Books Set in Small Towns and Villages

1
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
78,960 members
1,434 reviews
½ 4.4
5 Members
hipdeep, sturlington, thecoroner, cej1027, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Alabama
2
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
17,831 members
331 reviews
4.2
5 Members
thorold, sturlington, thecoroner, ahef1963, jeffza
3
Revolutionary Road
by Richard Yates
6,819 members
247 reviews
4
4 Members
sturlington, thecoroner, ahef1963, jeffza
4
Emma
by Jane Austen
38,282 members
506 reviews
4.1
3 Members
thorold, aulsmith, sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: English village
5
The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath
28,290 members
505 reviews
4
3 Members
sturlington, thecoroner, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Massachusetts suburbs
6
Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides
27,265 members
632 reviews
4.1
3 Members
sturlington, thecoroner, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Detroit suburbs.
7
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
10,795 members
244 reviews
4
3 Members
sturlington, thecoroner, ahef1963
8
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie
10,099 members
326 reviews
4.1
3 Members
sturlington, katie4098, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: English village
9
A Thousand Acres
by Jane Smiley
6,193 members
137 reviews
½ 3.7
3 Members
dara85, sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Iowa
10
Our Town
by Thornton Wilder
5,117 members
69 reviews
½ 3.7
3 Members
aulsmith, sturlington, ahef1963
11
The Corrections
by Jonathan Franzen
16,672 members
342 reviews
3.8
2 Members
sturlington, thecoroner
12
The Shipping News
by E. Annie Proulx
13,480 members
250 reviews
3.9
2 Members
thorold, sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Newfoundland and Labrador
13
Anne of Avonlea
by L. M. Montgomery
12,633 members
143 reviews
4.1
2 Members
katie4098, ahef1963
14
The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair
11,729 members
129 reviews
3.8
2 Members
sturlington, thecoroner
15
Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury
11,448 members
297 reviews
3.9
2 Members
hipdeep, sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Green Town, Illinois
16
Needful Things: The Last Castle Rock Story
by Stephen King
10,910 members
123 reviews
½ 3.7
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Castle Rock, Maine
17
Insomnia
by Stephen King
10,714 members
122 reviews
½ 3.7
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Derry, Maine
18
Empire Falls
by Richard Russo
8,797 members
184 reviews
3.9
2 Members
sturlington, thecoroner
19
Still Life
by Louise Penny
6,746 members
427 reviews
3.8
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Quebec
20
Winesburg, Ohio
by Sherwood Anderson
5,962 members
121 reviews
3.8
2 Members
hipdeep, thecoroner
21
At Home in Mitford
by Jan Karon
5,684 members
106 reviews
3.9
2 Members
katie4098, ahef1963
22
Wives and Daughters
by Elizabeth Gaskell
4,133 members
89 reviews
4.1
2 Members
sturlington, thecoroner
23
Cycle of the Werewolf
by Stephen King
3,248 members
74 reviews
½ 3.4
2 Members
hipdeep, sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Maine
24
The Stepford Wives
by Ira Levin
3,087 members
92 reviews
½ 3.6
2 Members
sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations
sturlington: Connecticut suburbs
25
Effi Briest
by Theodor Fontane
2,221 members
32 reviews
½ 3.6
2 Members
thorold, thecoroner
26
Eifelheim
by Michael Flynn
1,112 members
68 reviews
½ 3.7
2 Members
aulsmith, sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Village in medieval Germany
27
Riders in the Chariot
by Patrick White
687 members
20 reviews
4.1
2 Members
thorold, ahef1963
Explanations
thorold: suburban Australia like you've never seen it before
28
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
33,168 members
328 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
29
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
22,298 members
1,547 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
30
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
15,428 members
565 reviews
4.1
Member
dara85
31
Olive Kitteridge
by Elizabeth Strout
9,968 members
623 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
32
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg
8,964 members
190 reviews
4.1
Member
dara85
33
Year of Wonders
by Geraldine Brooks
8,754 members
416 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
34
The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
8,343 members
114 reviews
3.9
Member
thorold
35
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
8,239 members
426 reviews
4.1
Member
sturlington
36
Chocolat
by Joanne Harris
7,872 members
201 reviews
3.8
Member
thorold
37
The Little Friend
by Donna Tartt
7,286 members
158 reviews
½ 3.4
Member
sturlington
38
Black Swan Green
by David Mitchell
5,292 members
215 reviews
4
Member
jeffza
39
The Little Stranger
by Sarah Waters
5,102 members
345 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
40
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
4,978 members
144 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Florida
41
Barchester Towers
by Anthony Trollope
4,939 members
107 reviews
4.2
Member
thorold
42
Cranford
by Elizabeth Gaskell
4,562 members
132 reviews
3.8
Member
thorold
43
The Warden
by Anthony Trollope
4,391 members
131 reviews
3.8
Member
thorold
44
Cold Sassy Tree
by Olive Ann Burns
4,155 members
87 reviews
3.9
Member
dara85
45
Main Street
by Sinclair Lewis
4,133 members
75 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
thorold
46
A Morbid Taste for Bones
by Ellis Peters
3,953 members
105 reviews
3.8
Member
sturlington
47
Christy
by Catherine Marshall
3,686 members
45 reviews
4.1
Member
dara85
48
Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger
2,790 members
199 reviews
4.2
Member
dara85
49
Lost Illusions
by Honoré de Balzac
