5 Must-Read Contemporary Literary Fiction Novels

10 Nov 2023

5 Must-Read Contemporary Literary Fiction Novels

Looking for some seriously good reads? Check out these five contemporary literary fiction novels that’ll hook you from page one. With stories that feel as real as your favorite coffee shop, these books bring modern life to the forefront. Get ready for characters you’ll love and narratives that’ll make you think.

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Clear-Cuts

by Joshua S. Narins

Release Date: October 6, 2023

In seventy-two hours, a father’s legend, a family’s ancestral lore, and two brothers will all collide. A raw, visceral, unflinching tale about the ties that bind coming unbound. Set in the rough-hewn woods of northern Maine, Clear-Cuts is a dynamic, immersive reading experience for plot-centric devotees and character-driven fiction fans alike.

Buy on Amazon

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Zenegades

by Joe Wirth

Release Date: October 7, 2023

The counterculture novel you’ve been waiting for is finally here! This full-throttle, pannier-filled tour de force has readers raving about new facets of the Millennial experience that have never been put into words, and this Zen-themed story has people questioning their own societal compliance!

Buy on Amazon

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The Vulnerables

by Sigrid Nunez

Release Date: November 7, 2023

The Vulnerables offers a meditation on our contemporary era, as a solitary female narrator asks what it means to be alive at this complex moment in history and considers how our present reality affects the way a person looks back on her past.

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Same Bed Different Dreams

by Ed Park

Release Date: November 7, 2023

A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present—loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media

Buy on Amazon

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The Conversion

by Amanda Lohrey

Release Date: October 31, 2023

A startling novel about the homes we live in: how we shape them, and how they shape us. Like Amanda Lohrey’s bestselling The Labyrinth, it is distinguished by its deep intelligence, eye for human drama and effortless readability.

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