Literary Fiction Audiobooks | Literature

"Miljenko Jergović’s landmark collection of stories, Sarajevo Marlboro, set during the siege of Sarajevo, provides a deeply personal perspective on the lives of ordinary people trapped in extraordinary circumstances. At the same time, it offers profound insight into the universality of wartime suffering. A native of Sarajevo, Jergović worked as a journalist for the weekly newspaper Nedjeljna Dalmacija, reporting from the besieged city during the Bosnian War, where he also served as a television editor. He witnessed moments of love, loss, and hope that transcended the surrounding violence. Against the backdrop of a war-torn city, these stories capture the resilience of everyday life. Each tale is a gem, rich with vivid details and unforgettable characters who linger in the reader’s mind long after the final page. Sarajevo Marlboro earned Jergović international acclaim and several prestigious awards, including the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize and the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award. A tremendous volume; everybody should read it. “The Gardener” is one of the best stories I’ve ever read, but there are so many gems here — approachable, readable, witty, open, devastating. - John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats Miljenko Jergović is a renowned Bosnian and Croatian writer, journalist, and publicist, recognized as one of the most prominent authors of the post-Yugoslav era, with acclaim extending beyond his native language. His works have been widely translated, receiving numerous domestic and international literary awards, solidifying his reputation as a leading voice in contemporary literature. He lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia. Publication of this audiobook was cofunded by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia."

Miljenko Jergović (Author), Alexander Masters (Narrator)

Audiobook

Scarlet Yearnings: Stories of Love and Desire

Scarlet Ibis James (Author), Jasmin L. Kirkwood (Narrator)

Audiobook

Into the Storm

"One night can change your life. Forever. ‘Such a brilliant writer and this was another 5 star book for me’ Reader Review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Hugely immersive and emotional’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An emotional mystery that will grip you so tight that you can't breathe’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘She is the master of creating real, flawed, magnetic characters’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One night. One chance to be free. Enya feels adrift. Trapped in a life she no longer recognises. A loveless marriage. A distant son. Until the night she saves a young boy’s life – and upends her own. Now to break free she must face the storm again. And this time, she’s fighting for herself. ‘Outstanding… I simply couldn’t stop reading. One of the two or three best novels I’ve read this year and without question the best book I’ve ever read by Cecelia' JOHN BOYNE 'A terrific story! It had me completely gripped from the very first page' KARIN SLAUGHTER ‘Sharp, relatable and poignant … a joy’ ANDREA MARA ‘Vivid, beautiful and deeply, darkly atmospheric’ SARAH CROSSAN ‘An emotional deep-dive into the unravelling of one woman’s life’ DAILY MAIL"

Cecelia Ahern (Author), Angeline Ball (Narrator)

Audiobook

Our Evenings: The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

"A 'Book of the Year' for The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, Daily Express, The Spectator, The Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and the I 'I must confess my devotion immediately: I read every word this man writes. I wait for every new novel and the wait has been worth it: this is gorgeous. I simply love the way this man writes' - Russell T. Davies, writer and creator of It's A Sin 'The best novel that's been written about contemporary Britain in the past ten years. It's funny but desperately moving too' - The Sunday Times Featured on Radio 4's 'Book at Bedtime' Alan Hollinghurst, the Booker Prize-winning author of The Line of Beauty, brings us a dark, luminous and wickedly funny portrait of modern England through the lens of one man's acutely observed and often unnerving experience. It is a story of race and class, theatre and sexuality, love and the cruel shock of violence, from one of the finest writers of our age. Dave Win is thirteen years old when he first goes to stay with the sponsors of his scholarship at a local boarding school. This weekend, with its games and challenges and surprising encounters, will open up heady new possibilities, even as it exposes him to their son Giles' envy and violence. As their lives unfold over the next half a century, the two boys' careers will diverge dramatically: Dave, a gifted actor struggling with convention and discrimination, Giles an increasingly powerful and dangerous politician. Our Evenings is the intimate and touching story of Dave Win's life as a schoolboy and student, his first love affairs, in London, and on the road with an experimental theatre company, and of a late-life affair, which transforms his sixties with a new sense of happiness and a perilous security. Our Evenings entered the Sunday Times Fiction Hardback chart at #9 w/b 07-10-24."

Alan Hollinghurst (Author), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gliff

"Brought to you by Penguin. O brave new world, that has such people in't. Once upon a time not very far from now, two children come home to find a line of wet red paint encircling the outside of their house. What does it mean? It’s a truism of our time that it’ll be the next generation who’ll sort out our increasingly toxic world. What would that actually be like? In a state turned hostile, a world of insiders and outsiders, what things of the past can sustain them and what shape can resistance take? And what’s a horse got to do with any of this? Gliff is a novel about how we make meaning and how we are made meaningless. With a nod to the traditions of dystopian fiction, a glance at the Kafkaesque, and a new take on the notion of classic, it's a moving and electrifying read, a vital and prescient tale of the versatility and variety deep-rooted in language, in nature and in human nature. ©2025 Ali Smith (P)2025 Penguin Audio"

