50 Books like The Game

The Transit of Venus

by Shirley Hazzard

An Australian orphan loves a playwright she cannot have, blind to the astronomer who waits.

4.01

5k+

🎭 Literary Tragedy 💔 Doomed Affair 🥺 Unrequited Love 🥀 Quiet Devastation 🇬🇧 Postwar England

The Transit of Venus 89%

An Australian orphan loves a playwright she cannot have, blind to the astronomer who waits.

by Shirley Hazzard 1980

4.01

5k+ ratings

🎭 Literary Tragedy 💔 Doomed Affair 🥺 Unrequited Love 🥀 Quiet Devastation 🇬🇧 Postwar England

Martin Eden

by Jack London • 1909

A sailor meets a refined girl and destroys himself trying to become worthy of her love.

4.48

56k+

🔨 Working Class Fiction 🏛️ Gilded Age Fiction 💔 Doomed Ambition 🎨 Artist As Outsider 💕 Class Divide Romance

Martin Eden 93%

A sailor meets a refined girl and destroys himself trying to become worthy of her love.

by Jack London 1909

4.48

56k+ ratings

🔨 Working Class Fiction 🏛️ Gilded Age Fiction 💔 Doomed Ambition 🎨 Artist As Outsider 💕 Class Divide Romance

The Natural

by Bernard Malamud • 1952

A baseball prodigy returns at 34, but a cold woman and a bookie's fix threaten his last shot.

3.61

13k+

🖤 Literary Baseball 🦅 American Myth 💋 Femme Fatale 🎭 Tragic Hero 💪 Sports Comeback

The Natural 91%

A baseball prodigy returns at 34, but a cold woman and a bookie's fix threaten his last shot.

by Bernard Malamud 1952

3.61

13k+ ratings

🖤 Literary Baseball 🦅 American Myth 💋 Femme Fatale 🎭 Tragic Hero 💪 Sports Comeback

Fantastic Night & Other Stories

by Stefan Zweig • 1922

Between numbness and feeling: five souls in prewar Vienna discover the ache of being alive.

3.98

2k+

🧠 Psychological Fiction 💔 Unrequited Love 🌅 Emotional Awakening 🎭 Class Divide 🌧️ Melancholy

Fantastic Night & Other Stories 89%

Between numbness and feeling: five souls in prewar Vienna discover the ache of being alive.

by Stefan Zweig 1922

3.98

2k+ ratings

🧠 Psychological Fiction 💔 Unrequited Love 🌅 Emotional Awakening 🎭 Class Divide 🌧️ Melancholy

The Stoic

by Theodore Dreiser • 1947

His empire crumbling, an American financier stakes everything on London and a much younger muse.

4.35

3k+

🏭 Naturalist Fiction 💰 Gilded Age 📈 Social Climbing 💔 Loveless Marriage 🏗️ Empire Building

The Stoic 89%

His empire crumbling, an American financier stakes everything on London and a much younger muse.

by Theodore Dreiser 1947

4.35

3k+ ratings

🏭 Naturalist Fiction 💰 Gilded Age 📈 Social Climbing 💔 Loveless Marriage 🏗️ Empire Building

On Midnight Beach

by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick • 2020

A dolphin unites teenagers in a 1970s Irish town, where love ignites and old hatreds wait.

3.84

716

📖 Irish Myth Retelling ⚔️ Small Town Rivalry 💔 Tragic First Love 🌿 Rural Ireland 🕊️ Grief And Healing

On Midnight Beach 89%

A dolphin unites teenagers in a 1970s Irish town, where love ignites and old hatreds wait.

by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick 2020

3.84

716 ratings

📖 Irish Myth Retelling ⚔️ Small Town Rivalry 💔 Tragic First Love 🌿 Rural Ireland 🕊️ Grief And Healing

Christ in Concrete

by Pietro Di Donato • 1937

A father buried in concrete. His twelve-year-old son must now lay brick to feed the family.

