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Literary Fiction

Literary works that challenge our understanding of the human experience through richly crafted language, complex characters, and profound themes. These masterfully written stories and reflections explore life's deepest questions while pushing the boundaries of storytelling itself.

Literary Fiction Book Summaries

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Summary
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
by Ernest Hemingway 1987 650 pages
4.29
37.4K ratings
Short Stories
Classics
Literature
The Flamethrowers Summary
The Flamethrowers
by Rachel Kushner 2013 383 pages
3.50
23.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Mercury Summary
Mercury
by Amy Jo Burns 2024 336 pages
3.80
18.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
Nocturnes Summary
Nocturnes
Five Stories of Music and Nightfall
by Kazuo Ishiguro 2009 221 pages
3.51
31.1K ratings
Short Stories
Music
Contemporary
Big Swiss Summary
Big Swiss
by Jen Beagin 2023 336 pages
3.68
123.9K ratings
Contemporary
LGBT
Queer
Angle of Repose Summary
Angle of Repose
by Wallace Stegner 1971 569 pages
4.24
61.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Book Club
History of English literature Summary
History of English literature
by Edward Albert 1923 544 pages
3.91
255 ratings
History
Literature
Literary Criticism
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves Summary
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
by Karen Joy Fowler 2013 310 pages
3.71
125.0K ratings
Book Club
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Commonwealth Summary
Commonwealth
by Ann Patchett 2016 322 pages
3.83
196.4K ratings
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
God Hates Us All Summary
God Hates Us All
by Hank Moody 2009 200 pages
3.46
4.9K ratings
Contemporary
Humor
Literary Fiction
Evenings and Weekends Summary
Evenings and Weekends
by OisΓ­n McKenna 2024 352 pages
3.79
35.9K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
LGBT
The Gospel Singer Summary
The Gospel Singer
by Harry Crews 1968 300 pages
4.22
1.8K ratings
Southern Gothic
Southern
Classics
Tom Lake Summary
Tom Lake
by Ann Patchett 2023 309 pages
3.94
451.6K ratings
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Romance
Big Brother Summary
Big Brother
by Lionel Shriver 2013 384 pages
3.47
14.4K ratings
Book Club
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
The Lying Life of Adults Summary
The Lying Life of Adults
by Elena Ferrante 2019 336 pages
3.67
80.6K ratings
Italy
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Cloud Cuckoo Land Summary
Cloud Cuckoo Land
by Anthony Doerr 2021 626 pages
4.25
249.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Book Club
Come and Get It Summary
Come and Get It
by Kiley Reid 2024 400 pages
3.34
39.5K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Book Club
The Golden Notebook Summary
The Golden Notebook
by Doris Lessing 1962 640 pages
3.77
24.0K ratings
Classics
Feminism
Literature
Mina's Matchbox Summary
Mina's Matchbox
by Yōko Ogawa 2006 282 pages
3.77
5.4K ratings
Japan
Historical Fiction
Japanese Literature
The Guest Summary
The Guest
by Emma Cline 2023 304 pages
3.28
102.7K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Thriller
Family of Origin Summary
Family of Origin
by C.J. Hauser 2019 287 pages
3.48
1.6K ratings
Novels
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
All's Well Summary
All's Well
by Mona Awad 2021 352 pages
3.74
32.3K ratings
Horror
Contemporary
Magical Realism
Sometimes a Great Notion Summary
Sometimes a Great Notion
by Ken Kesey 1964 628 pages
4.26
23.4K ratings
Classics
Literature
Novels
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet Summary
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
by David Mitchell 2010 479 pages
4.03
66.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Japan
Historical
Real Americans Summary
Real Americans
by Rachel Khong 2024 399 pages
3.97
72.8K ratings
Historical Fiction
Book Club
Literary Fiction
The Country Girls Summary
The Country Girls
by Edna O'Brien 1960 175 pages
3.69
8.1K ratings
Ireland
Irish Literature
Classics
Cathedral Summary
Cathedral
by Raymond Carver 1983 230 pages
4.24
39.0K ratings
Short Stories
Classics
Literature
The Satisfaction CafΓ© Summary
The Satisfaction CafΓ©
by Kathy Wang 2025 352 pages
3.71
1.2K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Adult
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay Summary
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
by Elena Ferrante 2013 418 pages
4.36
178.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Italy
Italian Literature
The Heart of Winter Summary
The Heart of Winter
by Jonathan Evison 2025 368 pages
4.12
4.8K ratings
Romance
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
This Strange Eventful History Summary
This Strange Eventful History
by Claire Messud 2024 448 pages
3.58
4.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Africa
The Round House Summary
The Round House
by Louise Erdrich 2012 323 pages
3.98
121.4K ratings
Book Club
Historical Fiction
Mystery
The Days of Abandonment Summary
The Days of Abandonment
by Elena Ferrante 2002 188 pages
3.87
54.5K ratings
Contemporary
Italy
Literary Fiction
The Mars Room Summary
The Mars Room
by Rachel Kushner 2018 338 pages
3.44
46.3K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Book Club
Trust Exercise Summary
Trust Exercise
by Susan Choi 2019 257 pages
3.13
37.4K ratings
Literary Fiction
Book Club
Contemporary
The Female Persuasion Summary
The Female Persuasion
by Meg Wolitzer 2018 454 pages
3.56
57.2K ratings
Feminism
Contemporary
Book Club
The Heartbeat Library Summary
The Heartbeat Library
by Laura Imai Messina 2022 400 pages
4.03
3.2K ratings
Japan
Contemporary
Japanese Literature
All-Night Pharmacy Summary
All-Night Pharmacy
by Ruth Madievsky 2023 304 pages
3.51
7.1K ratings
Contemporary
LGBT
Queer
Ask Again, Yes Summary
Ask Again, Yes
by Mary Beth Keane 2019 388 pages
3.93
200.4K ratings
Book Club
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Less Than Zero Summary
Less Than Zero
by Bret Easton Ellis 1985 208 pages
3.60
93.8K ratings
Contemporary
Novels
Classics
Chemistry Summary
Chemistry
by Weike Wang 2017 224 pages
3.74
25.1K ratings
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
Adult
The Shimmering State Summary
The Shimmering State
by Meredith Westgate 2021 320 pages
3.44
1.4K ratings
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Dystopia
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye Summary
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye
Five Fairy Stories
by A.S. Byatt 1994 274 pages
3.85
4.4K ratings
Short Stories
Fantasy
Fairy Tales
The Knockout Queen Summary
The Knockout Queen
by Rufi Thorpe 2020 277 pages
3.73
14.1K ratings
Contemporary
LGBT
Young Adult
A Touch of Jen Summary
A Touch of Jen
by Beth Morgan 2021 320 pages
3.26
12.7K ratings
Horror
Contemporary
Literary Fiction
The Neapolitan Novels Summary
The Neapolitan Novels
by Elena Ferrante 2015 1705 pages
4.57
6.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Italy
Italian Literature
Trespasses Summary
Trespasses
by Louise Kennedy 2022 292 pages
3.97
45.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Ireland
Irish Literature
Damnation Spring Summary
Damnation Spring
by Ash Davidson 2021 464 pages
3.90
13.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
Wandering Stars Summary
Wandering Stars
by Tommy Orange 2024 315 pages
3.84
31.9K ratings
Historical Fiction
Indigenous
Literary Fiction
The Complete Stories Summary
The Complete Stories
by Flannery O'Connor 1971 555 pages
4.39
40.2K ratings
Short Stories
Classics
Literature
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