Contemporary and/or literary fiction is, I’ll admit, a genre I struggle with. On the whole, I find it bores me so finding books within it that I enjoy is… occasionally a futile-seeming exercise. However. I thought I’d challenge myself for you today and put together a rec list of the genre so, here we are! If you’re as little enamoured by this genre as I am, let me suggest these few exceptions to maybe change your mind.
Beautiful World, Where Are You
Sally Rooney
Goodreads
Rep: bi mcs
CWs: mentions of self harm, depression
Why Should I Read It?
Of course this book was always going to be number one on the list. This is, in my humble opinion, Sally Rooney’s best book so far. It is at once expansive and also intimate, focusing on a group of four friends and their relationships. And within that, it’s so full of hope and love.
Son of Sin
Omar Sakr
Goodreads
Rep: Lebanese Turkish Muslim Australian bi mc, Lebanese Australian characters, Black sapphic side character, Arab achillean side characters, gay side character
CWs: racial slurs, homophobic slurs, domestic abuse, racism, homophobia, sexual assault, suicidal ideation, implied child sexual abuse
Why Should I Read It?
This is a poet’s book, so clearly, and honestly, perhaps one best listened to on audio because of it. At its heart is a family, not always functional and not always the best at communicating, but a family who loves one another fiercely nevertheless. It’s Melina Marchetta-esque in that respect (and, to translate, that’s the highest praise I can give it).
Flamingo
Rachel Elliott
Goodreads
Rep: lesbian mc, bi mc
Why Should I Read It?
This is a book about homecoming. About finding a family and then re-finding them years later. As you might have guessed from that, it’s about the love of a found family, but biological family isn’t neglected. It’s about finding strength and love in both.
La Bastarda
Trifonia Melibea Obono
Goodreads
Rep: Fang cast, lesbian mc, gay & lesbian side characters
CWs: homophobia, sexual assault, implied incest, rape & femicide
Why Should I Read It?
Pivoting a bit here with this rec to travel to Equatorial Guinea. The story follows a girl on a quest to find her father, despite being forbidden to seek him out. It is, as with the previous recommendations, a book about family and culture, how they constrict but also can set you free.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong
Goodreads
Rep: Vietnamese gay mc (with bipolar disorder?), character with PTSD, character with schizophrenia, Vietnamese, Latinx & Black side characters, gay side character
CWs: past domestic abuse, animal death, homophobia, mentions of homophobic violence, abortion, drug addiction, overdoses
Why Should I Read It?
Okay, maybe it’s time to admit there’s another theme inherent to this rec list: family. Because, surprise surprise, this is another that falls into that category. In this case, it’s about the mc’s complicated relationship with his mother, all the ways they can and can’t communicate, but beneath that all, the love they have for one another.
Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead
Emily R. Austin
Goodreads
Rep: lesbian mc with anxiety & depression, trans(?)/gnc(?) side character with alcohol & painkiller addiction
CWs: ableism, self harm, suicidal ideation
Why Should I Read It?
Taking a little break from books that make you Feel Things (although this one does that too), this next rec is a little more on the comedic side of things. Unable to stop thinking about death, Gilda joins a therapy session at a local church, only to find herself, an atheist lesbian, hired to replace the receptionist who recently died. A death that Gilda comes to believe was murder. This is a book that covers heavy topics with kindness and a bit of humour and for that, it’s one of my absolute favourites.
The Wrong End of the Telescope
Rabih Alameddine
Goodreads
Rep: Lebanese sapphic trans mc
Why Should I Read It?
Once again, we’re back to the books that are about family at their heart. In this, our protagonist has spent the last 30 years living away from her homeland and the family (except her brother) who rejected her, but comes back at the behest of a friend. It’s a book about the complexities of humanity and people themselves, their strengths and their flaws.
Enter the Aardvark
Jessica Anthony
Goodreads
Rep: gay mcs
CWs: eye horror, gore, casual racism, sexism & homophobia (inc. slurs)
Why Should I Read It?
Charlotte, I hear you ask, why are you recommending us a book about a taxidermied aardvark on a blog for LGBT media? Well. Bear with me. It may be a book about a taxidermied aardvark, but the taxidermied aardvark is more a catalyst for the plot itself. This book is, to put it bluntly, fucking weird, but also highly compelling, a satire centering on a gay Republican politician, who receives this taxidermied aardvark that will, unbeknownst to him, be the cause of his downfall.
This Town Sleeps
Dennis E. Staples
Goodreads
Rep: Ojibwe gay mc, gay li, Ojibwe side characters
CWs: violence, murder, implied rape, internalised homophobia
Why Should I Read It?
This is a contemporary novel, but with some fabulist elements. Nevertheless, I’m adding it to this list because, honestly, it’s one I love too much not to. This book considers cycles of trauma, both individual and collective, how they’re perpetuated, and how they’re broken free of. It’s a book that mixes hope and tragedy: you expect the way it ends, even as you wish for something different, but the ending leaves you with a glimmer of hope, that even those characters most stuck in those cycles of trauma might find their way out some day.
Transcendent Kingdom
Yaa Gyasi
Goodreads
Rep: Ghanaian cast, bi mc, character with depression
CWs: death by overdose, heroin addiction, suicide attempt
Why Should I Read It?
Another book about family to round off this list. Transcendent Kingdom is a must-read. If you haven’t tried a book by Yaa Gyasi before, you’re truly missing out. This one is gorgeously written, full of empathy and humanity. It’s a book that covers heavy topics, again, but it treats them with the gravity and respect that they deserve.
What would you rec?
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