30 Books like The Refugees

The Emperor of Gladness

by Ocean Vuong

A suicidal teen becomes caregiver to the old woman with dementia who saved his life.

3.85

81k+

🫂 Found Family 👵 Intergenerational Bond 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🧠 Dementia Story 🍂 Bittersweet

The Emperor of Gladness 90%

A suicidal teen becomes caregiver to the old woman with dementia who saved his life.

by Ocean Vuong 2025

3.85

81k+ ratings

🫂 Found Family 👵 Intergenerational Bond 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🧠 Dementia Story 🍂 Bittersweet

Wandering Souls

by Cecile Pin • 2023

After their family drowns fleeing Vietnam, three siblings reach England haunted by a dead brother.

4.12

20k+

🌊 Vietnamese Diaspora 📜 Multigenerational Saga 🤲 Parentified Sibling 👻 Ghost Narrator 💔 Survivor Guilt

Wandering Souls 94%

After their family drowns fleeing Vietnam, three siblings reach England haunted by a dead brother.

by Cecile Pin 2023

4.12

20k+ ratings

🌊 Vietnamese Diaspora 📜 Multigenerational Saga 🤲 Parentified Sibling 👻 Ghost Narrator 💔 Survivor Guilt

The Gangster We Are All Looking For

by Lê Thi Diem Thúy • 2003

A girl, her father, and four strangers arrive from Vietnam carrying a single ghost between them.

3.69

3k+

🧳 Refugee Narrative ✨ Poetic Novel 💔 Father-Daughter Bond 🕯️ Unresolved Grief 👧 Child Narrator

The Gangster We Are All Looking For Summary

The Gangster We Are All Looking For 94%

A girl, her father, and four strangers arrive from Vietnam carrying a single ghost between them.

by Lê Thi Diem Thúy 2003

3.69

3k+ ratings

🧳 Refugee Narrative ✨ Poetic Novel 💔 Father-Daughter Bond 🕯️ Unresolved Grief 👧 Child Narrator

Interpreter of Maladies

by Jhumpa Lahiri • 1999

Nine stories of the Indian diaspora: the small devastations of distance and the search for home.

4.18

208k+

✈️ Immigrant Fiction 🔗 Linked Short Stories 💔 Marital Estrangement 🌍 Cultural Displacement 🗝️ Confession And Secrets

Interpreter of Maladies 93%

Nine stories of the Indian diaspora: the small devastations of distance and the search for home.

by Jhumpa Lahiri 1999

4.18

208k+ ratings

✈️ Immigrant Fiction 🔗 Linked Short Stories 💔 Marital Estrangement 🌍 Cultural Displacement 🗝️ Confession And Secrets

The Mountains Sing

by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai • 2020

A grandmother in Vietnam tells her granddaughter the story of a family that refused to break.

4.31

65k+

🏮 Vietnamese History 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multigenerational Saga ⚔️ Women In Wartime 💔 Intergenerational Trauma 📖 Family Storytelling

The Mountains Sing 92%

A grandmother in Vietnam tells her granddaughter the story of a family that refused to break.

by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai 2020

4.31

65k+ ratings

🏮 Vietnamese History 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multigenerational Saga ⚔️ Women In Wartime 💔 Intergenerational Trauma 📖 Family Storytelling

All Aunt Hagar's Children

by Edward P. Jones • 2006

Black Southerners in Washington, D.C. build new lives while old ghosts unpack beside them.

3.83

2k+

🧩 Linked Story Collection 🚂 Great Migration 💔 Generational Trauma 🏠 Found Family 🖤 Survivor's Guilt

All Aunt Hagar's Children 92%

Black Southerners in Washington, D.C. build new lives while old ghosts unpack beside them.

by Edward P. Jones 2006

3.83

2k+ ratings

🧩 Linked Story Collection 🚂 Great Migration 💔 Generational Trauma 🏠 Found Family 🖤 Survivor's Guilt

The Things They Carried

by Tim O'Brien • 1990

A Vietnam veteran retells his platoon's stories, bending truth to keep the dead alive.

4.15

348k+

📚 Metafiction 💔 Survivor's Guilt 💀 Gallows Humor 🤝 Comrades In Arms 💌 Unrequited Love

The Things They Carried 92%

A Vietnam veteran retells his platoon's stories, bending truth to keep the dead alive.

by Tim O'Brien 1990

4.15

348k+ ratings

📚 Metafiction 💔 Survivor's Guilt 💀 Gallows Humor 🤝 Comrades In Arms 💌 Unrequited Love

Unaccustomed Earth

by Jhumpa Lahiri • 2008

Eight tales of Bengali immigrants and their American children, bound by love, divided by silence.

