Armchair BEA: Genre: LITERARY FICTION

It seems I completely missed day two of Armchair BEA. Well, I guess that happens when you don't do everything straight away. Anyway, I'm here today! :)

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

Today's genre is:

LITERARY FICTION

OK, first of, I feel a little bit embarrassed that I actually had to look up what exactly literary fiction means - the difference to all the other fiction genres, I mean - and I'm simply going to blame the fact that English is not my mother tongue. ;)

So, anyway, after looking it all up, I actually realized that I have read some literary fiction books, and I have really enjoyed some of them as well. Now, I wouldn't go as far as to say it's something I would just pick up everyday, because it definitely isn't. They are the kind of books I would have to be in the right mood for.

Here are two books I have read and thoroughly enjoyed.

Goodreads description:

William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert

*****

Goodreads description:

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep South--and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred.

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, served as the basis of an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country.

A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father--a crusading local lawyer--risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

*****

What about you? Do you love literary fiction books? Are there any books you would recommend to someone who hasn't read a lot of books of this particular genre? I would love to hear from you!