The 70 Best General Fiction Stories

This list is generated from 172 book polls & top lists from a variety of great sources. The books is ranked based on how many lists a particular book appears on (xx) = Number off lists the book appears on

1. Redeployment by Phil Klay (34)
2. Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore (21)
3. Let Me Be Frank with You by Richard Ford (15)
4. Can't and Won't by Lydia Davis (14)
5. The Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood (14)
6. Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken (12)
7. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hillary Mantel (10)
8. The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol (10)
9. The Emerald Light in the Air by Donald Antrim (7)
10. Man v. Nature by Diane Cooke (7)
11. Leaving the Sea by Ben Marcus (6)
12. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B. J. Novak (6)
13. Family Furnishings: Selected Stories, 1995-2014 by Alice Munro (5)
14. The Other Language by Francesca Marciano (5)
15. The Stories of Jane Gardam by Jane Gardam (5)
16. The Wilds by Julia Elliott (5)
17. American Innovations by Rivka Galchen (4)
18. The Corpse Exhibition by Hassan Blassin (4)
19. Karate Chop by Dorthe Nors (4)
20. Flings by Justin Taylor (3)
21. Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor (3)
22. Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich (3)
23. Starting Over by Elizabeth Spencer (3)
24. Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano (3)
25. When Mystical Creatures Attack! by Kathleen Founds (3)
26. Young Skins by Colin Barrett (3)
27. Between Wrecks by George Singleton (2)
28. Forgiving the Angel: Four Stories for Franz Kafka by Jay Cantor (2)
29. The Heaven of Animals by David James Poissant (2)
30. Mr. Bones by Paul Theroux (2)
31. Our Secret Life in the Movies by Michael McGriff (2)
32. Piano Stories by Felisberto Hernandez (2)
33. Something Rich and Strange: Selected Stories by Ron Rash (2)
34. Things We Found during the Autopsy by Kuzhali Manickavel (2)
35. Black Cloud by Juliet Escoria (1)
36. Bombay Stories by Saadat Hasan Manto (1)
37. Bright Shards of Someplace Else by Monica McFawn (1)
38. By Night the Mountain Burns by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel (1)
39. The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen by Ellen Datlow (1)
40. A Different Bed Every Time by Jac Jemc (1)
41. The Dog by Jack Livings (1)
42. The Dunning Man by Kevin Fortuna (1)
43. Funny Once by Antonya Nelson (1)
44. How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun? by Doretta Lau (1)
45. Inappropriate Behavior by Murray Farish (1)
46. Incendiary Girls by Kodi Scheer (1)
47. Kill Marguerite and Other Stories by Megan Milks (1)
48. Last Stories and Other Stories by William T. Vollman (1)
49. Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates (1)
50. Marry Me by Dan Rhodes (1)
51. Misadventure by Nicholas Grider (1)
52. Mr. Tall by Tony Earley (1)
53. The New Black by Richard Thomas (1)
54. No Man's Land: Fiction from a World at War: 1914-1918 by Pete Ayrton  (1)
55. Nothing Is Impossible by Edward D. Hoch (1)
56. Once You Break a Knuckle by D. W. Wilson (1)
57. The Palace of Illusions by Kim Addonizio (1)
58. The Poison that Purifies You by Elizabeth Kadetsky (1)
59. See You in Paradise by J. Robert Lennon (1)
60. Sex World by Ron Koertge (1)
61. Snow in May by Kseniya Melnik (1)
62. States of Grace by Stephen Graham Jones (1)
63. The Tao of Humiliation by Lee Upton (1)
64. The Lights of Earth and The Conference of Victims by Gina Berriault (1)
65. Tough Day for the Army by John Warner (1)
66. Unravished by Hester Kaplan (1)
67. White Tiger on Snow Mountain by David Gordon (1)
68. The Witch and Other Tales Retold by Jean Thompson (1)
69. Woman who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson (1)
70. You'll Enjoy It When You Get There: The Stories of Elizabeth Taylor by Elizabeth Taylor (1)

