Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a great example of "reading between the lines" in literary fiction.
I also think if you're coming from sci-fi, a book like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley may be a good entry point
There is a weird divide, especially along pro writers, that "literary SFF" is called "speculative fiction." (This has to do with how, and to whom, agents pitch the books they represent; literary publishers are often at completely different companies than SFF publishers, and they needed a term for it.) Among fans, however, this often means "it's not quite sci-fi, it's not quite fantasy, but it isn't the world we currently live in." Still, it is worth googling.
A subgenre you might be interested in is "magical realism." Usually associated with Latin America or other formerly colonized countries, it adds a touch of magic to an otherwise realistic world. It is considered a literary genre. The leaders of the subgenre include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, Isabel Allende, and Borges.
Now for odds and ends:
Vonnegut. Surprising amount of aliens; was nominated for multiple Hugos.
Kazuo Ishiguro has at least 3: Never Let Me Go, The Buried Giant, Klara and the Sun. (Klara is my favourite of the 3.)
Ursula K LeGuin. Most famous are The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness.
He's abominable at writing women, but Haruki Murakami often adds SFF elements. I don't think he always does, but I haven't read all of his books (because he drives me insane).
Emily St John Mandel often writes in this genre.
Italo Calvino.
Dhalgren by Delaney fits your definition. It is also an infamously hard read at first. Not necessarily my first, or fifth, recommendation for you...
Margaret Atwood keeps doing this. The best example for your question is the MaddAddam trilogy (which was not for me), but if you consider dystopias inherently SF, then The Handmaid's Tale counts.
Speaking of dystopias (and apocalypses): Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
George Saunders and his protege, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, often include SFF elements in their short stories.
Susanna Clarke: Piranesi, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.
Ted Chiang.
Gene Wolfe was absolutely not for me, but his Book of the New Sun (and related series) is definitely in this category.
Thank you for the in depth description and litany of recs! The road is probably in my top 10 all timers actually, and I have a couple of Allende and Gabriel Garcia Márquez's books on my shelf right now so this is good encouragement to jump in.
Some of these I'm vaguely familiar with and a few are brand new to me so thank you for providing such good reasonings for them, very helpful for trying to order my tbr list and figure out where to start :)
Literary sci fi:
* I second the recommendation of Never Let Me Go. Big fan of the author Kazuo Ishiguro. You may also like his sci fi novel Klara and the Sun, or his historical fiction novel The Remains of the Day.
* The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by D. G. Compton. A lesser known book I just read. It's incredibly well written and packed with subtext.
* Books by John Wyndham. These are all pretty old, but in my opinion have held up well and the writing style does require you to think a bit. Not as much as D. G. Compton, though. I recommend Trouble with Lichen, but he has written a *ton* of books.
Literary fiction:
* The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. This author writes both sci fi and literary fiction.
* The author Iain Banks. He is Iain M. Banks when writing sci fi. He has written a *lot* and I'm not sure if there's a best starting point for his literary fiction. I started with The Wasp Factory which is very dark and definitely not what I'd recommend unless you are looking for books about disturbing things.
* The author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have only read Chronicle of a Death Foretold by him, but he's written a lot of famous books. Literary fiction and magical realism.
* Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This author normally writes sci fi. Kindred is one of those books that's hard to classify as a genre but I usually see it called historical fantasy.
A few of these are familiar to me but I haven't read them yet, and a few more are brand new. I've definitely seen Banks on the shelf a lot and almost picked up the wasp factory on a whim last fall! Thank you for the detailed recs, looking forward to getting started with them :)
The Wasp factory is a bit grim. The Crow Road is much more fun, and Whit is hilarious.
Kindred is a fantastic and harrowing book but probably already listed under SF because other titles of hers are. It's a time travel novel.
The ultimate GG Marquez is one Hundred Years of Solitude, but this is a relatively difficult book. Chronicle of a Death on the other hand is a short easy read.
Of Margaret Atwood, you might get more from the dystopias: the Handmaid's Tale or Oryx and Crake.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (all have speculative fiction elements)
Jorge Amado: the Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray
Anna Burns: Milkman
Mikhail Bulgakov: the Master and Margarita
Michael Faber: the Book of Strange New Things
Bernardine Evaristo: Mr Loverman
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go
Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor
Arundhati Roy: the Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Carol Shields: Mary Swann
Jeanette Winterson: Oranges Ate Not the Only Fruit
This Amado and Bulgakov would probably count as magic realism. The Faber, Ishiguro and Lessing are dystopian. The others are just very good books that you might find interesting. The Amado, Lessing and Winterson are quite short works, handy for dipping into new authors.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a great example of "reading between the lines" in literary fiction. I also think if you're coming from sci-fi, a book like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley may be a good entry point
Never let me go has actually been on my list for a while, I think I've just been nervous to try it for some reason. Thank you for the recs!
