I just spent an hour on Amazon.com searching for fiction about middle-age (and up), and I’m frustrated. The categories are HUGE and it’s impossible. If you wrote a novel or a collection of short stories about the second half of life, good luck having it peep out among the multitudes. And if you want to find one to read, forget it.
I propose we start using this term: MIDLIFE FICTION. Maybe if we sling it around enough, it’ll become a genre.
In the meantime, I’m going to have to curate my own collection of titles. (I’m doing something similar on YouTube, collecting videos by and about midlife so you can find them all in one place, here.)
But back to books: If you hear of a good midlife selection, let me know. What I’m looking for is fiction, and I’d like it to illuminate the experience of middle-age and beyond. Here are my only criteria: the heroine has to be at least forty but there’s no upper limit. And it has have some kind of validation of quality – I won’t have time to read all your suggestions but I will research them on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com to see what kinds of ratings and comments they got.
One last thought: I won’t include memoir in this collection because Personal Memoir already exists as a category on Amazon. This page is just for pure fiction with a heroine who is middle-aged or older.
So let’s get started!
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian. An elderly couple bolt for freedom in their last cross-country RV trip.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. A middle-aged scientist discovers her inner warrior in the heart of the Amazon jungle.
Olive Kittridge by Elizabeth Strout. As the townspeople of Crosby, Maine grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life.
