12 Fantastic Pieces Of Fiction From 2016 You Need To Read

Looking for a good read? Here is some of the best fiction we published in 2016.

1. An excerpt from Moonglow by Michael Chabon

Patrick Léger for BuzzFeed News

"'Have a look, Shunk Street,' she said. She hoisted the hem of the tartan robe. She opened her legs and spread them wide. The pale band of belly, the shock of dark fur, the pink of her labia endured in his memory, flying like a flag, until he died. 'On the house.'"

Learn more about Michael Chabon's novel Moonglow here.

2. "The Arctic Lizard" by Etgar Keret

Fede Yankelevich for BuzzFeed News

"They set up the 14+ exactly one year after Trump was elected to his third term. America was still licking its wounds from the war in Mexico. Honestly? No one thought it would be that rough."

Learn more about Etgar Keret here.

3. "If A Book Is Locked There’s Probably A Good Reason For That Don’t You Think" by Helen Oyeyemi

Will Varner / BuzzFeed

"Also — also, while you were looking for pen and paper the diary has been unfolding. Not growing, exactly, but it's sitting upright on your tabletop and seems to fill or absorb the air around it so that the air turns this way and that, like pages. In fact the book is like a hand and you, your living room and everything in it are pages being turned this way and that."

Learn more about Helen Oyeyemi's short story collection What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours here.

4. "Twentieth" by Lindsay Hunter

Thoka Maer for BuzzFeed News

"We’d fantasized about showing up at our 20th high school reunion with that vengeful kind of fitness, perfect lipstick and interesting hair, open-toed shoes and not a corn to be seen. But alas. The point was that none of us was perfect. Neither, now, was Diane."

Learn more about Lindsay Hunter here.

5. "A Hostage Situation" by Manuel Gonzales

Maritsa Patrinos / BuzzFeed

"While one half of us were thinking about our families, our friends, our plans for dinner or for the weekend, the other half were wondering how long it would be, really, before they shot us all or simply piped some noxious gas into Laura’s office through the vent."

Learn more about Manuel Gonzales' novel The Regional Office Is Under Attack! here.

6. "Rate Me" by Rebecca Schiff

Mike Hinson / BuzzFeed

"The ad said 'I will rate your vagina,' so I sent it in. It got a two."

Learn more about Rebecca Schiff's short story collection The Bed Moved here.

7. "It’s Alright, It’s Alright, It’s Alright" by Rebecca Makkai

Thoka Maer for BuzzFeed News

"It hit her that she could never disappear again. Not really. It wasn’t that she would become a household name — she was ancient for an ingénue, and a Rudy Upchurch film was just as likely to flop as to enter the canon. But she’d be findable forever."

Learn more about Rebecca Makkai here.

8. "The Dancing-Master" by Alexandra Kleeman

Hanna Lefcourt for BuzzFeed News

"Young Victor arrived at my door a dwarfish creature, freshly shorn and clothed in a length of linen. He resembled a boy, but only in shape."

Learn more about Alexandra Kleeman's short story collection Intimations here.

9. "An Inside Hurt Was Supposed To Stay Inside" by Brit Bennett

KL Ricks for BuzzFeed News

"He looked as handsome as she’d remembered from Sunday School, except he was a man now, bronzed and broad-shouldered, his hard jaw covered in stubble. And he was limping now, slightly favoring his left leg, but the gimpiness of his walk, its uneven pace and tenderness, only made her want him more. Her mother had died a month ago and she was drawn to anyone who wore their pain outwardly, the way she couldn’t."

Learn more about Brit Bennett's novel The Mothers here.

10. “Successor, Usurper, Replacement” by Alice Sola Kim

Thoka Maer for BuzzFeed News

"There was no question of going home that night. The streets below Lee’s high-rise apartment had flooded, and everyone had received an alert that the beast had been sighted near their area. If they went out, their safety could not be guaranteed."

Learn more about Alice Sola Kim here.

11. "7 Out Of 100 Apocalypses" by Lucy Corin

Mike Hinson / BuzzFeed

"They could stay afloat for only so long. Before the deranged creatures picked them off."

Learn more about Lucy Corin's short story collection One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses here.

12. "The Triumph And Will Of The Young Female Gymnast" by Megan Abbott

Brian Mcentire / Stocksy

"'Lacey’ll be twelve next month,' Gwen said, not seeming to hear. 'You have to eat the apple when it’s ripe.'"