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Best Literary Fiction Books of 2021

The literary landscape is set for a revolution in 2022. Established greats like Hanya Yanagihara and Lily King are returning with acclaimed new fiction; eagerly-anticipated To Paradise and Five Tuesdays in Winter are both releasing in the first half of 2022. But alongside award-winners are fresh faces, with debuts from a variety of original and exciting writers. Maddie Mortimer's much-adored Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is the debut that no one can stop talking about, and nothing else has captured the exactness of our collective social moment more acutely than Vladimir by Julia May Jonas.
Read on for our curated list of the most exciting literary fiction coming in 2022, the best literary books of 2021, and our all-time literary must-reads.
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Devotion (Hannah Kent)
Devotion
1
Hannah Kent
Our Wives Under the Sea (Julia Armfield)
Our Wives Under the Sea
2
Julia Armfield
Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter (Lizzie Pook)
Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter
3
Lizzie Pook
The Midwife (Tricia Cresswell)
The Midwife
4
Tricia Cresswell
Five Tuesdays in Winter (Lily King)
Five Tuesdays in Winter
5
Lily King
A Time Outside This Time (Amitava Kumar)
A Time Outside This Time
6
Amitava Kumar
To Paradise (Hanya Yanagihara)
To Paradise
7
Hanya Yanagihara
Luster (Raven Leilani)
Luster
8
Raven Leilani
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (Maddie Mortimer)
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
9
Maddie Mortimer
The Office of Historical Corrections (Danielle Evans)
The Office of Historical Corrections
10
Danielle Evans
The War of the Poor (Eric Vuillard)
The War of the Poor
11
Eric Vuillard
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
12
Hanya Yanagihara
The Fell (Sarah Moss)
The Fell
13
Sarah Moss
The Cat Who Saved Books (Sōsuke Natsukawa)
The Cat Who Saved Books
14
Sōsuke Natsukawa
Paradise (Kae Tempest)
Paradise
15
Kae Tempest
Heaven (Mieko Kawakami)
Heaven
16
Mieko Kawakami
What Strange Paradise (Omar El Akkad)
What Strange Paradise
17
Omar El Akkad
Shuggie Bain (Douglas Stuart)
Shuggie Bain
18
Douglas Stuart
Yours Cheerfully (A.J. Pearce)
Yours Cheerfully
19
A.J. Pearce
The Painter's Friend (Howard Cunnell)
The Painter's Friend
20
Howard Cunnell
The Lamplighters (Emma Stonex)
The Lamplighters
21
Emma Stonex
Circus of Wonders (Elizabeth Macneal)
Circus of Wonders
22
Elizabeth Macneal
Brood (Jackie Polzin)
Brood
23
Jackie Polzin
Of Women and Salt (Gabriela Garcia)
Of Women and Salt
24
Gabriela Garcia
The Melting (Lize Spit)
The Melting
25
Lize Spit
Catch the Rabbit (Lana Bastašić)
Catch the Rabbit
26
Lana Bastašić
Kololo Hill (Neema Shah)
Kololo Hill
27
Neema Shah
Mother for Dinner (Shalom Auslander)
Mother for Dinner
28
Shalom Auslander
The Most Precious of Cargoes (Jean-Claude Grumberg)
The Most Precious of Cargoes
29
Jean-Claude Grumberg
Nightshift (Kiare Ladner)
Nightshift
30
Kiare Ladner
The Art of Losing (Alice Zeniter)
The Art of Losing
31
Alice Zeniter
The Strays of Paris (Jane Smiley)
The Strays of Paris
32
Jane Smiley
Jack & Bet (Sarah Butler)
Jack & Bet
33
Sarah Butler
Cleanness (Garth Greenwell)
Cleanness
34
Garth Greenwell
Amnesty (Aravind Adiga)
Amnesty
35
Aravind Adiga
Little Bandaged Days (Kyra Wilder)
Little Bandaged Days
36
Kyra Wilder
Writers & Lovers (Lily King)
Writers & Lovers
37
Lily King
The Hiding Game (Naomi Wood)
The Hiding Game
38
Naomi Wood
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Toshikazu Kawaguchi)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
39
Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Breasts and Eggs (Mieko Kawakami)
Breasts and Eggs
40
Mieko Kawakami
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