Ali Smith (Author), Eliot Sumner (Narrator)

Audiobook

By Any Other Name

"Brought to you by Penguin. The #1 New York Times Bestseller What if the greatest writer of all time isn’t who we think he is? What if he isn’t even a he? Step back four hundred years and discover the female author who hid behind the mask of the man we know as William Shakespeare . . . In Elizabethan London, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her education has endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but still she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees the theatre, Emilia discovers the power of stories to beguile audiences. Secretly, she forms a plan to bring a play of her own to the stage - by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work. In modern-day Manhattan, playwright Melina Green finds a woman's voice is still worth less than a man's. But, inspired by the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, Melina takes a lesson from history and submits a play under a male pseudonym . . . Moving between Elizabethan England and modern day Manhattan, By Any Other Name is a beautifully written, compelling novel that explores the theme of identity and the ways in which two women, centuries apart—one of whom might just be the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—are both forced to hide behind another name to make their voices heard. 'Her best one yet. Jodi Picoult has combined her trademark research with an astonishing and heart-rending story, embedded in truth, and turned it into a gripping novel' JOJO MOYES 'Stunning. So interesting, clever, educational and moving. One of the best books I've read in recent times' GILLIAN McALLISTER 'A timeless classic from one of our great storytellers' CHRIS WHITAKER 'Had me absolutely captivated . . . I loved all the questions this novel raised about who gets to tell which stories and how complex that can become. Jodi Picoult is a genius' JENNIFER SAINT '[An] inspiring work of feminist literature' ELLE 'Timely and affecting . . . Picoult’s many, many fans will pounce on her latest incisive, pot-stirring tale' BOOKLIST, Starred 'You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life. Book clubs will embrace this rich, inspiring story' KRISTIN HANNAH 'A blend of historical fiction and modern-day settings, the novel gives us timelines that intertwine and surprise. Picoult has done her research' HARPER'S BAZAAR 'Picoult creates a richly detailed portrait of daily life in Elizabethan England, from sumptuous castles to seedy hovels. . . A vibrant tale of a remarkable woman' KIRKUS ©2024 Jodi Picoult (P)2024 Penguin Audio"

Jodi Picoult (Author), Andrew Fallaize, Billie Fulford-Brown, Jayne Entwistle, Jodi Picoult, Joe Jameson, John Lee, Laura Benanti, Nicholas Guy Smith, Simon Vance, Steve West (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Japanese] - The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

"Including an introductory letter written by the author, Hisashi Kashiwai. The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the second book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and follows on from The Kamogawa Food Detectives. Tucked away down a Kyoto backstreet lies the extraordinary Kamogawa Diner. Running this unique establishment are a father-daughter duo who serve more than just mouth-watering feasts. The pair have reinvented themselves as 'food detectives', offering a service that goes beyond traditional dining. Through their culinary sleuthing, they reconstruct beloved dishes from the memories of their customers, creating a connection to cherished moments from the past. Among those who seek an appointment is a one-hit wonder pop star, finally ready to leave Tokyo and give up on her singing career. She wants to try the tempura that she once ate to celebrate her only successful record. Another diner is a budding Olympic swimmer, who desires the bento lunch box that his estranged father used to make him. The Kamogawa Diner doesn't just serve meals - it revives lost recipes and rekindles forgotten memories. It's a doorway to the past through the miracle of delicious food."

Hisashi Kashiwai (Author), Dai Tabuchi, Hanako Footman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Of the Flesh: 17 Stories of Modern Horror

"'Outstandingly weird and memorable' GUARDIAN 'Deliciously creepy' NEW SCIENTIST Fear never dies… Featuring stories from Susan Barker, J K Chukwu, Bridget Collins, Mariana Enríquez, Michel Faber, Lewis Hancox, Emilia Hart, Ainslie Hogarth, Robert Lautner, Adorah Nworah, Irenosen Okojie, Lucy Rose, Lionel Shriver, James Smythe, Lavie Tidhar, Francine Toon, Evie Wyld and Louisa Young. These stories from eighteen master storytellers will curdle your blood, haunt your dreams and redefine terror. From a hungry young woman who is not what she seems, to a boy who has taken his mother's advice a little too seriously; from disfigured girls willing to pay any price to fit in, to an immigrant who cannot escape his tormentor in his new home country; from a new home with a sinister secret, to the discovery that a long-dead parent’s corpse is perfectly preserved decades later; this collection plumbs the depths of the psyche and dredges up some very modern horrors. READERS ARE OBSESSED 'Stunning' 'Well-plotted and horrifying' 'Visceral, creepy, gory… stays in your head long after reading them' 'It's so satisfying to turn to the next story in an anthology like this and be pretty confident it's going to be a banger… bravo' 'Spine-tingling… I was gripped and it kept me up at night as I just wanted to read one more story' 'Often unusual, always unique… a wildly eclectic cornucopia of horror'"

