9 Heartfelt Literary Fiction Novels About Belonging

A.J Fikry is sure he’s hit rock bottom. His wife has died, his bookstore is failing, and now, his most valuable possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, is lost. 

But when an unexpected package arrives at his doorstep, his life will change forever. And with the help of Amelia, a charming if eccentric sales rep, A.J Fikry begins to open himself up to the world again. 

A “marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both,” you’re sure to be moved by this pick (Washington Post). 

Selma awakes not only to a beautiful spring day, but an omen: someone in her small village is about to die. Luisa, Selma’s ten-year-old granddaughter, looks upon the changes in her oddball community as they all confront the news. 

But when the prophesied death does come, Luisa and her loved ones will reckon with the uncontrollable outcome of morality, in a “warm and curious book” (The Guardian). 

When retired Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali, a Pakistani shopkeeper, strike up a friendship, what follows is “a modern-day story of love that takes everyone—grown children, villagers, and the main participants—by surprise, as real love stories tend to do” (Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize-winning author). 

As they bond over their shared love for books and the passing of their spouses, the pair move from friends into something unexpected. When the village community becomes involved, the Major and Mrs. Ali will have to decide where home is—and if it’s with each other. 

Growing up in the seaside town of Southport, Connecticut, sisters Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney were once as thick as thieves. But when their mother died from cancer, she took with her the happy memories, and the girls drifted apart. 

Now their father, Bill, an internationally beloved author, has passed unexpectedly, and his daughters will be brought together once more to throw him an Irish wake. Amid the guests is someone unfamiliar, and it turns out, once emboldened by whiskey, a Sweeney sister, too. 

What follows is “a big-hearted belly-laugh of a book, told with wit and poignancy,” that offers an “endearing story of sisterhood” (Susan Wiggs, New York Times-bestselling author; Publishers Weekly). 

Aristotle is a teen with anger issues, coping with a brother in jail, when he meets Dante, a charming know-all, at the swimming pool. 

“A tender, honest exploration of identity and sexuality,” this lyrical, coming-of-age masterpiece is “a passionate reminder that love—whether romantic or familial—should be open, free, and without shame” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). 

Although the unlikely pair seem to have nothing in common, a friendship grows into something surprising that will alter the course of their lives. 

Celebrated as a modern classic, Kevin Kwan, the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, described The Joy Luck Club as “one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever.” 

It’s 1949 in San Francisco, when four Chinese women, who are recent immigrants, decide to meet and play mahjong. Soon enough, it becomes a tradition, where they gossip and exchange stories of the past, calling themselves the Joy Luck Club. 

Over time, the women come to reveal their secrets and share their dreams, in “a jewel of a book” (New York Times).  

Don Tillman, although a brilliant geneticist, hasn’t had the same success in the field of love. His autism can make it difficult for him to feel comfortable in social situations. 

So, he decides, in his typical logical manner, to create the Wife Project: a sixteen-page survey that will lead him to the perfect partner. Despite Rosie Jarman meeting all his expectations, Don quickly discounts her. Yet, he’s still intrigued by her own quest to find her biological father. 

As they join forces on The Father Project, other feelings bloom that Don won’t be able to dismiss, in a “heartwarming story of an extraordinary man learning to live in an ordinary world” (USA Today). 

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP), has always enjoyed spending time with his niece and nephew—for weekends at a time, that is. But when Maisie and Grant lose their mother, Patrick will have to step up, in more ways than one. 

Unfamiliar with navigating the world of children, he gets a crash course in parenthood—a far different life from the stalled acting career he’s been leading, while grappling with a breakup. A “laugh-out-loud-heartwarmer,” Patrick will open his heart to a new kind of love and learn the staunch power of family (GMA).

Marion and Shiva are twin brothers, born from a scandalous union in Ethiopia between an Indian nun and a British surgeon. 

When their mother dies in childbirth and their father disappears shortly after, the twins will have to forge their own path in a country on the brink of revolution. But it is the love for the same woman that will set the twins apart in this “masterpiece” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Making his home in New York City, Marion, finding himself in trouble, will have to put his life in the hands of the two men he trusts least: the father who abandoned him and his brother who double-crossed him.