3.76

1k+

🧱 Labor Fiction 🧳 Immigrant Labor 👦 Child Breadwinner 🏘️ Tenement Life 🩸 Gritty Realism

Christ in Concrete 89%

A father buried in concrete. His twelve-year-old son must now lay brick to feed the family.

by Pietro Di Donato 1937

3.76

1k+ ratings

🧱 Labor Fiction 🧳 Immigrant Labor 👦 Child Breadwinner 🏘️ Tenement Life 🩸 Gritty Realism

Of Human Bondage

by W. Somerset Maugham • 1915

A clubfoot medical student in Edwardian London destroys his life for a waitress who feels nothing.

4.16

62k+

🔥 Obsessive Love 📖 Classic Bildungsroman 💔 Toxic Relationship 🤔 Philosophical Fiction ⏳ Edwardian England

Of Human Bondage 89%

A clubfoot medical student in Edwardian London destroys his life for a waitress who feels nothing.

by W. Somerset Maugham 1915

4.16

62k+ ratings

🔥 Obsessive Love 📖 Classic Bildungsroman 💔 Toxic Relationship 🤔 Philosophical Fiction ⏳ Edwardian England

East of Eden

by John Steinbeck • 1952

Early 1900s California: a farmer's twin sons inherit a mother's malice and a father's fragile hope.

4.44

657k+

🏠 Multigenerational Saga ✝️ Biblical Allegory 🏜️ American West ⚔️ Sibling Rivalry 💋 Femme Fatale

East of Eden 89%

Early 1900s California: a farmer's twin sons inherit a mother's malice and a father's fragile hope.

by John Steinbeck 1952

4.44

657k+ ratings

🏠 Multigenerational Saga ✝️ Biblical Allegory 🏜️ American West ⚔️ Sibling Rivalry 💋 Femme Fatale

Ragtime

by E.L. Doctorow • 1975

A wealthy family shelters a black woman, then faces her lover's armed fight for dignity.

3.90

47k+

🎭 Multiple Perspectives 🌟 Historical Cameos ⚖️ Racial Injustice 🧳 Immigrant Journey ⚒️ Class Conflict

Ragtime 89%

A wealthy family shelters a black woman, then faces her lover's armed fight for dignity.

by E.L. Doctorow 1975

3.90

47k+ ratings

🎭 Multiple Perspectives 🌟 Historical Cameos ⚖️ Racial Injustice 🧳 Immigrant Journey ⚒️ Class Conflict

Appointment in Samarra

by John O'Hara • 1934

One drunken insult at the country club: a Cadillac dealer learns his small town never forgets.

3.81

16k+

🏘️ American Small Town 📋 Social Realism 📉 Downward Spiral 💰 Class Anxiety 💔 Marriage Under Strain

Appointment in Samarra 89%

One drunken insult at the country club: a Cadillac dealer learns his small town never forgets.

by John O'Hara 1934

3.81

16k+ ratings

🏘️ American Small Town 📋 Social Realism 📉 Downward Spiral 💰 Class Anxiety 💔 Marriage Under Strain

So Long, See You Tomorrow

by William Maxwell • 1980

An old man revisits a 1920s murder, aching for the boy he failed to face.

3.85

18k+

🏚️ Midwestern Gothic 🔪 Literary Crime 👦 Lost Friendship 📰 Small-Town Scandal 😔 Lifelong Regret

So Long, See You Tomorrow 89%

An old man revisits a 1920s murder, aching for the boy he failed to face.

by William Maxwell 1980

3.85

18k+ ratings

🏚️ Midwestern Gothic 🔪 Literary Crime 👦 Lost Friendship 📰 Small-Town Scandal 😔 Lifelong Regret

بهترین داستان های کوتاه

by Ernest Hemingway • 1987

A lifetime of war, love, and loss distilled into the spare short stories of Ernest Hemingway.

