There has never been a better time for fans of audiobooks, but choosing what to listen to next can be a nigh on impossible decision to make, what with the mass of titles waiting to be explored. Overwhelmed by the mass of best sellers and audio versions of classic novels available on Amazon and Audible? Love listening to fiction but don’t know what to listen to next? We’ve picked ten of our favourites to inspire your next audio adventure.
Everything from laugh-out-loud comedy to pass-the-tissues tragedy can be found below, covering historical fiction, modern storytelling and sometimes a combination of the two, tales that have changed the game and revolutionised literature as we know it.
Here you’ll find the best performances of classic novels such as Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, award winning international best sellers from authors such as Sally Rooney and Jojo Moyes, as well as the latest original Audible multicast drama, Empire: Scarlet City.
We’ve compiled the best books and short stories to make your next choice a little easier, fantastic listens that will thrill those new to Audible as much as those with plenty of audiobooks in the bank already. From the best modern stories to classic novels you really should have enjoyed by now, these are 10 fiction audiobooks that demand your attention.
Blurring the lines between the grim reality of history and the magical flow of literary fiction, Heather Morris’ 2018 novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz has defied its critics to become an international bestseller and the first port of call for many when it comes to fictional representations of Nazi horrors in World War II. The hypnotic baritone of Leicestershire’s own Robert Armitage adds an extra layer of gravity to the tale of Lev Sokolov and Gita Furman, the Slovakian Jews who found love in unspeakably evil surroundings, making this a love story like few others. Based on real-life events, it won an Audie Award for fiction in 2019.
Boasting one of the finest book titles in recent memory, Gail Honeyman’s 2017 debut Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a book that does better than most at bringing together the unbridled joy and silent frustrations of modern existence. The title character’s ups and downs are narrated in this audiobook by Cathleen McCarron (one of the highest-rated narrators on Audible, no less), and the combination of McCarron and Oliphant (not to mention Honeyman’s exquisite writing) has seen this become one of the best-selling audiobooks of all time. It was no great shock when it deservedly picked up an Audie Award for fiction in 2018.
Winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, Milkman pulls no punches in its unflinchingly brutal portrayal of the life of a high school girl in Northern Ireland, adolescence punctuated by the jarring juxtaposition of political violence and the monotony of everyday life, a dreary reality that often manifests itself in jejune behaviour and the crushing pressure of small city whispers. Anna Burns wrote about more than The Troubles; this is a story of how communities react when faced with real peril and the violence of civil war, and the results might not be to everyone’s liking. Three-time Olivier Award nominee Bríd Brennan shepherds the listener through this stunning audiobook.
One of modern Britain’s most successful (and prolific) novelists, Sophie Kinsella’s 2019 book I Owe You One is another homage to love and the winding streets it takes us down, showcasing the power of romance and the unpredictability of fate all at the same time. Audible favourite Fiona Hardingham reprises her role as the voice of Kinsella in this audiobook, shaking new life out of the story of Fixie Farr and a chance meeting with a handsome stranger from the United States. You know what you’re getting from Sophie Kinsella, and Hardingham is proving to be every bit as consistent as an audio foil for Kinsella’s joyful romps.
The standard-bearer for a new world of literary fiction that favours the down to earth over the out of this world, Sally Rooney’s Normal People has become one of the defining novels of its time, winning awards and acclaim in equal measure. Fresh from her stint as the voice of Rooney’s debut novel (2017’s Conversations with Friends), County Clare-born actor and narrator Aoife McMahon puts in another career-defining performance in this audiobook, one that has seen Normal People top best-of lists all around the world. Often celebrated as one of the best books from the millennial generation, the combination of Rooney’s timing and McMahon’s timbre is just about as good as it gets.
There are two types of people; those who get all sorts of excited at the prospect of Neil Gaiman reworking Norse Mythology and then narrating his creations, and those who might need to check their vital signs. Gaiman has proven to be a quite stunning orator, filling his work with that innate understanding that can only come from the author. 2017’s Norse Mythology takes time-honoured tales and twists them into new shapes, approaching Thor, Odin and the rest with modern vigour and renewed enthusiasm, all with a narration that bagged Gaiman an Audie Award in 2018 and was described by The New York Times as ‘seductive’. It is difficult to argue with such claims.
‘Make Orwell Fiction Again’ might be a meme that has gathered momentum in an increasingly-baffling world, but the story of Winston and Julia has been compulsory literature since long before the days of social media, fake news and populist politics. Released in 2013, this podcast-esque dramatisation of the iconic novel features strong performances from Tim Pigott-Smith, Pippa Nixon and Christopher Eccleston, squeezing every drop of fear and absurdity from Orwell’s most famous piece of fiction, a story that opens eyes to the perils of a world with no personal data, where nobody truly lives their own life. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a novel that seems to become increasingly pertinent the older it gets, like a strange dystopian wine, and this reinvention will engage everyone from newcomers to hardened citizens of Airstrip One.
Dystopian fiction has experienced a renaissance with the success of Margaret Atwood and The Handmaid's Tale, and Nineteen-Eighty-Four is one of the founding novels of the genre, an absolute must for first-time readers of the world as it could be.
Fantastically narrated by Primetime Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike (star of Gone Girl, itself an excellent audiobook available on Audible), this 2018 rendition of Jane Austen’s 1811 tale of love and heartbreak promises to sweep a new generation of potential Austen fanatics off their feet, such is the grace and poise of Pike’s portrayal of the Dashwood family. Some audiobooks reshape the way a novel is approached, while others are lifted to new heights through thoughtful narration and honeyed enthusiasm; Pike’s stunning performance of Sense and Sensibility is placed firmly in the latter. There have been many interpretations of Jane Austen’s debut in the centuries since, but Rosamund Pike may have trumped them all in piloting one of the best audiobooks on the market.
An Audible original, the third instalment of Empire: Scarlet City brings together a veritable conveyer belt of fantastic voices that lift Jonah Durham and the duplicitous dangers of medieval London to new heights. The rags-to-riches trope is a storytelling device as old as literary fiction itself, but the rags that young Durham is faced with make for a more treacherous journey than most, one skilfully enhanced by the voices of Douglas Booth, Miriam Margoyles, Samuel West, and a full cast of fantastic orators. The shortest of the three books, the final act of this thrilling trilogy is further proof of the quality over quantity adage, a beautifully weighted addition to the historical drama genre.
Rounding out the list is Still Me, a 2018 novel by Jojo Moyes narrated by Anna Acton, of The Bill, Eastenders and Family Affairs fame, now carving out a fine niche for herself as an audiobook narrator. Acton does an excellent job in bringing the tumultuous world of Louisa Clark to life, the third in a series that gave the world bestsellers Me Before You and After You. Moyes has shown that there is plenty of life in literary romantic comedy yet, and Acton’s performance only adds weight to that. At nearly 14 hours, this is one of the longest books on this list, but you’ll be surprised how quickly that time flies with Clark (and Acton) at the wheel of this audio road trip.
The Audible archives are chock-full of fantastic audiobooks, from Audible Originals to audio versions of the best books ever written. The 10 choices above are merely the tip of the iceberg, a monolithic bookshelf containing everything from David Sedaris to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels via Phillip Pullman and the rest, narrated by an all-star cast of names including Wil Wheaton and Stephen Fry. What are you waiting for?
