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.

Review of The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg 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

Review of The Safest Place by Suzanne Bugler General Fiction 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

Review of Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler 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

Review of The Trader of Saigon by Lucy Cruickshanks General Fiction 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

Review of The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry General Fiction A simply charming yet powerful love letter to books, and a book in honour of unsent love letters, all in one. Full Review

Review of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison 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

Review of 419 by Will Ferguson 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

Review of Turning Forty by Mike Gayle 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

Review of Ostrich by Matt Greene General Fiction 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

Review of Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou 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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