4.29

38k+

🥀 Lost Generation 🎖️ War's Aftermath 💪 Stoic Masculinity 🗽 American Expatriates 🤫 Unspoken Emotions

بهترین داستان های کوتاه 89%

A lifetime of war, love, and loss distilled into the spare short stories of Ernest Hemingway.

by Ernest Hemingway 1987

4.29

38k+ ratings

🥀 Lost Generation 🎖️ War's Aftermath 💪 Stoic Masculinity 🗽 American Expatriates 🤫 Unspoken Emotions

Men Without Women

by Ernest Hemingway • 1927

Bereft of women, men face war and mortality in Hemingway's classic short stories.

3.58

16k+

✍️ Literary Minimalism 🥂 Lost Generation 💪 Masculinity In Crisis 🗿 Stoic Protagonists 😶 Existential Dread

Men Without Women 89%

Bereft of women, men face war and mortality in Hemingway's classic short stories.

by Ernest Hemingway 1927

3.58

16k+ ratings

✍️ Literary Minimalism 🥂 Lost Generation 💪 Masculinity In Crisis 🗿 Stoic Protagonists 😶 Existential Dread

Last Exit to Brooklyn

by Hubert Selby Jr. • 1964

Drag queens and dockworkers in 1950s Brooklyn seek a tenderness their world is built to crush.

3.95

33k+

🚬 Transgressive Fiction 🌃 1950s Brooklyn 🥀 Doomed Queer Longing 🔁 Cyclical Despair 💪 Toxic Masculinity

Last Exit to Brooklyn 89%

Drag queens and dockworkers in 1950s Brooklyn seek a tenderness their world is built to crush.

by Hubert Selby Jr. 1964

3.95

33k+ ratings

🚬 Transgressive Fiction 🌃 1950s Brooklyn 🥀 Doomed Queer Longing 🔁 Cyclical Despair 💪 Toxic Masculinity

The Front Runner

by Patricia Nell Warren • 1974

A track coach and his gay runner risk scandal, violence, and Olympic dreams for love.

4.12

6k+

🏃 Sports Romance 🕰️ Age Gap 🏡 Found Family 🌈 Coming Out 💔 Tragic Love Story

The Front Runner 89%

A track coach and his gay runner risk scandal, violence, and Olympic dreams for love.

by Patricia Nell Warren 1974

4.12

6k+ ratings

🏃 Sports Romance 🕰️ Age Gap 🏡 Found Family 🌈 Coming Out 💔 Tragic Love Story

Everyman by Philip Roth

by Philip Roth • 2006

He was a good boy who became a bad husband, and now his heart is closing.

3.63

22k+

🪦 Mortality Meditation 🫀 Body As Betrayer 💔 Infidelity And Guilt 👬 Brother Rivalry 👨‍👧 Father-Daughter Bond

Everyman by Philip Roth 89%

He was a good boy who became a bad husband, and now his heart is closing.

by Philip Roth 2006

3.63

22k+ ratings

🪦 Mortality Meditation 🫀 Body As Betrayer 💔 Infidelity And Guilt 👬 Brother Rivalry 👨‍👧 Father-Daughter Bond

Sometimes a Great Notion

by Ken Kesey • 1964

A logging clan's defiant creed pits them against their town, their blood, and the river itself.

4.26

24k+

🪵 Family Saga 🌲 Pacific Northwest 🪓 Brother Against Brother 🖤 Doomed Masculinity 🌊 Indifferent Nature

Sometimes a Great Notion 90%

A logging clan's defiant creed pits them against their town, their blood, and the river itself.

by Ken Kesey 1964

4.26

24k+ ratings

🪵 Family Saga 🌲 Pacific Northwest 🪓 Brother Against Brother 🖤 Doomed Masculinity 🌊 Indifferent Nature

A Farewell to Arms

by Ernest Hemingway • 1929

An American driver and a British nurse fall in love and desert the Italian front together.

3.82

357k+

🪖 World War One Fiction 💕 Wartime Romance 💔 Doomed Lovers 🗿 Stoic Narrator 🎖️ Disillusioned Soldier

A Farewell to Arms 89%

An American driver and a British nurse fall in love and desert the Italian front together.

by Ernest Hemingway 1929

3.82

357k+ ratings

🪖 World War One Fiction 💕 Wartime Romance 💔 Doomed Lovers 🗿 Stoic Narrator 🎖️ Disillusioned Soldier

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

Eighty-four days empty, an old fisherman rows far offshore and hooks a marlin longer than his boat.

