The 20 Best Novels of the Decade (2010s)

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Literary Hub, 39 Books

The 20 Best Novels of the Decade (2010-2019) chosen by the Literary Hub staff. This does not include translated books. This actually includes 39 books because they included 19 additional books in "Dissenting Opinions" section. I am assuming those are in ranked order.

This list was originally published in 2020 and was added to this site over 2 years ago.

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Cover of 'A Visit From The Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan

A Visit From The Goon Squad

Cover of 'The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet' by David Mitchell

The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet

Cover of 'Train Dreams' by Denis Johnson

Train Dreams

Cover of 'The Buddha in the Attic' by Julie Otsuka

The Buddha in the Attic

Cover of 'The Tiger's Wife' by Téa Obreht

The Tiger's Wife

Cover of 'Salvage the Bones' by Jesmyn Ward

Salvage the Bones

Cover of 'The Flamethrowers' by Rachel Kushner

The Flamethrowers

Cover of 'All My Puny Sorrows' by Miriam Toews

All My Puny Sorrows

Cover of 'Dept. of Speculation' by Jenny Offill

Dept. of Speculation

Cover of 'The Sellout' by Paul Beatty

The Sellout

Cover of 'The Sympathizer' by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Cover of 'A Little Life' by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

Cover of 'The Fifth Season' by N. K. Jemisin

The Fifth Season

Cover of 'Outline' by Rachel Cusk

Outline

Cover of 'The Underground Railroad' by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead

Cover of 'Imagine Me Gone' by Adam Haslett

Imagine Me Gone

Cover of 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers

The Overstory

Cover of 'In The Distance' by Hernan Díaz

In The Distance

Cover of 'Trust Exercise' by Susan Choi

Trust Exercise

Cover of 'Milkman' by Anna Burns

Milkman

Cover of 'C' by Tom McCarthy

C

Cover of 'The Sisters Brothers' by Patrick DeWitt

The Sisters Brothers

Cover of 'The Woman Upstairs' by Claire Messud

The Woman Upstairs

Cover of 'Duplex' by Kathryn Davis

Duplex

Cover of 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Cover of '10:04' by Ben Lerner

10:04

Cover of 'An Unnecessary Woman' by Rabih Alameddine

An Unnecessary Woman

Rabih Alameddine

Cover of 'Fates and Furies' by Lauren Groff

Fates and Furies

Cover of 'News Of The World' by Paulette Jiles

News Of The World

Cover of 'Solar Bones' by Mike McCormack

Solar Bones

Cover of 'Mr. Splitfoot' by Samantha Hunt

Mr. Splitfoot

Cover of 'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing

Cover of 'Margaret The First' by Danielle Dutton

Margaret The First

Danielle Dutton

Cover of 'The Idiot' by Elif Batuman

The Idiot

Cover of 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' by Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing

Cover of 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' by Ottessa Moshfegh

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Ottessa Moshfegh

Cover of 'Normal People' by Sally Rooney

Normal People

Cover of 'Indian Horse' by Richard Wagamese

Indian Horse

Richard Wagamese

Cover of 'Inland' by Téa Obreht

Inland