The ten best short novels under 150 pages – chosen by experts

By Dominic Davies, Reader in English, City St George's, University of London
Adam Baron, Novelist and Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Kingston University
Colleen Ballard, Teacher in English Literature, University of Limerick
Debra Kelly, Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Cultural Historian, University of Westminster
Jade King, Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing, Lincoln University
Jenni Ramone, Associate Professor of Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Nottingham Trent University
Matthew Leggatt, Senior Lecturer, Department of English and Creative Writing, University of Winchester
Michael Bradshaw, Dean of Faculty, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester
Sarah Olive, Senior Lecturer in Literature, Aston University
Tory Young, Associate Professor in Department of English Literature, Anglia Ruskin University

A novel doesn’t need to be a hefty tome to change your life. Forget War and Peace (1,200 pages) or Les Misérables (1,400 pages); these expert recommendations are under 150 pages – short enough to tear through over a weekend.

1. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (2011)

In 2012, Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams did not win the Pulitzer prize. Though shortlisted as one of three finalists, the committee “withheld” the fiction award for the first time in 35 years, because none of the works received a majority…

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