3.81

1.3M+

📘 Allegorical Fiction 👴 Mentor And Student 🌊 Man Versus Nature 🦈 Dignity In Defeat ⛵ Life At Sea

The Old Man and the Sea 88%

Eighty-four days empty, an old fisherman rows far offshore and hooks a marlin longer than his boat.

by Ernest Hemingway 1952

3.81

1.3M+ ratings

📘 Allegorical Fiction 👴 Mentor And Student 🌊 Man Versus Nature 🦈 Dignity In Defeat ⛵ Life At Sea

The Second Mrs. Astor

by Shana Abe • 2021

At eighteen she married a scandal-ridden tycoon. Their honeymoon escape ended on the Titanic.

4.09

265

📜 Biographical Fiction 💞 Age Gap Romance 🕰️ Edwardian Era 🚢 Titanic Sinking 👁️ Public Eye

The Second Mrs. Astor 89%

At eighteen she married a scandal-ridden tycoon. Their honeymoon escape ended on the Titanic.

by Shana Abe 2021

4.09

265 ratings

📜 Biographical Fiction 💞 Age Gap Romance 🕰️ Edwardian Era 🚢 Titanic Sinking 👁️ Public Eye

The House of Mirth

by Edith Wharton • 1905

Penniless and nearly thirty in Gilded Age New York, Lily Bart's social currency is expiring.

3.98

107k+

🎭 Tragedy Of Manners 💍 Marriage Market 📉 Social Downfall 💔 Unspoken Love 🏛️ Gilded Age

The House of Mirth 89%

Penniless and nearly thirty in Gilded Age New York, Lily Bart's social currency is expiring.

by Edith Wharton 1905

3.98

107k+ ratings

🎭 Tragedy Of Manners 💍 Marriage Market 📉 Social Downfall 💔 Unspoken Love 🏛️ Gilded Age

Daisy Miller

by Henry James • 1879

In Europe, an American girl flouts convention, and one man can't decide: innocent or reckless flirt?

3.37

38k+

🗽 American Abroad 🥀 Tragic Heroine 👥 Social Ostracism ❓ Ambiguous Innocence 👁️ Unreliable Observer

Daisy Miller 88%

In Europe, an American girl flouts convention, and one man can't decide: innocent or reckless flirt?

by Henry James 1879

3.37

38k+ ratings

🗽 American Abroad 🥀 Tragic Heroine 👥 Social Ostracism ❓ Ambiguous Innocence 👁️ Unreliable Observer

Stoner

by John Williams • 1965

William Stoner turns from the soil to the sonnet, and a quiet, unremarkable life begins.

4.36

260k+

📚 Campus Novel 🖋️ Quiet Life Portrait 💔 Unhappy Marriage ❤️‍🔥 Forbidden Love Affair 🪨 Stoic Protagonist

Stoner 88%

William Stoner turns from the soil to the sonnet, and a quiet, unremarkable life begins.

by John Williams 1965

4.36

260k+ ratings

📚 Campus Novel 🖋️ Quiet Life Portrait 💔 Unhappy Marriage ❤️‍🔥 Forbidden Love Affair 🪨 Stoic Protagonist

Krambambuli

by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach • 1896

Bought for brandy, a hunting dog must choose between his new master and his old one, a killer.

3.57

166

🖤 German Realist Fiction 🔀 Torn Between Loyalties 🐕 Human Animal Bond 😢 Tragic Animal Story ⚔️ Class Conflict

Krambambuli 88%

Bought for brandy, a hunting dog must choose between his new master and his old one, a killer.

by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach 1896

3.57

166 ratings

🖤 German Realist Fiction 🔀 Torn Between Loyalties 🐕 Human Animal Bond 😢 Tragic Animal Story ⚔️ Class Conflict

The Beautiful and Damned

by F. Scott Fitzgerald • 1922

Parties, gin, and the long wait for an inheritance hollow out a golden Jazz Age couple.

