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The Wild World of Literary Fiction

The latest literary novels that I've read and loved

Literary fiction is a genre of endless discovery. Wild, often weird and nearly always interesting, it is a world that I spend a lot of my life investigating. Here is a selection of my favourite recent finds.

Berg

Ann Quin

Reading this often reminding me of John Kennedy Toole's uproariously funny novel A Confederecy of Dunces. Ann Quin's creation, however, is darker, more absurd, more darkly suggestive. The character of Berg cuts a bizarre figure. Chronicling his visit to a seaside town with the intention of killing his absent father, his machinations rarely work out as he intends.

Come Let Us Sing Anyway

Leone Ross

A criminally under-read short story collection. Wildly vivid, inventive and sensual, Leone Ross' collection is varied and challenging in the best way possible. Stories range from the surreal to the erotic, and often combine the two. If you have loved any short stories by Haruki Murakami, Roberto BolaƱo or Carmen Maria Machado, this is one to try next.

The Discomfort of Evening

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Currently on the longlist for this years Man Booker International prize, this novel from a young Dutch author tells the story of a girl growing up on a dairy farm during the foot and mouth crisis. Full of organic humour amongst the dark reverberations of family tragedy, this is one of the most engaging novels I have read for a long time. Delightfully weird and wonderful.

Lost Children Archive

Valeria Luiselli

Many of you will already know this to be my favourite book from last year. A road novel, a family chronicle, an adventure story and a rumination on art and poltics all at the same time. The novel succeeds most of all because of how rewarding it is to be in the company of the novel's narrator. One of those brilliant books that makes you want to read more books.

Fate

Jorge Consiglio

A stunningly poignant novel, detailing the interior lives of a disparate cast of characters who weave in and out of each other's existence. Jorge Consiglio stunningly manages to capture how our thoughts fluctuate and dissipate; how something can mean everything in one moment and be forgotten in the next, and how we subtly, unintentionally shape the lives around us.

Hurricane Season

Fernanda Melchor

A vortex of intensity, this breathless novel is nosedive into the violence of life under poverty in a rural Mexican village. Constantly shifting perspectives, a violent crime is recounted by the disparate personalities involved. Beautiful and brutal in equal measure, this is not a novel for those with a weak stomach, but it is a deeply textured and rewarding read.