2,496 members
31 reviews
4.1
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: The first part is set in Angoulême (but the rest is mostly Paris)
50
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
by Tom Franklin
2,437 members
257 reviews
3.9
Member
dara85
51
The Killer Inside Me
by Jim Thompson
2,420 members
87 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
52
Under the Greenwood Tree
by Thomas Hardy
2,244 members
32 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
thorold
53
The Last Picture Show
by Larry McMurtry
1,875 members
52 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
54
Eventide
by Kent Haruf
1,872 members
80 reviews
4.1
Member
dara85
55
Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time
by Rob Sheffield
1,859 members
65 reviews
3.8
Member
hipdeep
56
That Old Ace in the Hole
by Annie Proulx
1,814 members
27 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
thorold
57
Peyton Place
by Grace Metalious
1,691 members
39 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
thecoroner
58
The Sweet Hereafter
by Russell Banks
1,663 members
35 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small New York community
59
A Redbird Christmas
by Fannie Flagg
1,621 members
87 reviews
3.8
Member
dara85
60
The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts
by Richard Peck
1,620 members
47 reviews
4
Member
dara85
61
Dying for Chocolate
by Diane Mott Davidson
1,569 members
22 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
62
A Land More Kind than Home
by Wiley Cash
1,316 members
113 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
63
The Little World of Don Camillo
by Giovannino Guareschi
1,310 members
37 reviews
4.2
Member
thorold
64
Little Heathens
by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
1,146 members
43 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
dara85
65
Benediction
by Kent Haruf
1,133 members
101 reviews
4.1
Member
dara85
66
Queen Lucia
by E. F. Benson
1,126 members
48 reviews
3.9
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: Cotswold village taken over by posh Londoners
67
A Gathering of Old Men
by Ernest J. Gaines
1,054 members
26 reviews
4
Member
hipdeep
68
Universal Harvester
by John Darnielle
994 members
61 reviews
½ 3.3
Member
sturlington
69
World Made By Hand
by James Howard Kunstler
979 members
57 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small New York town
70
The Church of Dead Girls
by Stephen Dobyns
957 members
27 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small New York town
71
Mapp and Lucia
by E. F. Benson
949 members
29 reviews
4.2
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: Rye
72
South Riding
by Winifred Holtby
937 members
41 reviews
4.1
Member
thorold
73
Air: Or, Have Not Have
by Geoff Ryman
868 members
31 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
sturlington
75
Lapvona
by Ottessa Moshfegh
800 members
24 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
76
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
by Stephen Leacock
782 members
12 reviews
3.9
Member
ahef1963
77
Village School
by Miss Read
774 members
24 reviews
3.8
Member
katie4098
78
Territory
by Emma Bull
740 members
42 reviews
3.8
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Tombstone, Arizona
79
The Path
by Miguel Delibes
724 members
56 reviews
4
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: remote Spanish village
80
A Prayer for the Dying
by Stewart O'Nan
689 members
39 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small Wisconsin town in late 19th century
81
The Saturday Night Ghost Club
by Craig Davidson
624 members
37 reviews
3.8
Member
sturlington
82
Everything You Want Me to Be
by Mindy Mejia
620 members
69 reviews
3.8
Member
sturlington
83
Raney
by Clyde Edgerton
571 members
7 reviews
3.9
Member
hipdeep
84
A Beautiful Place to Die
by Malla Nunn
557 members
39 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small South African town
85
Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead
by Barbara Comyns
552 members
30 reviews
3.9
Member
sturlington
86
A Short History of a Small Place
by T.R. Pearson
542 members
8 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small North Carolina town
87
Clochemerle
by Gabriel Chevallier
479 members
15 reviews
3.8
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: French town debates construction of urinal
88
The Next Queen of Heaven
by Gregory Maguire
442 members
41 reviews
3.2
Member
aulsmith
89
The Night Country
by Stewart O'Nan
370 members
17 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in New England
90
The Witchfinder's Sister
by Beth Underdown
359 members
35 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
91
Clayhanger
by Arnold Bennett
358 members
9 reviews
3.9
Member
thorold
92
Uncivil Seasons
by Michael Malone
327 members
9 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small North Carolina town
93
The Vendor of Sweets
by R. K. Narayan
322 members
3 reviews
3.8
Member
thorold
Explanations
thorold: Narayan wrote a long list of novels about the fictional small town of Malgudi in India
94
The Next Time You See Me
by Holly Goddard Jones
301 members
30 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
sturlington
95
Mailman
by J. Robert Lennon
292 members
2 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in New York
96
If, Then
by Kate Hope Day
266 members
17 reviews
½ 3.3
Member
sturlington
97
Brighten the Corner Where You Are
by Fred Chappell
241 members
7 reviews
4
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Town in the North Carolina mountains
98
The Card
by Arnold Bennett
237 members
8 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
thorold
99
The Burn Palace
by Stephen Dobyns
237 members
20 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
sturlington
Explanations
sturlington: Small town in Rhode Island
100
Assumption
by Percival Everett
169 members
20 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
sturlington