I love lit fic. I love it. And for some readers that sounds so boring. I have heard people describe lit fic as character based more than plot based. And I would say that is likely true, but that does not mean it is boring or devoid of action or emotion.
If you are one of those people who thinks they hate lit fic, here are some books I ask you to read to see if your opinion changes.
Lit Fic + Good Romance:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a little historical fiction, a little coming of age and a little romance. It is not for those that cannot stand animal cruelty. It is set in the early days of Bartum and Bailey’s Circus. A young veterinarian leaves home and finds the circus. He falls in love with the trapeze artist who is in a relationship with the ringmaster. He is abusive to her and the animals. Enter our hero, the veterinarian!
Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood is a little historical fiction, a little coming of age and a little romance. It is 3 stories in one. It is the story of two sisters in Toronto during WWII. It is the story of 2 unknown lovers who meet secretly. And it is the sci-fi story the lovers create while they are together. There is a ton of mystery in this story surrounding one of the sister’s deaths and who the lovers are. There is not one of the three that is more intriguing!
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a classic. It is a tragic love story. It is short and will leave you destroyed.
Lit Fic + Awesome Magical Realism:
Beloved by Toni Morrison is one of the most popular examples of magical realism in literature. Runaway slave Sethe’s home is visited by a ghost that appears to be the baby of the daughter she killed. She haunts the house, scares the other children away and also represents so much more.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabiel Garcia Marquez is my, and most people’s, favorite book of his. Marquez is known as the Father of Magical Realism. He is a Colombian author, and One Hundred Years of Solitude is epic. It spans seven generations of one family. It is about the damages of solitude and the importance of the past and our memories. One character eats earth. Many are killed in wars and uprisings. There is a matron of a brothel who many seek for her advice. And of course someone returns from the dead and another has butterflies following her around.
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward is the story of 13 year old Jojo and his coming of age. After failing to help slaughter a goat, Jojo is feeling like he let down his grandfather. The next day his mother takes Jojo to see his own father in prison. In the car, Jojo finds a gris-gris bag and instructions on how to use it from his grandfather. Through this journey, Jojo learns much about himself, his family and their abilities.
Lit fic is a genre of its own, but so often lit fic books span multiple topics. If you need to have some romance in your books, you can find it in lit fic. You can even find some spicy scenes: looking at you Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante and Lauren Groff in so many of your books 😉
-Ang
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