20 Great Works of Philosophical Fiction

Set in Sweden, this work of speculative fiction opens with a violent attack on a bookstore hosting a controversial author. One of the attackers turns out to be a visitor from an alternate future. Or at least she believes she is. Over the course of the novel, she tells her story to a writer who tries to piece together what actually happened, and who grapples with his status as a Muslim in a place that is less and less welcoming. This social and political novel explores terrorism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant ideology.

This novel follows a woman searching Tehran for missing statues in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election protests in Iran. Interspersed among sections telling her story are passages where a narrator contemplates the searching woman’s quest and asks questions about memory, documentation, violence, and what we owe the dead. The novel also incorporates passages on these issues from a range of philosophers and writers. It’s a multi-layered exploration of how we grapple with loss, how we memorialize the dead, and how we best live our lives.

This novel tells the story of Gifty, a graduate student in neuroscience at Stanford. She is studying reward-seeking behavior in mice. Part of her motivation is to try to understand her brother, who died of a heroin overdose, and her mother, who struggles with depression. As she grapples with her family history, she thinks about her childhood faith and the church in which she was raised. The novel’s engaging story allows readers to think through issues of science, religion, family, race, and what drives us to behave the way we do.

What Are You Going Through is a novel of talking and thinking. The main character interacts with a series of people — an old lover, a friend, strangers — and listens and contemplates what they have to say. Then a friend makes a difficult request: would the narrator be willing to help a terminally ill woman die by suicide? The novel is about how we live, what we owe to future generations, and how we die. It asks what our future will look like as climate change worsens and how we can best understand our mortality.

Set in the Argentinian countryside, this novel tells the story of four people unexpectedly spending the day together after a car breaks down. A preacher, his daughter, an auto mechanic, and the boy who lives with him all circle around one another, talking. As time passes, they begin to talk about religion, morality, and God. They share ideas and experiences as a storm threatens on the horizon. This is a wonderful novel for thinking about matters of faith and meaning.

The unnamed narrator of this 1952 novel opens by reflecting on his experiences of invisibility and his determination to tell his story. He then goes on to tell his life story. The narrative moves from his small southern town, where the famous “battle royal” scene takes place, on to college, and then to further adventures in Harlem. The story is exuberant and wild, while also shedding light on mid-century life for Black people in the U.S. It’s a powerful look at racism, identity, and the struggle to tell one’s story and be seen.

This science fiction novel looks deeply into issues of gender and identity. It tells the story of Genly Ai, a human sent to the planet Gethen to persuade the nations there to join a planetary confederation. To make his case, however, he must understand their culture. This planet’s inhabitants can choose and change their gender. Genly, in his relationship with the Gethenian inhabitant Estraven, thinks through what this means. The novel explores issues of gender and culture, as well as psychology, loyalty, and relationships.

The Name of the Rose takes place in Italy in the 14th century. It’s narrated by Adso, a Benedictine novice, who accompanies Brother William of Baskerville to a Benedictine Abbey to investigate alleged heresy. But then bizarre deaths start occurring. Baskerville turns into a detective and uses the tools of philosophy to investigate what’s going on. This is a novel for those who love history, books about books, mysteries, and theological and philosophical disputes.

The classic of philosophical fiction has an unnamed narrator who has withdrawn from society. In his anger and bitterness, he writes his story and his thoughts about the world. He contemplates contemporary Russian philosophy, but, more generally, he writes about suffering and pain, freedom, and the idea of a utopian society. He is passionate, angry, and contradictory, and his narrative provides an excellent way to think about human nature and society.

This novel tells the story of Noboru and his friends who form a band or a gang in protest against the adult world. They see that world as illusory, hypocritical, and soft. They train themselves in a philosophy they call “objectivity.” The novel takes a violent turn when Noboru’s mother has an affair with a sailor and the boys become disillusioned with him. It’s an exploration of ideas about honor, alienation, gender, and what it means to be human.

Set in and around London, this 1961 novel is about morality and relationships, exploring the lives of middle-class professionals. Martin is married and having an affair. But then his wife, Antonia, leaves him for a friend and shocks him out of his complacency. The characters in this book believe they have moved past conventional morality, but struggle with how they should now live. A Severed Head is an entertaining read that looks closely at how we make sense of our lives and our behavior.

This novel is great for those who want an overview of philosophical history, told through fiction. Fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen receives two mysterious notes in the mail. One asks, “Who are you?” and the other, “Where does the world come from?” More letters continue to appear, and Sophie undertakes a study of philosophy through correspondence. Her study covers the major philosophers and their ideas. Sophie’s story, mixed with the philosophy, makes for reading that is both entertaining and educational.

The Trial tells the story of Joseph K., who is arrested but never told why. He must defend himself without knowing the charges. He remains free but is subject to orders from the “Committee of Affairs,” and he tries in vain to discover his crime. People interpret the novel in many ways: as a meditation on state bureaucracy, God, totalitarianism, psychological states, Kafka’s own life, and more. It’s a haunting fable about institutions and powerlessness.

Wittgenstein’s Mistress is the story of a woman named Kate who lives alone at the end of the world. Or at least she believes she does. The novel consists of a series of statements she about her world and about western culture, with topics shifting quickly but recurring as we follow her thoughts. She could possibly be delusional, but, then again, perhaps not. The novel is an experimental and also highly entertaining meditation on language, isolation, communication, and memory.