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Top Ten General Fiction Books of 2013


We'e tried to give you a selection of the best General Fiction books of 2013 and we hope that there's something here for all tastes.

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Review of

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg

5star.jpg General Fiction

A superb novel based around life in an American Jewish family; it's light, very funny, poignant, angry, thought-provoking… In fact everything that people are, but put together with greater perfection. Full Review

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Review of

The Safest Place by Suzanne Bugler

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When Jane Berry persuades her husband and two children to move from London to the country, she thinks they will all be living the dream. The house is perfect and the schools are better; it’s only a slight inconvenience that David has to commute over two hours each way every day to work. Jane convinces herself that their new life is perfect, choosing to ignore the fact that the other family members are not so thrilled. It’s obviously bound to take some time to settle in but when she makes friends with fellow mum, Melanie, and her family it feels like everything is finally going to work out for them. Yet appearances can be deceptive and there’s a danger that the dream might start turning into a nightmare. Full Review

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Review of

Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

5star.jpg General Fiction

A touching, lyrical story that refuses to be put down until the end, making you want to believe that miracles happen as easily as synaesthesia. Pass the tissues? Full Review

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Review of

The Trader of Saigon by Lucy Cruickshanks

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A touching, sometimes brutal slice of life from the Saigon that remained when the war correspondents went home. Authentic, beautiful and highly accomplished; all novels should aspire to be this good. Full Review

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Review of

The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry

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A simply charming yet powerful love letter to books, and a book in honour of unsent love letters, all in one. Full Review

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Review of

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison

5star.jpg General Fiction

Ben Benjamin has a hidden secret that's tearing his life apart while he's helping someone else to put theirs back together. Not a worthy-worthy type book for those who worry it is (Ben's more Vince Vaughn than Daniel Day Lewis) but one that's really funny, hugely touching, well-written and just plain amazing. Full Review

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Review of

419 by Will Ferguson

5star.jpg General Fiction

This novel won Canada's version of the Booker Prize. As far I can tell, it was a completely deserving winner. This is what happens when great writing and great story collide. Full Review

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Review of

Turning Forty by Mike Gayle

5star.jpg General Fiction

Mike Gayle doesn't write novels, he writes little slices of life. If you're 40-ish and don't find something you can relate to here, you've not been paying enough attention. To life, as well as to the book. Full Review

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Review of

Ostrich by Matt Greene

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Reading Ostrich is an experience that your emotions will thank you for. It has sad, sweet and funny moments all at once and an ending that takes the breath away. It's close to being the perfect book for adults and younger readers alike. Full Review

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Review of

Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou

5star.jpg General Fiction

A novel that speaks to us via the eclectic thoughts and differently experienced life of a boy growing up in the Congo. Funny, bitter-sweet, very touching and full of the child-like logic that would make the world a much better place if we were all that age again. Full Review

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