Other Great Book lists : Gen. Fic.-Novels, Crime & Thriller, Speculative Fiction, Historical Fiction, Ya Fiction, Nonfiction, Bio & Memoir, Romance, Poetry, Graphic, How To Books

• LIST USED
• DETAIL ABOUT EACH BOOK AND LIST​

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A​
Amazon, a1
ALA/RUSA Notable Books, a2
The Atlantic, a3
Alex Awards, a4
About.Com, a5
Agatha Awards, a6
A.V. Club, a7
All About Romance, a8
Association for Library Service to Children, a9
AARP, a10
AbeBooks, a11
America's Test Kitchen, a12
Andrew Zimmern, a13
Austin Chronicle, a14
Andrew Carnegie Medals, a15
B
Boston Globe, b2
BookPage, b3
Booklist, b4
BookPeople, b5
Buzzfeed, b6
Brain Pickings, b7
Barnes and Noble, b8
Barry Award, b9
Boing Boing, b10
Book Riot, b11
Backchannel,b12
BBC,b13
BestFantasyBooks.com, b14
Biographile, b15
The Book Smugglers, b16
The BookBitch, b17
Bustle, b18
Bookreporter, b19
C
Christian Science Monitor, c1
Crimespree Magazine, c2
Chatelaine, c3
Cleveland Plain-Dealer, c4
Comics Alliance, c5
Commonweal, c6
Complex, c7
Costa Book Awards, c8
Crime Always Pays, c9
Cybil Awards, c10
D
Do Some Damage Crime Fiction, d1
The Daily Beast, d2
The Daily Meal, d3
Denver Post, d4
E
Esquire, e1
The Economist, e2
Edgar Awards,e3
Entertainment Weekly, e4
Entrepreneur, e5
Eater, e6
Elle, e7
F
Fiction_L (online discussion group--one vote for each title receiving multiple votes on list), f1
Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, f2
Flavorwire, f3
Fantasy Book Critic,f4
Fantasy Café, f5
Fantasy Faction, f6
Fantasy Literature.com, f7
Foreign Affairs, f8
Fortune, f9
Financial Times, f10
G
Goodreads Choice Awards, g1
Gear Patrol, g2
Great New Books, g3
Greatist,g4
Globe and Mail, g5
Guardian, g6
H
Hudson Booksellers, h1
The Huffington Post, h2
The House of Crime and Mystery, h3
Hammett Prize, h4
Horn Book, h5
Hugo Awards, h6
Hypable, h7
I
io9, i1
Inc., i2
Indigo, i3
Indies Choices Awards, i4
The Independent, i5
K
Kirkus Reviews, k1
Kansas City Star, k2

​L
Library Journal, l1
​Library Reads, l2
Locus Magazine, l3
Largehearted Boy, l4
Left Coast Crime Awards, l5
Library Thing, l6
LitReactor, l7
Los Angeles Times, l8
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, l9
M
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, m1
Man Booker Prize, m2
Mother Jones, m3
Maclean's,m4
Murder by the Book, m5
Morning News-Tournament of Books, m6
Mad Hatter's Bookshelf, m7
McNally Jackson, m8
Miami Herald, m9
The Millions, m10
Mashable, m11
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, m12
The Millions, m10
Mashable, m11
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, m12
N
New York Times, n1
Newsweek, n2
National Book Awards, n3
Nebula and Andre Norton Awards, n4
NPR, n5
The New Yorker, n6
The New Republic, n7
New York Public Library, n8
National Book Critics Circle Awards, n9
National Journal, n10
National Outdoor Book Awards, n11
National Reading Group Month: Great Group Reads, n12
New York Post, n13
Newsday, n14
New Statesman, n15
O
O Magazine, o1
Only the Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, o2
P
Publisher's Weekly, p1
People Magazine, p2
PEN/Faulkner Awards, p3
Printz Awards, p4
Pop Matters, p5
Powell's Books, p6
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, p7
PaperMag, p8
Paste Magazine, p9
PBS Food, p10
Providence Journal, p11
Pulitzer Prizes, p12
R
RUSA Reading List, r1
The Rap Sheet, r2
Read Me Deadly, r3
Riffle, r4
Richmond Times-Dispatch, r5
Rolling Stone, r6
RT Book Reviewer's Awards, r7
RITA Awards, r8
S
School Library Journal, s1
Salon, s2
Seattle Times, s3
Slate, s4
Strand Critics Award, s5
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, s6
San Francisco Chronicle, s7
SFF World, s8
Story Prize, s9
Strange Horizons, s10
The Savvy Reader, s11
Science Friday, s12
Splitsider, s13
T
Time,t1
Tor.com,t2
Telegraph,t3
U
USA Today, u1
Vogue, v1
Vanity Fair, v2
The Village Voice, v3
Vox, v4
Vulture, v5
W
Waterstone's Book of the Year, w1
Washington Post, w2
Wall Street Journal, w3
Wired, w4
The Week, w5
Woman's Day, w6
Women's Prize for Fiction, w7
Y
YALSA Awards, y1

