Novels:
* The Beans of Egypt, Maine (1985): Chute's debut novel, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the American Book Award, and was adapted into a film in 1994. It focuses on the lives of the Bean family, a struggling, dysfunctional group in rural Maine.
* The School of Nurses (1987): A darkly comic novel that follows the lives of nurses working in a rural Maine hospital.
* The Search (1991): Explores the aftermath of a school bus crash in Frye, and the subsequent search for the missing children.
* The Merry Men (1997): This novel tells the story of the Fryes, a family with deep roots in the community, and how their lives are affected by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.
* Blood Oranges (2003): A family saga set in Frye that spans over four generations and addresses themes of love, loss, and the changing face of rural America.
* I’m Looking for You (2008): A more recent novel that features the return of characters from "The Search" and focuses on the themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time.
Short Story Collections:
* The Virginia Stories (1994): A collection of short stories set in Fryeburg, Maine, which explore the lives of the inhabitants and the community's struggles.
* The Maine Stories (1997): This collection brings together some of her most acclaimed short stories, including "The Beans of Egypt, Maine," and explores themes of family, poverty, and social injustice.
Other Works:
* The Maine Poems (2004): A collection of poetry that reflects Chute's love for her home state and the people she writes about.
Chute's works are known for their gritty realism, their focus on working-class people and communities, and their exploration of complex social issues like poverty, family dysfunction, and the struggles of rural life.