds of second-hand books. Takako, never liked reading, but the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for generations so it is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru.

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When Takako finds that her boyfriend is marrying someone else, she accepts her uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the room above the shop. Hoping to wallow alone in her broken heart, she encounters new worlds in the stacks of books lining the bookshop.

As we journey through Takako’s summer to autumn, she finds that she and her uncle have a lot more in common and that the bookshop is much more than just that. This marvellous journey through words on paper about the importance of books to teach us about life, love and their healing powers.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Saving the most controversial for the last because this is not one for everyone. You have been warned because the list of trigger warnings is expansive so do have a look if you are one to be sensitive to some topics. But let me tell you, it won the Nobel Prize and for good reason. So definitely worth checking out if you are able to.

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Yeong-hye lived a normal life with her husband, well, she did until the dreams began. The blood and torture and brutality that she was exposed to in her dreams drove her to renounce eating meat all together. While it might not sound as a big thing, it is and sets off a grotesque chain of events at home.

Her husband, brother-in-law and sister all fight to assert control in her life while she continues to defend the choice that becomes more and more sacred to her. Her family’s attempts to “fix” her turn desperate, impacting her mind, then her body and later becoming more intrusive violations.

What is described as Kafka-esque will leave you full of disturbing images, and question of power and free-will that we now value so much in the world.

Conclusion

I hope some of these recommendations pique your interest and motivate you to pick up a book even if it is not literary fiction. But to find out which one of these you should read first, check out the quiz attached and let me know how you like it!