4.14

97k+

🖇️ Linked Story Collection 🇮🇳 Indian Diaspora 🌱 Immigrant Children 🤫 Unspoken Grief 👥 Troubled Sibling Bond

Unaccustomed Earth 91%

Eight tales of Bengali immigrants and their American children, bound by love, divided by silence.

by Jhumpa Lahiri 2008

4.14

97k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Story Collection 🇮🇳 Indian Diaspora 🌱 Immigrant Children 🤫 Unspoken Grief 👥 Troubled Sibling Bond

The Best American Short Stories 2024

by Lauren Groff • 2024

Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.

3.77

846

🗣️ Diverse American Voices 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction ✨ Magical Realism 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🔄 Experimental Narrative

The Best American Short Stories 2024 Summary

The Best American Short Stories 2024 91%

Lauren Groff gathers twenty stories of the year: surreal, tender, and unafraid of the dark.

by Lauren Groff 2024

3.77

846 ratings

🗣️ Diverse American Voices 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Literary Fiction ✨ Magical Realism 🌍 Immigrant Experience 🔄 Experimental Narrative

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

by Ken Liu • 2016

Paper animals breathe, AI curates love, history is witnessed: fifteen stories of longing.

4.35

39k+

📚 Literary Speculative 🧧 Chinese Diaspora ✨ Magic In The Mundane 🐲 Chinese Mythology 📜 Cultural Memory

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Summary

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories 91%

Paper animals breathe, AI curates love, history is witnessed: fifteen stories of longing.

by Ken Liu 2016

4.35

39k+ ratings

📚 Literary Speculative 🧧 Chinese Diaspora ✨ Magic In The Mundane 🐲 Chinese Mythology 📜 Cultural Memory

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

by Ocean Vuong • 2019

A son's letter to his illiterate mother traces war, displacement, and a brutal first love.

4.00

419k+

📝 Epistolary Novel 🌊 Poetic Prose 🪞 Autofiction 🧳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🩹 Intergenerational Trauma

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous 91%

A son's letter to his illiterate mother traces war, displacement, and a brutal first love.

by Ocean Vuong 2019

4.00

419k+ ratings

📝 Epistolary Novel 🌊 Poetic Prose 🪞 Autofiction 🧳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🩹 Intergenerational Trauma

The Dew Breaker

by Edwidge Danticat • 2004

A Haitian-American sculptor learns her gentle barber father was once a prison torturer in Haiti.

3.81

8k+

🖇️ Linked Story Cycle 🩸 Intergenerational Trauma 🇭🇹 Haitian Diaspora 🤐 Hidden Family Secrets 🌊 Exile And Belonging

The Dew Breaker 91%

A Haitian-American sculptor learns her gentle barber father was once a prison torturer in Haiti.

by Edwidge Danticat 2004

3.81

8k+ ratings

🖇️ Linked Story Cycle 🩸 Intergenerational Trauma 🇭🇹 Haitian Diaspora 🤐 Hidden Family Secrets 🌊 Exile And Belonging

If You're Happy

by Fiona Robertson • 2022

Sixteen stories of ordinary people who keep choosing happiness after life has broken their hearts.

4.27

138

🔗 Interconnected Stories 📖 Literary Realism 💔 Grief And Healing 🌱 Quiet Resilience 🍂 Bittersweet

If You're Happy 90%

Sixteen stories of ordinary people who keep choosing happiness after life has broken their hearts.

by Fiona Robertson 2022

4.27

138 ratings

🔗 Interconnected Stories 📖 Literary Realism 💔 Grief And Healing 🌱 Quiet Resilience 🍂 Bittersweet

The Sympathizer

by Viet Thanh Nguyen • 2015

A communist spy in Saigon's army follows his general to America and a brewing counter-revolution.

4.01

140k+

🕵️ Double Agent 🎭 Unreliable Narrator 🖤 Dark Satire ✍️ Confessional Voice 🌏 Postwar Diaspora

The Sympathizer 90%

A communist spy in Saigon's army follows his general to America and a brewing counter-revolution.

by Viet Thanh Nguyen 2015

4.01

140k+ ratings

🕵️ Double Agent 🎭 Unreliable Narrator 🖤 Dark Satire ✍️ Confessional Voice 🌏 Postwar Diaspora

Love Medicine

by Louise Erdrich • 1984

One woman's death in a blizzard unravels sixty years of secrets on a Chippewa reservation.

4.01

29k+

🏜️ Reservation Life 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multigenerational Saga 📚 Interconnected Stories 💔 Generational Trauma 🫂 Found Family

Love Medicine 90%

One woman's death in a blizzard unravels sixty years of secrets on a Chippewa reservation.

by Louise Erdrich 1984

4.01

29k+ ratings

🏜️ Reservation Life 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multigenerational Saga 📚 Interconnected Stories 💔 Generational Trauma 🫂 Found Family

Catfish and Mandala

by Andrew X. Pham • 1999

After his sister's suicide, a Vietnamese American cycles home to Vietnam, searching for belonging.

