The literary fiction category was filled with incredible books this year! From some of our favorites to a couple of newcomers, there was no shortage of gorgeous prose and captivating creativity.
Every year thousands of our readers vote for their favorite books of the year in the She Reads Awards. Find out more about the books that were nominated and see which book was voted the Best Literary Fiction Book of 2023:
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Burdened by his tragic family history and the silence it brought, William Waters escapes his home through a basketball scholarship to college. There, he meets Julia Padavano and her close-knit family. Soon, he becomes part of their loving chaos, but when William’s past resurfaces, it creates unexpected turmoil, testing Julia’s carefully arranged plans. A catastrophic family rift unfolds, testing everyone’s loyalty.
Congrats Ann!
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Now, check out more great literary fiction from the year 2023!
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Guiding us through this nightmarish landscape is Annis, who was sold south by the white enslaver responsible for her. As she endures the grueling miles-long march, Annis seeks solace in memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout Anni’s journey, she’ll experience a world beyond this world, filled with spirits that both give and take, crafting a story of rebirth and reclamation.
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The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
In the town of Jewel, Minnesota, wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn dies from a shotgun blast, his body found in the Alabaster River. Sheriff Brody Dern, a war hero with his own scars, leads the murder investigation. Soon Dern’s suspicion falls on Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife, sparking tensions in the town. As anger and accusations escalate, Dern strives to uncover the truth behind Quinn’s murder while confronting his own demons.
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The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Unfolding in Kerala, along South India’s Malabar Coast, three generations of a family each suffer from a tragic death by drowning. Now, a twelve-year-old girl, Big Ammachi, sets off by boat to marry and meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. She’s already lost her father, and soon, she’ll witness the immense societal shifts throughout her life.
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The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Eliza Touchet, housekeeper, and cousin to the declining novelist William Ainsworth, truly believes in a few things — one her cousin has no real talent, his dear Mr. Charles Dickens has poor character, and England is a land in which nothing is quite what it seems. Meanwhile, in Jamaica, former slave Andrew Bogle, aware of the human cost of sugar and social deception, becomes a pivotal witness in London at the celebrated Tichborne Trial. Captivating England and Touchet herself, the trial will make everyone realize that what is real may be more complicated than expected.
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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
When Lara’s three daughters return home in the spring of 2020, they beg their mother to share her past with Peter Duke, a famous actor she shared a period with on the stage and off. When Lara recalls the past, her daughters reflect on their lives and their relationship with their mother. This forces them to reevaluate the world and reexamine everything they thought they knew.
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I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Bodie Kane, a film professor and podcaster, attempts to put her troubled past behind her, including a family tragedy and a disturbing incident during her New Hampshire boarding school years. She’s been avoiding the unsolved murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, and the controversial conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans. However, when the Granby School invites her to teach, Bodie is compelled to revisit the case, pondering if the real killer was overlooked and her own potential role in solving it.
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Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
In New York, amongst the one-percenters of the world, Darley, the eldest Stockton daughter, chooses motherhood over her family’s wealth. Sasha, a middle-class New England girl, marries into a Brooklyn Heights family, feeling like an outsider, and Georgiana, the baby of the family, grapples with an unattainable love and the person she wants to become after it.
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
In 1972, during construction in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a surprise find emerges—a well-held secret—a skeleton at the bottom of a well in Chicken Hill, a neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans shared their lives. As their stories converge, McBride delves into the challenges faced by those on society’s margins and the strength required to endure. When the truth about Chicken Hill’s history and the town’s white elite’s role is revealed, it underscores the power of love and community in even the darkest times.
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River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
The Barbados plantation owner informs his slaves that slavery is ending due to the Emancipation Act of 1834. However, they are now called apprentices and still must work for him for six more years. Rachel, one of the slaves, decides to escape and search for her five children who were sold. Her journey takes her through Barbados, British Guiana, and Trinidad, all in the pursuit of reuniting with her children and achieving true freedom. This is not just their story but, above all, the tale of a mother’s unwavering determination to find her children and attain freedom.
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