What does “Literary Fiction” means and what’s the difference with Fiction? How do I spot it easily? what is its definition and its characteristics?
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Realistic fiction that doesn’t fit any of the commonly marketed genres, like sci-fi, Western, romance, etc. That is, if it is fiction but isn’t part of any specific genre of fiction, then it’s probably literary fiction, also known as non-genre fiction, serious fiction, etc.
Sometimes the definition is a bit muddy when there are historical elements or e.g. a sense of fantastic realism. But these aren’t necessarily a blocker in themselves. E.g. Perfume is commonly called literary fiction, even though it’s also historical fiction. But the historical aspect is really just a framing for the novel and not its focus.
Some novels may also have elements of romanticism, horror, eroticism or such, but the elements aren’t pronounced enough to push it to genre categories. E.g. Lolita might be an example.
When the definition isn’t clear, typically the more stylistically the book is written and the more nuanced its story, the more likely it is that it is labeled as literary fiction rather than genre fiction. Genre fiction is assumed to commonly be books that appeal the most to the fans of the genre, while literary fiction books are often thought as books that would have something to offer to most readers.
There can at times be a sense of elitism to it, e.g. why would we call Perfume literary fiction but not The Egyptian? So always worth it to remember that how books are labeled can be a somewhat subjective thing.
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