3.99

7k+

🧳 Refugee Memoir 🚲 Bicycle Journey 🇻🇳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🩹 Generational Trauma 👨‍👦 Father-Son Conflict

Catfish and Mandala 90%

After his sister's suicide, a Vietnamese American cycles home to Vietnam, searching for belonging.

by Andrew X. Pham 1999

3.99

7k+ ratings

🧳 Refugee Memoir 🚲 Bicycle Journey 🇻🇳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🩹 Generational Trauma 👨‍👦 Father-Son Conflict

Sparks Like Stars

by Nadia Hashimi • 2021

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

4.28

24k+

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt 🎭 Hidden Identity 👥 Found Family

Sparks Like Stars 90%

She survives the coup that kills her family. A child of Kabul starts over in America.

by Nadia Hashimi 2021

4.28

24k+ ratings

🏔️ Afghan Diaspora 👧 Child Displacement 😔 Survivor Guilt 🎭 Hidden Identity 👥 Found Family

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing

by Alice Evelyn Yang • 2026

Her father returns after eleven years, carrying wartime horrors and a monster in their blood.

4.13

3k+

🏠 Generational Saga 🦊 Magical Realism 🔐 Family Secrets 🩸 Inherited Trauma 🥀 Comfort Women

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing 90%

Her father returns after eleven years, carrying wartime horrors and a monster in their blood.

by Alice Evelyn Yang 2026

4.13

3k+ ratings

🏠 Generational Saga 🦊 Magical Realism 🔐 Family Secrets 🩸 Inherited Trauma 🥀 Comfort Women

The Last Story of Mina Lee

by Nancy Jooyoun Kim • 2020

A daughter finds her immigrant mother dead in a Koreatown apartment. Thirty years of secrets follow.

3.53

46k+

📖 Literary Mystery 💔 Mother-Daughter Rift ⏳ Dual Timeline 🔍 Hidden Family Past 🧳 Undocumented Immigrant

The Last Story of Mina Lee 90%

A daughter finds her immigrant mother dead in a Koreatown apartment. Thirty years of secrets follow.

by Nancy Jooyoun Kim 2020

3.53

46k+ ratings

📖 Literary Mystery 💔 Mother-Daughter Rift ⏳ Dual Timeline 🔍 Hidden Family Past 🧳 Undocumented Immigrant

The World Played Chess

by Robert Dugoni • 2021

A Vietnam vet's journal links a father and son to a war that never ended.

4.44

40k+

🎖️ Vietnam War 🏖️ 1970s California 👨‍👦 Fathers And Sons 😔 Survivor's Guilt 🤝 Male Friendship

The World Played Chess 90%

A Vietnam vet's journal links a father and son to a war that never ended.

by Robert Dugoni 2021

4.44

40k+ ratings

🎖️ Vietnam War 🏖️ 1970s California 👨‍👦 Fathers And Sons 😔 Survivor's Guilt 🤝 Male Friendship

The Black Phone

by Joe Hill • 2005

Ghosts, killers, and an inflatable boy: fifteen literary horror stories about what will not let go.

3.89

50k+

🖤 Literary Horror 📚 Short Story Collection 👻 Haunted By The Past 🌧️ Melancholy Horror 🧸 Childhood Innocence Lost

The Black Phone 90%

Ghosts, killers, and an inflatable boy: fifteen literary horror stories about what will not let go.

by Joe Hill 2005

3.89

50k+ ratings

🖤 Literary Horror 📚 Short Story Collection 👻 Haunted By The Past 🌧️ Melancholy Horror 🧸 Childhood Innocence Lost

The Satisfaction Café

by Kathy Wang • 2025

A Taiwanese immigrant marries into wealth but spends decades building the home she was never given.

3.54

9k+

🧳 Immigrant Saga 🫂 Found Family 💍 Cross-Class Marriage 🔍 Social Outsider 🌿 Quiet Resilience

The Satisfaction Café 90%

A Taiwanese immigrant marries into wealth but spends decades building the home she was never given.

by Kathy Wang 2025

3.54

9k+ ratings

🧳 Immigrant Saga 🫂 Found Family 💍 Cross-Class Marriage 🔍 Social Outsider 🌿 Quiet Resilience

The Good Muslim

by Tahmima Anam • 2011

A doctor returns to 1984 Dhaka to find her brother remade by faith and a mother dying.

