Among the various genres, literature is known for the contemporary fiction genre that depicts modern life vividly. Such characters reflect our daily lives, struggles, happiness, and doubts; thus, they seem very personal to the readers. Besides historical and fantasy literature, they usually concentrate on the present times, showing characters that have gone through events we can easily understand—friendship, family, work, love, and identity. This feature makes them influential and attractive to readers of any age.
If you desire to find books that reflect today's life, this guideline will introduce you to some great titles and topics.
The main attraction of contemporary fiction is that it appears as if life is seen through a glass. The characters in most cases resemble people that you might be acquainted with—a coworker, neighbor, friend, or even oneself. The characters encounter issues that are very close to the reader, for example, the characters in the books might be grappling with relationships, workplace pressure, or identity crises. These books rarely deal with magic or otherworldly settings. On the contrary, they really point out the charm and the intricacy of living ordinary lives.
As a result, readers are not only entertained but comforted as well. These books can recognize emotions, point out common difficulties, and thus provide some explanation in confusing cases.
Friendship is one of the most prominent themes that appear in modern stories. Authors focus on how friendships develop in the course of years, how they can be broken due to different hardships, and how they still are a source of support in sorrowful times. Contemporary novels about friendship have been especially liked as they depict relationships that are deeply emotional, relatable, and sometimes have an element of bittersweetness.
Novels like Firefly Lane, written by Kristin Hannah, or Swing Time by Zadie Smith, not only reveal but also emphasize how friendships have a bearing on our lives. These stories inform readers that although friendships may not always be smooth, they quite often leave a mark on what we turn out to be. No matter whether it’s in high school, college, or grown-up years, everyone can still relate to these characters as all have experienced both sides of true companionship - its joys and challenges.
Concerning the readers who seek the deeper, more contemplative side - the picks of modern literary fiction are after all the first to be noticed. This genre is engaging, but at the same time, it is also thought-provoking. The novels dwell on the internal lives of the characters, and through it, the readers get to think about society, culture, and personal development.
Sally Rooney, Celeste Ng, and Tayari Jones are among the authors who reshaped the concept of fiction. Moreover, Normal People and Little Fires Everywhere present the readers with new perspectives on how human connections, conflicts, and changes happen in the modern world. These books, apart from telling stories, question and comment on class, race, love, and the feeling of being a part of some place. They make readers think about the world we live in.
There are many readers who are members of book clubs. No other genre is as good as contemporary novels for book clubs to bring out a fire of discussion. Usually, these books touch upon either very serious social issues or rather complicated emotional themes, thus being perfect for group discussions.
To begin with, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a story about identity, race, and family, whereas An American Marriage by Tayari Jones talks about love and justice, only going through hard times. Both books urge readers to express their own views and so become quite animated conversation partners.
Book clubs immensely benefit from contemporary fiction as the depicted situations are very much close to reality. Readers are not required to use their imagination to a great extent, but simply put themselves in the characters’ place, and the story can then be connected to their own experiences. The mix of relatability and depth is what makes this genre so attractive for group reads.
Most of the time, contemporary writing would not be whole without some volume of such strong category as slice of life novels. Unlike the typical ones, the novels of such kind picture the world through the lens of everyday small instances and ignore the grand, spectacular happenings. They could be depicting someone's life through a quiet summer, the way a family interacts at dinner time, or an average workday. But they are actually filled with unimaginable emotional depth with these seemingly plain experiences.
It is no exaggeration to say that Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove are works that reveal how the very fabric of human lives, which seem mundane, is woven with powerful stories. With their small and fragmentary treatment, these novels tend to bring out themes such as human kindness, resilience, and the little victories through which daily life becomes meaningful.
These books will be very attractive to audiences who are looking for slow, thoughtful stories instead of the fast-paced ones.
If you are wondering where to start, here are some realistic fiction recommendations that reflect the diversity of modern life:
These titles are a great example of how diverse modern fiction is within one genre.
If you are new to this genre or just looking for your next great read, here are some easy tips:
With these considerations in mind, you will be able to reduce a large number of choices to the ones that really speak to you.
The beauty of contemporary fiction is that it constantly shows the world how wonderfully "normal" life can be. Eventually, through friendship, love, family, and identity stories, those books become not only mirrors for our everyday existence but also new ways of seeing it.
Not only do these novels, which cover a broad range from moving slice-of-life stories to insightful recommendations of realistic fiction, bring the mirror of our times close to our faces, but they also reveal to us what we can become besides the fact of who we are.
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