3.73

66k+

🗽 Jazz Age Novel 💔 Doomed Love 💰 Idle Rich 🥀 Fading Beauty ⚖️ Inheritance Plot

The Beautiful and Damned 88%

Parties, gin, and the long wait for an inheritance hollow out a golden Jazz Age couple.

by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1922

3.73

66k+ ratings

🗽 Jazz Age Novel 💔 Doomed Love 💰 Idle Rich 🥀 Fading Beauty ⚖️ Inheritance Plot

Look Homeward, Angel

by Thomas Wolfe • 1929

A sensitive boy in a tumultuous Southern boardinghouse hungers for language, beauty, and belonging.

3.91

16k+

🔰 American Bildungsroman 💔 Dysfunctional Family 🎨 Artistic Awakening 🏘️ Small Town Life ✨ Lyrical Prose

Look Homeward, Angel 88%

A sensitive boy in a tumultuous Southern boardinghouse hungers for language, beauty, and belonging.

by Thomas Wolfe 1929

3.91

16k+ ratings

🔰 American Bildungsroman 💔 Dysfunctional Family 🎨 Artistic Awakening 🏘️ Small Town Life ✨ Lyrical Prose

Summer and Smoke

by Tennessee Williams • 1948

From her rectory window, she watches the doctor's son chase everything she cannot give him.

3.99

3k+

🏚️ Southern Gothic 💔 Unrequited Love 🔥 Repressed Desire ⏳ Missed Connection 🪞 Divided Self

Summer and Smoke 88%

From her rectory window, she watches the doctor's son chase everything she cannot give him.

by Tennessee Williams 1948

3.99

3k+ ratings

🏚️ Southern Gothic 💔 Unrequited Love 🔥 Repressed Desire ⏳ Missed Connection 🪞 Divided Self

Der Trafikant

by Robert Seethaler • 2012

A Vienna tobacconist's apprentice befriends Freud and loves a dancer as the Nazi shadow falls.

3.75

23k+

📖 Historical Bildungsroman 🏙️ 1930s Vienna 👴 Mentor And Apprentice 💔 Unrequited Love 🕊️ Quiet Defiance

Der Trafikant 88%

A Vienna tobacconist's apprentice befriends Freud and loves a dancer as the Nazi shadow falls.

by Robert Seethaler 2012

3.75

23k+ ratings

📖 Historical Bildungsroman 🏙️ 1930s Vienna 👴 Mentor And Apprentice 💔 Unrequited Love 🕊️ Quiet Defiance

El camino

by Miguel Delibes • 1950

Last night in the valley, a boy relives the pranks and losses of his childhood.

4.13

15k+

🏡 Rural Childhood 👫 Boyhood Adventures 💔 First Crush 🕊️ Death Of Innocence 🤫 Small-Town Gossip

El camino 88%

Last night in the valley, a boy relives the pranks and losses of his childhood.

by Miguel Delibes 1950

4.13

15k+ ratings

🏡 Rural Childhood 👫 Boyhood Adventures 💔 First Crush 🕊️ Death Of Innocence 🤫 Small-Town Gossip

Mr. Bridge

by Evan S. Connell • 1969

A Kansas City attorney orders his family's life with quiet precision, mistaking provision for love.

4.00

3k+

📖 Character Study 🎩 Novel Of Manners 👔 Repressed Patriarch 💔 Unspoken Love 🌉 Generational Divide

Mr. Bridge 88%

A Kansas City attorney orders his family's life with quiet precision, mistaking provision for love.

by Evan S. Connell 1969

4.00

3k+ ratings

📖 Character Study 🎩 Novel Of Manners 👔 Repressed Patriarch 💔 Unspoken Love 🌉 Generational Divide

Tortilla Flat

by John Steinbeck • 1935

An inherited house turns band of paisanos into a Round Table, but duty cracks their bond.

