The Best Literary Fiction of 2025 (So Far)

The latest from Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang is an evocative story of community and history, humanity and hope — a story of remembering the calamities of Korea’s past and connecting them to the present moment.

For a short read, Anne Tyler’s latest book packs a punch. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author generously shares her wisdom in this big-hearted, charming and funny story about motherhood, marriage and the ups and downs of life.

A beloved and critically acclaimed author returns with a poignant new story of love and friendship, identity and race. Infusing magic into the mundane, Adichie’s lyrical prose paints the interwoven stories of the lives of four West African women.

Centered on a family torn apart, My Documents follows four Vietnamese American cousins as they navigate a tumultuous political landscape, internment camps, exploitation and isolation in this riveting novel from the author of New Waves.

Our favorite book families tend to be delightfully dysfunctional, and there’s no one quite like this one. With two sisters, a pair of aging parents and barn animals aplenty, The Usual Desire to Kill is a quirky and heartfelt novel that reminds readers our parents had lives before us.

As the mesmerizing mystery unravels, Katie Kitamura’s latest follows one woman’s exploration of identity, life and love — with the bite of Colored Television by Danzy Senna and the intimacy of All Fours by Miranda July.

Does money talk? Taking several leaps up the socioeconomic ladder, István finally finds himself surrounded by London’s elite but at what price? Szalay’s poignant writing offers a lens into one teenage boy’s brush with trauma that continues to haunt him far into adulthood.

There are the books you read and then there are the books you experience, like this tale of chosen family by poet, photographer and bestselling writer Ocean Vuong, whose novels are spun from gorgeous prose and vibrant, original imagery.

A riveting story of a family in crisis, Flashlight unravels an intimate tragedy in a sweeping scope. Choi employs lush prose to take us on a mysterious, layered journey weaving through history, memory, time and space.

Engrossing, dystopian and dire, acclaimed author Laila Lalami’s latest is a story about authoritarianism, survival and the fight for privacy in a surveillance state. This one is great for fans of The Memory Police and I Who Have Never Known Men.