Fiction Trends you Should save to your Reading List For 2024
It takes little more than a cursory glance at the internet to discover our fascination with styles, times, and emotions, which helps to classify and clarify our erratic preferences. It's the same in the world of literature. There are various trends that are currently visible when choosing what to read: some are a reflection of our newfound curiosities, while others are a continuation of previously explored concepts. In 2024, these literary fads should be investigated.
Identifying Oneself And Feeling Included
In 2024, identity continues to be a major literary theme, which is undoubtedly due to the increased desire for diversity and inclusivity. In this sense, Jaded by Ela Lee and Mongrel by Hanako Footman are two notable books. With razor-sharp accuracy and poetic reflection, both debuts address the question of how we belong anyplace. Then there's the heartbreaking queer coming-of-age tale Blessings, Chukwuebuka Ibeh's debut novel. Poetry lovers should also not miss Safia Elhillo's Girls That Never Die, her hilarious, poignant, and astute examination of Muslim womanhood, which just saw its debut UK release.
Finance, Money, and "Eat the Rich"
A obsession on money may not come as a surprise, considering the recent economic crisis and the emergence of a growing dissatisfaction with privilege. It is the subject of both Bri Lee's debut novel, The Work (out in April), and Kiley Reid's much awaited second book, Come And Get It. Both books set a love story amid a complex analysis of power, intimacy, commerce, and the arts. The elegiac and incisive memoir Private Equity by Carrie Sun is an essential read for anybody interested in this subject. Her description of working at a well-known hedge fund makes Industry seem like a Paw Patrol skit.
"Eat the rich" is another popular craze. Baxter said, "Think Saltburn, but bookish." This one crosses genres, including novels that are similar to The Secret History, such as The Four by Ellie Keel (out 11 April) and Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis. The theme is also popping up in crime novels with luxury settings, such as The Concierge by Abby Corson and The Yacht by Sarah Goodwin.”
Love at Odds
Since the beginning of storytelling, love has served as the skeleton for imaginative works, but in 2024, our ongoing preoccupation with it is giving rise to fascinating new perspectives. Novels like Lottie Hazel's Piglet and Phoebe McIntosh's Dominos, which comes out on March 7, both deal with women who are ready to get married and are confronted with terrible facts. These works explore the intricacies of relationships when they clash with identity, history, and trauma. Every book raises the same questions: in these situations, where does love go? Is it silent, is that necessary?
Multigenerational love stories are another significant literary trend that will emerge in 2024, especially for authors of color, according to Amy Mae Baxter, commissioning editor at Avon is the chief editor of Bad Form Review, a journal published by and featuring writers of color, and she also works at HarperCollins. Observing the enormous rise in romance novels seeping into more expensive volumes has been fascinating. From novels about love that genuinely transcends time and space, like Kalianne Bradley's The Ministry of Time, which releases on May 14, to books about love across the ages, like Rachel Khong's Real Americans, which releases on April 30, and even books about various forms of love over time, like Lotte Jeffs' This Love, which releases on April 30.
The Novels That Defy Classification
"Most writers don't build their books with a focus on any specific fad," asserts Imogen Crimp, the author of the explosively successful A Very Nice Girl (2022). "I think it can be really restrictive to read novels in that way, therefore I try to be more open-minded when I read. You stop seeing other features of it and start assuming what kind of book it will be. She claims that Asako Yukuzi's Butter is her favorite new book of 2024. Not surprisingly, Amy Mae Baxter also highlights this book. It is "delightfully difficult to categorize," according to her.
Irish Voices
Irish literature is experiencing a moment in 2024, following the (deserved) barnstorming success of Paul Murray's The Bee Sting last year. Award-winning Jan Carson returns with a gorgeous collection of short stories, Quickly, While They Still Have Horses (out 4 April), covering everything from IRA ghosts to the dangers of soft play. One of Bloomsbury's major fiction releases, Alan Murrin's The Coast Road (out 9 May), is a riveting story of one woman's experience of Ireland's seldom-discussed legalization of divorce in 1996. Donal Ryan's Heart, Be At Peace, revisits the voices from his acclaimed 2012 debut The Spinning Heart.