3.83

64k+

🦊 Picaresque Novel 🫂 Found Family ⚔️ Arthurian Reimagining 🎭 Tragicomic 🌊 California Coast

Tortilla Flat 88%

An inherited house turns band of paisanos into a Round Table, but duty cracks their bond.

by John Steinbeck 1935

3.83

64k+ ratings

🦊 Picaresque Novel 🫂 Found Family ⚔️ Arthurian Reimagining 🎭 Tragicomic 🌊 California Coast

The Second Mrs. Astor

by Shana Abe • 2021

A teenager marries America's richest man, and a scandalized society drives them onto the Titanic.

3.96

74k+

🏛️ Gilded Age 💐 Age Gap Romance 🖤 Doomed Love 🌊 Survivor's Guilt 🕰️ Edwardian

The Second Mrs. Astor 88%

A teenager marries America's richest man, and a scandalized society drives them onto the Titanic.

by Shana Abe 2021

3.96

74k+ ratings

🏛️ Gilded Age 💐 Age Gap Romance 🖤 Doomed Love 🌊 Survivor's Guilt 🕰️ Edwardian

Broken April by Ismail Kadare

by Ismail Kadare • 1978

After a blood killing, a mountaineer has thirty days before the ancient code demands his life.

4.00

9k+

🩸 Blood Feud ⚰️ Doomed Protagonist 🥀 Impossible Longing ⏳ Fatalism 🏔️ Balkan Highlands

Broken April by Ismail Kadare 88%

After a blood killing, a mountaineer has thirty days before the ancient code demands his life.

by Ismail Kadare 1978

4.00

9k+ ratings

🩸 Blood Feud ⚰️ Doomed Protagonist 🥀 Impossible Longing ⏳ Fatalism 🏔️ Balkan Highlands

Crossing to Safety

by Wallace Stegner

An aging writer remembers the wealthy couple who rescued his family, and the debts that followed.

4.16

52k+

👥 Lifelong Friendship 📚 Literary Academia 💑 Marriage Over Decades 🩺 Illness And Caregiving 👑 Controlling Matriarch

Crossing to Safety 88%

An aging writer remembers the wealthy couple who rescued his family, and the debts that followed.

by Wallace Stegner 1987

4.16

52k+ ratings

👥 Lifelong Friendship 📚 Literary Academia 💑 Marriage Over Decades 🩺 Illness And Caregiving 👑 Controlling Matriarch

The Friends of Meager Fortune

by David Adams Richards • 2006

A Canadian lumber family is undone by prophecy, pride, and a town hungry for scandal.

3.84

593

🪓 Lumber Camp Fiction 🔮 Family Curse ⚔️ Rival Brothers 💬 Small Town Gossip 💔 Doomed Love

The Friends of Meager Fortune 89%

A Canadian lumber family is undone by prophecy, pride, and a town hungry for scandal.

by David Adams Richards 2006

3.84

593 ratings

🪓 Lumber Camp Fiction 🔮 Family Curse ⚔️ Rival Brothers 💬 Small Town Gossip 💔 Doomed Love

All the Pretty Horses

by Cormac McCarthy • 1992

Riding into Mexico for open land, a teen cowboy finds love, prison, and the end of the West.

4.06

149k+

🏜️ Literary Western 🤠 Cowboy Coming Of Age 💔 Forbidden Class Romance 🤝 Tested Loyalty 🐎 Vanishing Frontier

All the Pretty Horses 89%

Riding into Mexico for open land, a teen cowboy finds love, prison, and the end of the West.

by Cormac McCarthy 1992

4.06

149k+ ratings

🏜️ Literary Western 🤠 Cowboy Coming Of Age 💔 Forbidden Class Romance 🤝 Tested Loyalty 🐎 Vanishing Frontier

Netherland

by Joseph O'Neill • 2008

Post-9/11, a Dutch banker bonds with a Trinidadian hustler over cricket and a doomed American dream.