Adorah Nworah, Ainslie Hogarth, Bridget Collins, Emilia Hart, Evie Wyld, Francine Toon, J K Chukwu, James Smythe, Lavie Tidhar, Louisa Young, Lucy Rose, Michel Faber, Robert Lautner, Susan Barker, et al (Author), Various (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Third Realm

"Brought to you by Penguin. If no one ever died, what would happen then? For several days, a bright new star in the sky above Norway has blazed over the restless lives of those below. Tove, an artist, is consumed by intense creativity as she spirals towards psychosis. Line falls in love with a musician named Valdemar and is lured to a secret death metal gig in a remote forest. Geir, a policeman, is investigating a ritual murder but chances upon something more horrifying even than the bodies in the trees – the last bodies he sees, because, as undertaker Syvert is the first to realise, people have stopped dying since the star appeared. What is haunting the world – and why? With The Third Realm, Karl Ove Knausgaard expands the spellbinding universe of The Morning Star and The Wolves of Eternity, as a cast of new and familiar characters begins to tell the story in the round. With each thrilling page, the possibility emerges that a malign force is at large, and that perhaps no one is beyond its reach. PRAISE FOR KARL OVE KNAUSGAARD: 'Addictive' Daily Telegraph 'Knausgaard retains the ability to lock you, as if in a tractor beam, into his storytelling' New York Times ‘Casts an existential spell…captivating… Big themes — the cosmos, death and resurrection — are amplified through ghostly visitations, doppelgänger lives and the question of what, if anything, lies beyond human existence’ Financial Times © Karl Ove Knausgaard 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024"

Karl Ove Knausgaard (Author), Ari Fliakos, Edoardo Ballerini, Kelsey Jaffer, Neil Hellegers, Nina Yndis, Raphael Corkhill, Saskia Maarleveld, Vas Eli (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Best American Short Stories 2024

"A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, author of Matrix and The Vaster Wilds, and series editor Heidi Pitlor. “There have never been as many exquisitely built stories in existence than there are now,” proclaims guest editor Lauren Groff in her introduction. This abundance led to a volume of robust stories with the nerve to push against narrative expectations. The Best American Short Stories 2024 boasts a collection of twenty stories that “buzz with their own strange logic.” A man becomes a tourist in his own hometown. An unemployed jeweler sails in an antique slave ship. A therapist decides to call an ex-patient years after their last session. Daring and resonant, the stories in this volume invite in Groff “a feeling that both the author and I were simultaneously discovering something together.” The Best American Short Stories 2024 includes JAMEL BRINKLEY • ALEXANDRA CHANG • LAURIE COLWIN • MOLLY DEKTAR • TAISIA KITAISKAIA • DANIEL MASON • JIM SHEPARD • AZAREEN VAN DER VLIET OLOOMI • PAUL YOON • and others"

Heidi Pitlor, Lauren Groff (Author), Christina Delaine, Gilli Messer, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Korey Jackson, Raymond J. Lee, Vikas Adam (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mr. Ives' Christmas: A Novel

"Hailed "the deepest and the best" of a Pulitzer-Prize winning author's novels, a business man struggles to restore his faith after his son is killed (New York Times Book Review). In 1960s New York, Edward Ives is a picture of the American dream. Adopted as a child by a widowed print shop manager who helped him cultivate a love of drawing, he now has a successful career as an illustrator in advertising, a beautiful home with his wife and muse, Annie, and two loving children. But this idyllic life is brutally wrenched away when Ives's 17-year-old son, Robert is murdered in a crime of opportunity that proves to be as random as it is senseless. Consumed by grief, Ives withdraws from the world. Grappling with a loss of faith-a force that has guided him steadfastly since childhood-he starts to question every aspect of human existence, contemplating what it really means to live an emotionally and spiritually fulfilling life. This mourning consumes him-until faces his son's killer. Mr. Ives' Christmas is a tender, passionate story of a man working to rediscover what it means to love and forgive after unspeakable tragedy. It is another tremendous achievement from one of America's most talented writers. Includes a Reading Group Guide."

Oscar Hijuelos (Author), Robert Fass (Narrator)

Audiobook

Juice: A page-turning epic about survival and resilience from the twice Booker-shortlisted author

"One of The Guardian's best sci-fi books of the year. An edge-of-your-seat, post-apocalyptic thriller. Perfect for fans of The Last of Us, Station Eleven and The Road, from twice Booker-shortlisted author Tim Winton. 'Will stab your conscience and break your heart' - Emma Donoghue 'A blistering cli-fi epic' - The Guardian Survival is only the beginning. Two fugitives, a man and a child, drive across a stony desert. As dawn breaks, they roll into an abandoned mine site. They're exhausted, traumatized, desperate now, and this is a forsaken place, but as a refuge it's the most promising they've seen. The child peers at the field of desolation. The man thinks to himself, this could work. Problem is, they're not alone . . . So begins a searing journey through a life where the challenge is not only to survive; it's keeping your humanity if you do."

Tim Winton (Author), David Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Fiction Audiobooks in Literature