--- title: Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far description: A common thread among our favorite fiction of 2017 (so far) is a sense of the surreal, from 'Lincoln in the Bardo' to 'Transit.' canonical: https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-25T11:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:58:50.114Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far og:description: Many of them have a mystical quality to them og:url: https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc911cb45da6aecc/6988cdfb8e0601058346a6d0/best-novels.jpg?branch=production&width=1120&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1120 og:image:height: 630 og:image:alt: best-novels og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far twitter:description: Many of them have a mystical quality to them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc911cb45da6aecc/6988cdfb8e0601058346a6d0/best-novels.jpg?branch=production&width=1120&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 25, 2017 11:00 AM UTC  by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 25, 2017 11:00 AM UTC A common thread among our favorite fiction of 2017 (so far) is a sense of the surreal, from the comical, empathetic ghosts in [George Saunders](http://time.com/4672999/george-saunders-debut-novel/)’s _Lincoln in the Bardo_ (his first full-length novel) to the enchanted doors that transport in Mohsin Hamid’s _Exit West_. Even the [books](http://time.com/4771275/sports-books-gifts/) that are more grounded in reality, such as Rachel Cusk’s observational novel _Transit_ and Ottessa Moshfegh’s oddball short story collection _Homesick for Another World_, have a mystical aura about them. ### [_The Idiot,_ Elif Batuman](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594205612/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594205612&linkId=ddfa360809c6a422500f3bcd806fb471)  This Harvard love story (or, more appropriately, crush story) follows a daughter of Turkish immigrants who for her Hungarian classmate. Charming but not overly sentimental, Batuman’s debut novel captures the intellectual side of attraction. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594205612/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594205612&linkId=ddfa360809c6a422500f3bcd806fb471) ### [_Transit_, Rachel Cusk](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374278628/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374278628&linkId=8a51d63bb00f035752cd2812a8036da9)  The British author’s novel follows its enigmatic narrator, Faye, through a series of encounters with friends, loved ones, acquaintances and strangers as she renovates her home and considers new paths for her life. Though relatively little actually happens in the story, the reader can feel tectonic plates of Faye’s existential change shifting beneath the surface. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374278628/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374278628&linkId=8a51d63bb00f035752cd2812a8036da9) **_MORE:_**[_Best Paperbacks of 2017 So Far_](http://ti.me/2rKBEfO) ### [_Exit West,_ Mohsin Hamid](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735212171/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0735212171&linkId=242bd61322a7de9e6dc151a9593317cd)  A young couple falls in love as their city (which is unnamed, but resembles Lahore) descends into civil war. They escape the violence through a series of magical doors that admit them further and further into the western world, but are met with suspicion and anger in each new locale. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735212171/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0735212171&linkId=242bd61322a7de9e6dc151a9593317cd) ### [_White Tears_, Hari Kunzru](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451493699/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451493699&linkId=f84619ab96606a33e6e85466390675ff)  Two white hipsters forge a recording by a black performer and find hit success on the Internet — but when a collector reaches out and reveals that the record is _real_, their lives of privilege turn into a Jim Crow-era narrative of race and identity. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451493699/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451493699&linkId=f84619ab96606a33e6e85466390675ff) **_MORE:_**[_Best Non-Fiction Books of 2017 So Far_](http://ti.me/2rI00I1) ### [_Homesick for Another World,_ Ottessa Moshfegh](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399562885/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0399562885&linkId=668e31d02995eb0144cc202061c867b7)  Freaks and losers populate the pages of Moshfegh’s latest story collection, as they try to fit in to normal adult life while questioning what makes conformity worthwhile. Her sense of humor is sharp enough to draw blood. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399562885/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0399562885&linkId=668e31d02995eb0144cc202061c867b7) ### [_Lincoln in the Bardo_, George Saunders](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812995341/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812995341&linkId=bf042c64736a1817226f604471c36504)  The master satirist imagines a graveyard where ghosts linger by their corpses, observing a tall and mysterious man — [Abraham Lincoln](http://time.com/4672411/george-saunders-lincoln-bardo-abraham/) — as he visits his young son’s tomb. It may sound dark, and it is, but Saunders wrings humor from that, building to a climax that is brimming with pathos. [_Buy it now_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812995341/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=timebestbooks2017-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0812995341&linkId=bf042c64736a1817226f604471c36504) [(_Read TIME’s affiliate link policy_.)](http://time.com/4605406/time-affiliate-link-policy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/"},"headline":"Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far","datePublished":"2017-05-25T11:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:50.114Z","description":"A common thread among our favorite fiction of 2017 (so far) is a sense of the surreal, from 'Lincoln in the Bardo' to 'Transit.'","url":"https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc911cb45da6aecc/6988cdfb8e0601058346a6d0/best-novels.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc911cb45da6aecc/6988cdfb8e0601058346a6d0/best-novels.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"best-novels","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4787988/best-novels-2017-so-far/","name":"Best Fiction Books of 2017 So Far"}}]}] ```