3.41

19k+

🏙️ Post-9/11 Fiction 🌍 Immigrant Dreams 💔 Crumbling Marriage ✨ Charismatic Stranger 🏏 Sports And Identity

Netherland 88%

Post-9/11, a Dutch banker bonds with a Trinidadian hustler over cricket and a doomed American dream.

by Joseph O'Neill 2008

3.41

19k+ ratings

🏙️ Post-9/11 Fiction 🌍 Immigrant Dreams 💔 Crumbling Marriage ✨ Charismatic Stranger 🏏 Sports And Identity

Spring Snow

by Yukio Mishima • 1967

Taisho Japan: an aristocrat's passion for a woman promised to the imperial family consumes his life.

4.16

24k+

💔 Forbidden Love 🥀 Tragic Romance 🇯🇵 Early 20th Century Japan 👘 Japanese Aristocracy ⚖️ Duty Vs Desire

Spring Snow 88%

Taisho Japan: an aristocrat's passion for a woman promised to the imperial family consumes his life.

by Yukio Mishima 1967

4.16

24k+ ratings

💔 Forbidden Love 🥀 Tragic Romance 🇯🇵 Early 20th Century Japan 👘 Japanese Aristocracy ⚖️ Duty Vs Desire

The Red Badge of Courage

by Stephen Crane • 1894

Dreaming of heroism, a young Union soldier flees his first taste of combat and seeks redemption.

3.30

111k+

🏳️ American Civil War 🧠 Psychological Realism 🛡️ Cowardice To Courage 🍂 Loss Of Innocence 🌱 Coming Of Age In War

The Red Badge of Courage 88%

Dreaming of heroism, a young Union soldier flees his first taste of combat and seeks redemption.

by Stephen Crane 1894

3.30

111k+ ratings

🏳️ American Civil War 🧠 Psychological Realism 🛡️ Cowardice To Courage 🍂 Loss Of Innocence 🌱 Coming Of Age In War

Train Dreams

by Denis Johnson • 2002

A wildfire took his family. The Idaho woods gave back only wolves.

3.89

43k+

🏔️ Literary Western 👻 Ghostly Visitation 🐺 Feral Child 🐕 Man And His Dog 🕯️ Elegiac Tone

Train Dreams 88%

A wildfire took his family. The Idaho woods gave back only wolves.

by Denis Johnson 2002

3.89

43k+ ratings

🏔️ Literary Western 👻 Ghostly Visitation 🐺 Feral Child 🐕 Man And His Dog 🕯️ Elegiac Tone

From Here to Eternity

by James Jones • 1951

At Schofield Barracks, a bugler quits boxing, and the peacetime Army sets out to crush him.

4.08

18k+

🪖 Peacetime Army 💔 Adulterous Affair 🥊 Defiant Outsider 🏭 Gritty Naturalism 🌺 Pre-War Hawaii

From Here to Eternity 88%

At Schofield Barracks, a bugler quits boxing, and the peacetime Army sets out to crush him.

by James Jones 1951

4.08

18k+ ratings

🪖 Peacetime Army 💔 Adulterous Affair 🥊 Defiant Outsider 🏭 Gritty Naturalism 🌺 Pre-War Hawaii

Running

by Jean Echenoz • 2009

A Czech runner's brutal, self-made training made him an Olympic legend and a secret police target.

3.81

3k+

📖 Biographical Fiction 🏃 Reluctant Athlete 💪 Unorthodox Training 📢 State Propaganda ⚖️ Political Persecution

Running 88%

A Czech runner's brutal, self-made training made him an Olympic legend and a secret police target.

by Jean Echenoz 2009

3.81

3k+ ratings

📖 Biographical Fiction 🏃 Reluctant Athlete 💪 Unorthodox Training 📢 State Propaganda ⚖️ Political Persecution

Another Country

by James Baldwin • 1962

When a Black drummer leaps from a bridge, his bohemian circle fractures along the color line.

4.30

35k+

🏙️ Bohemian New York 💔 Interracial Romance 🎭 Artists And Lovers 🖤 Self-Destruction 🗽 1950s New York

Another Country 88%

When a Black drummer leaps from a bridge, his bohemian circle fractures along the color line.

by James Baldwin 1962

4.30

35k+ ratings

🏙️ Bohemian New York 💔 Interracial Romance 🎭 Artists And Lovers 🖤 Self-Destruction 🗽 1950s New York

Riders of the Purple Sage

by Zane Grey • 1912

A defiant Mormon woman draws a gunslinger's protection, pitting them both against her church.

