4 Of The Best Novellas From The Last 5 Years To Add To Your Book Club Reading List

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There's nothing like immersing yourself in a long, epic read, but sometimes there simply isn't time. That's where novellas come in, and there are plenty of great selections from the last five years. While regular novels generally contain 80,000 to 100,000 words, novellas are usually capped at under 40,000, but that doesn't mean they're lacking substance. In fact, because novellas are condensed, every word counts, and many readers are turning to them for a quick but impactful storytime session.

Novellas have been around for centuries, and you may have already read some of the most popular ones, such as George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and "Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad. Classic novels are always great for book clubs, but for a more recent take, try getting your hands on newer stories to share with your book club. Novellas may not be as popular as standard books these days, but there are plenty of hidden gems that will have you gripped from beginning to end.

For fans of all things zombie, Anne de Marcken's 2024 novella, "It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over," will have you riveted. The haunting tale follows an unnamed undead girl wandering the roads after an apocalypse, as she tries to remember her name and fragments of her humanity. Her disjointed memories and longing for pieces of her past, all told in the dry, humorless way only a zombie can achieve, are heartbreakingly mesmerizing. "This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a very long time. It was a love letter to grief and all the sorrow, beauty, and pain it entails," a Goodreads reviewer wrote. Another mused, "Maybe we are all just zombies aimlessly wandering the apocalypse, trying to untangle the complex web of human emotions. Trying to reclaim comfort and love and familiarity in the face of change. What is hunger, if not grief?"

Anne de Marcken received the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction and the Novel Prize for her work, which somehow humanizes zombies in a way that makes them relatable. "Our monsters are reflections of ourselves at any given cultural moment. They tell us what we find [imminently] threatening. We grotesquely distort the unfamiliar or any group that embodies our failings or jeopardizes our status," the author told Reactor Mag. She added, "I became curious about this ravenous cannibal and what it says about us — about me."

If you're a fan of the macabre, you may have heard of Eric LaRocca. His 2023 novella, "They Were Here Before Us," is a collection of six short stories, and they're not for the faint of heart. Although they're separate tales, they all cover themes of death and loss in a mesmerizingly twisted way. Not all of them are intensely dark, however. "Bird and Bug Are Happy" is about two lesbian lovers, one of whom is losing her memory. As Bug watches Bird slip deeper into her condition while being her caretaker, she has to deal with painful memories that are beginning to resurface. LaRocca, who goes by he/they, told Gatecrashers, "Writing about queer characters is very important to me. I recall how when I first began writing short fiction for magazines and literary journals, I was so hesitant to include queer characters in my stories because I imagined certain editors might immediately reject my submission. Of course, I now realize how foolish that sounds."

LaRocca is definitely an acquired taste, but his fans love falling into his fantastical, horrific storyworlds. "This was a fun little novella, punchy and visceral at times, but also agonizing on the feels. Very much a LaRocca, who somehow plays to my artsy-fartsy side with his beautifully veiled, devastating prose every time," one reader shared on Goodreads. This one might be a bit controversial for your book club, but it will surely have all the members talking.

Tochi Onyebuchi's "Riot Baby" is a perfect book club pick for Black History Month. The science fiction story, released in 2020, is told from the viewpoints of Ella and her brother, Kev, born during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Ella is gifted with supernatural abilities that allow her to look into people's futures, hurt living things with her mind, and astral project. She and Kev are trying to survive in a racially charged world, and Ella's brother gets into trouble and is consequently thrown in jail. The subject resonated with readers, and one shared on Amazon, "The author's mastery of language is beautiful, and powerful, and paints a visceral picture of life as a Black person. While I'm not necessarily the intended audience, I was drawn into the struggle that Kev faced first as a child and then as a young man incarcerated in a corrupt system."

Onyebuchi uses his experience as a civil rights lawyer to carefully portray the struggles of Black Americans. "I was wary of engaging in any sort of savior complex; the incarcerated are most qualified to speak about their own experiences, but I wanted to tell people some of what I saw and heard and read about in these places," he explained to NPR. Onyebuchi continued, "And, given my time in law school and as a legal professional who has dealt in these systems, I felt I had the kind of background that was needed to do this telling."

"The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo is a fantasy book you'll want to introduce to your book club. The protagonist of Vo's 2020 story is a gender nonconforming cleric named Chih, who goes on a journey to Thriving Fortune, the residence of the former Empress In-Yo. There, she meets a woman named Rabbit, who carries the secrets of In-Yo, which Chih slowly draws out from her. A tale of overthrown power, a hidden birthright, and love lost is woven into Vo's novella in just over 100 pages, and it's done masterfully.

Although "The Empress of Salt and Fortune" is seemingly set in the past, Vo's character's gender conformity is a timeless theme. One reader shared on Amazon, "The characters are so satisfyingly layered, with compelling flaws and deeply-felt motives that kept me emotionally invested for the whole ride. On top of that, the queer characters are well-written and feel like a natural part of the story rather than being shoe-horned in and awkwardly reduced to their gender/sexuality." Another wrote, "This is a beautiful gem of a story. Unlike many shorter works I have read, it feels rich and complete in itself. The characters are vivid and feel real despite the fantasy aspects of the story. They have flaws and strengths and depth to them. I was moved to tears a few times."

Novellas aren't frequently seen on celebrity book club lists, so we had to scour the internet for popular picks with high ratings. Using sites like Goodreads and Google, we were able to find several that we thought Women readers would enjoy for their book clubs. Many of the novellas on our list have hard-hitting themes that would be perfect for discussion, and we made sure that four of our picks spanned different genres. We also took into account readers' reviews, and it was clear that our chosen novellas resonated with many. Most of the authors were also award winners, which proved their standing in the literary world. While not all the novellas on our list may be right for you, we're certain at least one will tickle your fancy, as well as your book club members.