1. ​Redeployment by Klay, Phil (34 Lists: a1,b6,b8,b18,d2,e4,f10,g1,g2,g3,g6,i5,k1,k2,l6,m6,m10,n1,n2,n3,n5,n9,n13,o1,p2,p5,r4,s2,s4,s6,s7,t1,v5,w2)
2. Bark: Stories by Moore, Lorrie (21 Lists: a1,b3,b4,b18,b19,c7,e1,e7,g2,g5,g6,i5,k2,m10,n1,n5,p1,s6,s7,s9,t3)
3. Let Me Be Frank with You by Ford, Richard (15 Lists: a1,b8,b19,d2,e1,f10,g6,n1,n5,p11,p12,s2,s3,s6,s7)
4. Can't and Won't by Davis, Lydia (14 Lists: a1,b2,b18,c4,g5,i5,k2,l8,n1,n5,n6,n7,s7,t3)
5. Stone Mattress, The by Atwood, Margaret (14 Lists: a1,b11,b18,b19,g1,g5,h1,i5,k2,l7,m11,n5,p1,s2)
6. Thunderstruck & Other Stories by McCracken, Elizabeth (12 Lists: a1,b11,k1,l4,m9,m10,n3,n14,p1,s7,s9,w2)
7. Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, The by Mantel, Hillary (10 Lists: a1,b4,b6,g6,i5,k1,k2,n1,s7,w2)
8. UnAmericans, The by Antopol, Molly (10 Lists: a1,a3,b18,b19,k2,n3,n5,s2,s7,t3)
9. Emerald Light in the Air, The by Antrim, Donald (7 Lists: a1,i5,l9,m10,n6,n15,s2)
10. Man v. Nature by Cooke, Diane (7 Lists: a1,b2,b6,l9,s2,s7,s10)
11. Leaving the Sea by Marcus, Ben (6 Lists: b8,b18,b19,g6,l7,n15)
12. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by Novak, B. J. (6 Lists: a11,b8,b11,g1,m11,t3)
13. Family Furnishings: Selected Stories, 1995-2014 by Munro, Alice (5 Lists: k1,m1,n5,s2,s7)
14. Other Language, The by Marciano, Francesca (5 Lists: a1,k1,p1,s7,s9)
15. Stories of Jane Gardam, The by Gardam, Jane (5 Lists: g6,k1,n15,s2,s3)
16. Wilds, The by Elliott, Julia (5 Lists: b6,b11,b18,k1,s2)
17. American Innovations by Galchen, Rivka (4 Lists: k1,m10,n1,s2)
18. Corpse Exhibition, The by Blassin, Hassan (4 Lists: g2,l7,p1,r7)
19. Karate Chop by Nors, Dorthe (4 Lists: a14,l4,p1,p6)
20. Flings by Taylor, Justin (3 Lists: a1,l4,p5)
21. Praying Drunk by Minor, Kyle (3 Lists: a1,l4,s2)
22. Spoiled Brats by Rich, Simon (3 Lists: g6,s4,s13)
23. Starting Over by Spencer, Elizabeth (3 Lists: b4,d2,s7)
24. Suspended Sentences by Modiano, Patrick (3 Lists: b19,l8,o1)
25. When Mystical Creatures Attack! by Founds, Kathleen (3 Lists: l4,m12,n1)
26. Young Skins by Barrett, Colin (3 Lists: g6,i5,n15)
27. Between Wrecks by Singleton, George (2 Lists: a1,b5)
28. Forgiving the Angel: Four Stories for Franz Kafka by Cantor, Jay (2 Lists: m10,s2)
29. Heaven of Animals, The by Poissant, David James (2 Lists: a1,l9)
30. Mr. Bones by Theroux, Paul (2 Lists: a1,k1)
31. Our Secret Life in the Movies by McGriff, Michael & Tyree, J.M. (2 Lists: b8,n5)
32. Piano Stories by Hernandez, Felisberto (2 Lists: l7,s2)
