BVBook Verdict

Literary Fiction · 1990s

Best Literary Fiction of the 1990s

The best literary fiction books first published in the 1990s, ranked — a focused list of 31 titles.

The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien · 1990 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
Possession A.S. Byatt · 1990 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
The Buddha of Suburbia Hanif Kureishi · 1990 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
The Famished Road Ben Okri · 1991 Essential Read See details →
The Secret History Donna Tartt · 1992 Essential Read See details →
The English Patient Michael Ondaatje · 1992 Essential Read See details →
Jesus' Son Denis Johnson · 1992 Essential Read See details →
Never Mind Edward St Aubyn · 1992 Essential Read See details →
Birdsong Sebastian Faulks · 1993 Essential Read See details →
Trainspotting Irvine Welsh · 1993 Essential Read See details →
The Stone Diaries Carol Shields · 1993 Essential Read See details →
The Shipping News Annie Proulx · 1993 Essential Read See details →
Paradise Abdulrazak Gurnah · 1994 Essential Read See details →
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami · 1994 Essential Read See details →
In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez · 1994 Essential Read See details →
Breath Eyes Memory Edwidge Danticat · 1994 Essential Read See details →
High Fidelity Nick Hornby · 1995 Essential Read See details →
The Reader Bernhard Schlink · 1995 Essential Read See details →
Blindness Jose Saramago · 1995 Essential Read See details →
Alias Grace Margaret Atwood · 1996 Essential Read See details →
Bridget Jones Diary Helen Fielding · 1996 Essential Read See details →
The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy · 1997 Essential Read See details →
American Pastoral Philip Roth · 1997 Essential Read See details →
Enduring Love Ian McEwan · 1997 Essential Read See details →
Brokeback Mountain Annie Proulx · 1997 Essential Read See details →
The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman · 1997 Essential Read See details →
My Name Is Red Orhan Pamuk · 1998 Essential Read See details →
About a Boy Nick Hornby · 1998 Essential Read See details →
The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver · 1998 Essential Read See details →
Waiting Ha Jin · 1999 Essential Read See details →
The Hours Michael Cunningham · 1998 Recommended See details →

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