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Top Ten Literary Fiction Books of 2013


It's been a good year for literary fiction and we've chosen our favourites. We've not included books which have appeared on major prize long lists and shortlists as we suspect that you already know about them. If you don't then you might like to have a look at this year's Man Booker Prize.

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Review of

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

One of those rare times when a book with a strong literary style is also highly readable. Spanning 1910 to 1967 the book explores the small changes that potentially change the outcomes for the Todd family and particularly Ursula Todd who both dies before she is born and who goes on to live several remarkable outcomes. Innovative, profound but compulsively readable, this is a quite remarkable book. Full Review

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Review of

The Year of Miracle and Grief by Leonid Borodin

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A twelve-year-old newcomer to the shores of Lake Baikal explores the notorious Dead Man's Crag and there discovers the secret of the mountain that looks like a ruined castle. A magical tale of hurt and love laced with the remote wonder of Siberia. Full Review

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Review of

Call of the Undertow by Linda Cracknell

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Tragedy drives cartographer Maggie Thame to seek solace in the remotest place in Britain, the far northern coasts of Scotland. There an unexpected friendship with an odd local child changes both of their lives. Beautiful, haunting and highly recommended. Full Review

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Review of

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

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Narrated by Fowler's imagined voice of Zelda Fitzgerald, this is both a balanced view of events and a touching and ultimately tragic love story of Zelda and her husband, F Scott Fitzgerald. Like much of their life, reality played like an F Scott Fitzgerald novel - full of glamour, alcohol and bad behaviour. Full Review

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Review of

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

A novel tracing a Hassidic Jewish family across Europe between 1939 and 2012, demanding to be read. The New Yorker says Stunning while we're just stunned. Full Review

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Review of

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

A rich, beautiful, heart-wrenching debut novel spanning 60 years and a family of individuals struggling against odds and upbringing. It blew us away and left us wishing that Hattie had even more children so we could stay with them longer. Full Review

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Review of

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell

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Exquisite writing, perfect evocation of place, characters you know and a great story. What more can you ask? Highly recommended. Full Review

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Review of

The Forrests by Emily Perkins

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

A beautiful, subtle but addictive study of a family through the lifetime of one of its members. A novel that will surreptitiously grab you till it's over and even then you may spend a while afterwards in its thrall. Full Review

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Review of

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

5star.jpg Literary Fiction

A stunning historical novel. Outstanding, a definite recommendation for all, particularly those with an interest in the Jazz Age. Full Review

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Review of

Sketcher by Roland Watson-Grant

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A wonderful book based around the Louisiana swamps for all those who never thought they'd read a wonderful book based around the Louisiana swamps. Touching, funny, simply told and yet deceptively deep, although we may not want them living next door, the Beaumonts are a family from whom we'd like to hear more. Full Review

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