November is not just for nonfiction, but novellas (and short nf) too! Novellas in November is hosted by Cathy & Rebecca and it’s another reading month I’m always happy to join in with and overlap with other challenges. We’re invited to read short books of fewer than 200 pages, and share the other novellas we’ve read this year too, my list of 22 read so far in 2026 is below. I’ve stuck rigidly to the 200 page count, so several books between 201 & 206 pages long don’t feature! I’ve grouped them by geographical area below, with short NF separately. Doing it like that, one thing stood out (to me at least). Can you spot what it is?
AFRICA
Venice Requiem by Khalid Lyamlahy – (8/10) Review
ASIA
Heaven by Meiko Kawakami – (10/10) Review
Sympathy Tower Tokyo by Rie Qudan – O FTr (10/10) Review
EUROPE
On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (9/10) Review
On the Calculation of Volume III by Solvej Balle (83.5/10) Review (Vol 2 was >200 pages!)
Just a Little Dinner by Cécile Tlili (9/10) Review
The Garden Square by Marguerite Duras (6/10) Review
Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan – (10/10) Review
Spanish Beauty by Esther Garcia Llovet – (10/10) Review
The Butterfly House by Teresa Solana – (9/10) Review
Dancefloor by Victor Jestin – review to come
Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler – review to come
SOUTH AMERICA
All Yours by Claudia Piñeiro – (9/10) Review
All That Dies in April by Mariana Travacio – (9/10) Review
UK
Reversed Forecast by Nicola Barker – (8.5/10) Review
The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks – (7.5/10) Review
The Bishop of Durham attempts to surrender the city by Susanna Clarke – review to come
The Winter Guest by Sarah Moss – review to come
SHORT NF
The Future of Fraud by Becky Holmes – (9/10) Review
Adrift: The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea by Tracey Williams – (9/10) Review
The Future of Bananas by John Dale – Shiny Review
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist – by Adrian Tomine Review (Graphic memoir)
It struck me that European authors love writing novellas; North Americans don’t! This is a sweeping generalisation, and Elizabeth Strout’s latest was 201 pages, but in general, for my reading at least, it holds true. The sole North American representative above is Adrian Tomine’s graphic memoir – and graphic novels are usually short, plus he’s of Japanese descent.
How’s your novella reading this year?
You read loads Annabel! A few of these are in my pile for this month – The Winter Guest, Sympathy Tower Tokyo and Reversed Forecast.