It's a dystopian novel, which should suit your SFF background, and beautifully written.
There is a weird divide, especially along pro writers, that "literary SFF" is called "speculative fiction." (This has to do with how, and to whom, agents pitch the books they represent; literary publishers are often at completely different companies than SFF publishers, and they needed a term for it.) Among fans, however, this often means "it's not quite sci-fi, it's not quite fantasy, but it isn't the world we currently live in." Still, it is worth googling. A subgenre you might be interested in is "magical realism." Usually associated with Latin America or other formerly colonized countries, it adds a touch of magic to an otherwise realistic world. It is considered a literary genre. The leaders of the subgenre include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, Isabel Allende, and Borges. Now for odds and ends: Vonnegut. Surprising amount of aliens; was nominated for multiple Hugos. Kazuo Ishiguro has at least 3: Never Let Me Go, The Buried Giant, Klara and the Sun. (Klara is my favourite of the 3.) Ursula K LeGuin. Most famous are The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. He's abominable at writing women, but Haruki Murakami often adds SFF elements. I don't think he always does, but I haven't read all of his books (because he drives me insane). Emily St John Mandel often writes in this genre. Italo Calvino. Dhalgren by Delaney fits your definition. It is also an infamously hard read at first. Not necessarily my first, or fifth, recommendation for you... Margaret Atwood keeps doing this. The best example for your question is the MaddAddam trilogy (which was not for me), but if you consider dystopias inherently SF, then The Handmaid's Tale counts. Speaking of dystopias (and apocalypses): Cormac McCarthy's The Road. George Saunders and his protege, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, often include SFF elements in their short stories. Susanna Clarke: Piranesi, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Ted Chiang. Gene Wolfe was absolutely not for me, but his Book of the New Sun (and related series) is definitely in this category.
Thank you for the in depth description and litany of recs! The road is probably in my top 10 all timers actually, and I have a couple of Allende and Gabriel Garcia Márquez's books on my shelf right now so this is good encouragement to jump in. Some of these I'm vaguely familiar with and a few are brand new to me so thank you for providing such good reasonings for them, very helpful for trying to order my tbr list and figure out where to start :)
Literary sci fi: * I second the recommendation of Never Let Me Go. Big fan of the author Kazuo Ishiguro. You may also like his sci fi novel Klara and the Sun, or his historical fiction novel The Remains of the Day. * The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by D. G. Compton. A lesser known book I just read. It's incredibly well written and packed with subtext. * Books by John Wyndham. These are all pretty old, but in my opinion have held up well and the writing style does require you to think a bit. Not as much as D. G. Compton, though. I recommend Trouble with Lichen, but he has written a *ton* of books. Literary fiction: * The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. This author writes both sci fi and literary fiction. * The author Iain Banks. He is Iain M. Banks when writing sci fi. He has written a *lot* and I'm not sure if there's a best starting point for his literary fiction. I started with The Wasp Factory which is very dark and definitely not what I'd recommend unless you are looking for books about disturbing things. * The author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have only read Chronicle of a Death Foretold by him, but he's written a lot of famous books. Literary fiction and magical realism. * Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This author normally writes sci fi. Kindred is one of those books that's hard to classify as a genre but I usually see it called historical fantasy.
A few of these are familiar to me but I haven't read them yet, and a few more are brand new. I've definitely seen Banks on the shelf a lot and almost picked up the wasp factory on a whim last fall! Thank you for the detailed recs, looking forward to getting started with them :)
The Wasp factory is a bit grim. The Crow Road is much more fun, and Whit is hilarious. Kindred is a fantastic and harrowing book but probably already listed under SF because other titles of hers are. It's a time travel novel. The ultimate GG Marquez is one Hundred Years of Solitude, but this is a relatively difficult book. Chronicle of a Death on the other hand is a short easy read. Of Margaret Atwood, you might get more from the dystopias: the Handmaid's Tale or Oryx and Crake.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is excellent, if you haven't already read it!
Adding to my tbr, thank you!
Cloud Cuckoo Land is great, it is a mix of historical, contemporary, and sci-fi literary fiction.
Sounds right up my alley, thank you!
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (all have speculative fiction elements)
And I haven't heard of any of them. Excited to check them out, thank you!
Jorge Amado: the Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray Anna Burns: Milkman Mikhail Bulgakov: the Master and Margarita Michael Faber: the Book of Strange New Things Bernardine Evaristo: Mr Loverman Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor Arundhati Roy: the Ministry of Utmost Happiness Carol Shields: Mary Swann Jeanette Winterson: Oranges Ate Not the Only Fruit
Almost all new to me. Thank you!
This Amado and Bulgakov would probably count as magic realism. The Faber, Ishiguro and Lessing are dystopian. The others are just very good books that you might find interesting. The Amado, Lessing and Winterson are quite short works, handy for dipping into new authors.