3.71

3k+

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Liberation War 💔 Sibling Estrangement ☪️ Secular Vs Religious ⚖️ Postwar Justice 🌿 War Trauma

The Good Muslim 90%

A doctor returns to 1984 Dhaka to find her brother remade by faith and a mother dying.

by Tahmima Anam 2011

3.71

3k+ ratings

🇧🇩 Bangladesh Liberation War 💔 Sibling Estrangement ☪️ Secular Vs Religious ⚖️ Postwar Justice 🌿 War Trauma

Laut Bercerita

by Leila S. Chudori • 2017

When a young activist is disappeared by Indonesia's New Order, his sister becomes his voice.

4.61

26k+

🇮🇩 Indonesian History 👥 Dual Perspective ⛓️ Political Repression ❤️‍🩹 Survivor's Guilt 🕊️ Family Grief

Laut Bercerita 89%

When a young activist is disappeared by Indonesia's New Order, his sister becomes his voice.

by Leila S. Chudori 2017

4.61

26k+ ratings

🇮🇩 Indonesian History 👥 Dual Perspective ⛓️ Political Repression ❤️‍🩹 Survivor's Guilt 🕊️ Family Grief

The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri • 2003

His parents named him Gogol. He has spent his life trying to become Nikhil instead.

4.02

287k+

🏡 Immigrant Family Saga 🌏 Diaspora Literature 🎭 Cultural Identity 🧩 Assimilation Struggles 👨‍👦 Intergenerational Novel

The Namesake 89%

His parents named him Gogol. He has spent his life trying to become Nikhil instead.

by Jhumpa Lahiri 2003

4.02

287k+ ratings

🏡 Immigrant Family Saga 🌏 Diaspora Literature 🎭 Cultural Identity 🧩 Assimilation Struggles 👨‍👦 Intergenerational Novel

Crooked Hallelujah

by Kelli Jo Ford • 2020

A Cherokee girl defies her Holiness church, and the break echoes through four generations of women.

3.47

3k+

📖 Linked Stories 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Generational Saga 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond ⛪ Religious Control 🌾 Rural Poverty

Crooked Hallelujah 89%

A Cherokee girl defies her Holiness church, and the break echoes through four generations of women.

by Kelli Jo Ford 2020

3.47

3k+ ratings

📖 Linked Stories 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Generational Saga 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond ⛪ Religious Control 🌾 Rural Poverty

House of Sticks

by Ly Tran • 2021

From a refugee camp to sweatshops to Columbia: a daughter fights to claim her own story.

4.37

5k+

🛂 Immigrant Memoir 🇻🇳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 🎎 Filial Piety 📚 Education As Escape

House of Sticks 89%

From a refugee camp to sweatshops to Columbia: a daughter fights to claim her own story.

by Ly Tran 2021

4.37

5k+ ratings

🛂 Immigrant Memoir 🇻🇳 Vietnamese Diaspora 🧬 Intergenerational Trauma 🎎 Filial Piety 📚 Education As Escape

Little Bee

by Chris Cleave • 2008

Fresh out of detention, a Nigerian refugee finds the woman who once looked away.

3.72

249k+

🏃 Refugee Narrative 👨‍👩‍👧 Found Family 😔 Survivor's Guilt 🛂 Immigration System 🕰️ Dual Timelines

Little Bee 89%

Fresh out of detention, a Nigerian refugee finds the woman who once looked away.

by Chris Cleave 2008

3.72

249k+ ratings

🏃 Refugee Narrative 👨‍👩‍👧 Found Family 😔 Survivor's Guilt 🛂 Immigration System 🕰️ Dual Timelines

A Gate at the Stairs

by Lorrie Moore • 2009

She nannies for a couple adopting a child and watches a family in quiet collapse.

3.18

19k+

🏛️ Campus Novel 👪 Transracial Adoption 👶 Nanny Narrative 💔 Sibling Loss 🗽 Post 9/11 America

A Gate at the Stairs 89%

She nannies for a couple adopting a child and watches a family in quiet collapse.

by Lorrie Moore 2009

3.18

19k+ ratings

🏛️ Campus Novel 👪 Transracial Adoption 👶 Nanny Narrative 💔 Sibling Loss 🗽 Post 9/11 America

A Broken People's Playlist

by Chimeka Garricks • 2020

Linked stories from Port Harcourt track a community's fractures and fragile hopes, scored by music.

4.27

3k+

🧩 Interconnected Stories 🎵 Music And Memory 👨‍👧 Absent Fathers 🩹 Generational Trauma 🖤 Grief And Loss

A Broken People's Playlist 89%

Linked stories from Port Harcourt track a community's fractures and fragile hopes, scored by music.

by Chimeka Garricks 2020

4.27

3k+ ratings

🧩 Interconnected Stories 🎵 Music And Memory 👨‍👧 Absent Fathers 🩹 Generational Trauma 🖤 Grief And Loss

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