33. Something Rich and Strange: Selected Stories by Rash, Ron (2 Lists: a2,s2)
34. Things We Found during the Autopsy by Manickavel, Kuzhali (2 Lists: b16,s10)
35. Black Cloud by Escoria, Juliet (1 Lists: s2)
36. Bombay Stories by Manto, Saadat Hasan (1 Lists: p5)
37. Bright Shards of Someplace Else by McFawn, Monica (1 Lists: n5)
38. By Night the Mountain Burns by Avila Laurel, Juan Tomas (1 Lists: f10)
39. Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen, The by Datlow, Ellen, ed. (1 Lists: l7)
40. Different Bed Every Time, A by Jemc, Jac (1 Lists: a1)
41. Dog, The by Livings, Jack (1 Lists: f9)
42. Dunning Man, The by Fortuna, Kevin (1 Lists: b6)
43. Funny Once by Nelson, Antonya (1 Lists: s7)
44. How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun? by Lau, Doretta (1 Lists: a3)
45. Inappropriate Behavior by Farish, Murray (1 Lists: s6)
46. Incendiary Girls by Scheer, Kodi (1 Lists: a1)
47. Kill Marguerite and Other Stories by Milks, Megan (1 Lists: s10)
48. Last Stories and Other Stories by Vollman, William T. (1 Lists: m10)
49. Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories by Oates, Joyce Carol (1 Lists: p12)
50. Marry Me by Rhodes, Dan (1 Lists: w2)
51. Misadventure by Grider, Nicholas (1 Lists: b5)
52. Mr. Tall by Earley, Tony (1 Lists: w2)
53. New Black, The by Thomas, Richard, ed. (1 Lists: b11)
54. No Man's Land: Fiction from a World at War: 1914-1918 by Ayrton, Pete, ed. (1 Lists: e2)
55. Nothing Is Impossible: Further Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne by Hoch, Edward D. (1 Lists: w2)
56. Once You Break a Knuckle by Wilson, D. W. (1 Lists: p5)
57. Palace of Illusions, The by Addonizio, Kim (1 Lists: s7)
58. Poison that Purifies You, The by Kadetsky, Elizabeth (1 Lists: m10)
59. See You in Paradise by Lennon, J. Robert (1 Lists: a1)
60. Sex World by Koertge, Ron (1 Lists: l7)
61. Snow in May by Melnik, Kseniya (1 Lists: s7)
62. States of Grace by Jones, Stephen Graham (1 Lists: l7)
63. Tao of Humiliation, The by Upton, Lee (1 Lists: k1)
64. Three Short Novels: The Son, The Lights of Earth and The Conference of Victims by Berriault, Gina(1 Lists: s7)
65. Tough Day for the Army by Warner, John (1 Lists: p5)
66. Unravished by Kaplan, Hester (1 Lists: a1)
67. White Tiger on Snow Mountain by Gordon, David (1 Lists: a1)
68. Witch and Other Tales Retold, The by Thompson, Jean (1 Lists: n5)
69. Woman who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Jansson, Tove (1 Lists: k1)
70. You'll Enjoy It When You Get There: The Stories of Elizabeth Taylor by Taylor, Elizabeth (1 Lists: g6)