3.76

15k+

🐎 Classic Western 💕 Western Romance 🔫 Gunslinger Protector ⛪ Religious Oppression 💞 Dual Romance

Riders of the Purple Sage 88%

A defiant Mormon woman draws a gunslinger's protection, pitting them both against her church.

by Zane Grey 1912

3.76

15k+ ratings

🐎 Classic Western 💕 Western Romance 🔫 Gunslinger Protector ⛪ Religious Oppression 💞 Dual Romance

Wait Until Spring, Bandini

by John Fante • 1938

Starving in a Colorado shack, an Italian bricklayer abandons his family for a widow's bed.

4.10

15k+

🧳 Immigrant Hardship 🙏 Catholic Guilt 💔 Troubled Marriage 👨‍👦 Father Son Conflict 💘 Adolescent Infatuation

Wait Until Spring, Bandini 88%

Starving in a Colorado shack, an Italian bricklayer abandons his family for a widow's bed.

by John Fante 1938

4.10

15k+ ratings

🧳 Immigrant Hardship 🙏 Catholic Guilt 💔 Troubled Marriage 👨‍👦 Father Son Conflict 💘 Adolescent Infatuation

The Blue Flower

by Penelope Fitzgerald • 1995

In 1790s Saxony, a restless philosopher sees his soul's answer in a twelve-year-old girl.

3.44

7k+

🖋️ Biographical Novel 🌹 German Romanticism 💭 Idealized Love 💔 Doomed Romance 🧠 Philosophical Fiction

The Blue Flower 88%

In 1790s Saxony, a restless philosopher sees his soul's answer in a twelve-year-old girl.

by Penelope Fitzgerald 1995

3.44

7k+ ratings

🖋️ Biographical Novel 🌹 German Romanticism 💭 Idealized Love 💔 Doomed Romance 🧠 Philosophical Fiction

El sueño del celta

by Mario Vargas Llosa • 2010

An Irish knight condemned for treason retraces the colonial jungles that turned him against empire.

3.85

10k+

📖 Biographical Novel 🏴 Colonial Critique ⚖️ Divided Loyalties 🏳️‍🌈 Secret Sexuality 📉 Fall From Grace

El sueño del celta 88%

An Irish knight condemned for treason retraces the colonial jungles that turned him against empire.

by Mario Vargas Llosa 2010

3.85

10k+ ratings

📖 Biographical Novel 🏴 Colonial Critique ⚖️ Divided Loyalties 🏳️‍🌈 Secret Sexuality 📉 Fall From Grace

Mariana

by Monica Dickens • 1940

Through a storm, Mary Shannon waits for her husband's ship and relives a lifetime of love.

3.90

3k+

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Interwar Britain 🌅 Bittersweet Nostalgia 🌿 English Countryside 🎭 Artistic Ambition 💔 Unrequited Love

Mariana 88%

Through a storm, Mary Shannon waits for her husband's ship and relives a lifetime of love.

by Monica Dickens 1940

3.90

3k+ ratings

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Interwar Britain 🌅 Bittersweet Nostalgia 🌿 English Countryside 🎭 Artistic Ambition 💔 Unrequited Love

O Pioneers!

by Willa Cather • 1913

A Swedish immigrant's daughter inherits the Nebraska farm and bets on land the neighbors abandon.

3.90

59k+

🏡 Pioneer Fiction 👩‍🌾 Female Pioneer 🧳 Immigrant Saga 💔 Forbidden Love 🔥 Slow Burn Romance

O Pioneers! 88%

A Swedish immigrant's daughter inherits the Nebraska farm and bets on land the neighbors abandon.

by Willa Cather 1913

3.90

59k+ ratings

🏡 Pioneer Fiction 👩‍🌾 Female Pioneer 🧳 Immigrant Saga 💔 Forbidden Love 🔥 Slow Burn Romance

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