50 Books like This Side of Paradise

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Gatsby's mansion teemed with strangers. The woman he loved was across the bay, married to another.

3.93

6.0M+

🥂 Roaring Twenties 💔 Obsessive Love 👁️ Unreliable Narrator 💰 Old Money Vs New Money 🍂 Elegiac

The Great Gatsby 94%

Gatsby's mansion teemed with strangers. The woman he loved was across the bay, married to another.

by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925

3.93

6.0M+ ratings

🥂 Roaring Twenties 💔 Obsessive Love 👁️ Unreliable Narrator 💰 Old Money Vs New Money 🍂 Elegiac

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 95%

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

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 92%

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

The Fountainhead

by Ayn Rand • 1943

An architect who refuses to imitate faces a society determined to crush his vision.

3.89

339k+

🧠 Philosophical Novel 🏛️ Architectural Fiction ⚔️ Genius Vs Society 🖤 Self-Destructive Love 📰 Media Mogul

The Fountainhead 90%

An architect who refuses to imitate faces a society determined to crush his vision.

by Ayn Rand 1943

3.89

339k+ ratings

🧠 Philosophical Novel 🏛️ Architectural Fiction ⚔️ Genius Vs Society 🖤 Self-Destructive Love 📰 Media Mogul

The Razor’s Edge

by W. Somerset Maugham • 1944

A WWI veteran walks away from love and wealth to find what life is for.

4.20

55k+

🧘 Spiritual Quest 🕉️ Eastern Spirituality 🎩 Social Climbing 💔 Unrequited Love 🍷 Tragic Addiction

The Razor’s Edge 90%

A WWI veteran walks away from love and wealth to find what life is for.

by W. Somerset Maugham 1944

4.20

55k+ ratings

🧘 Spiritual Quest 🕉️ Eastern Spirituality 🎩 Social Climbing 💔 Unrequited Love 🍷 Tragic Addiction

Rules of Civility

by Amor Towles • 2011

A sharp Brooklyn secretary navigates 1938 Manhattan high society after one New Year's encounter.

4.09

273k+

🪜 Social Climbing 💔 Love Triangle 💪 Self-Made Woman 🎩 Manners And Society 🕰️ Bittersweet Nostalgia

Rules of Civility 90%

A sharp Brooklyn secretary navigates 1938 Manhattan high society after one New Year's encounter.

by Amor Towles 2011

4.09

273k+ ratings

🪜 Social Climbing 💔 Love Triangle 💪 Self-Made Woman 🎩 Manners And Society 🕰️ Bittersweet Nostalgia

The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway • 1926

A wounded journalist follows his love to Pamplona, where bullfights mirror their impossible desire.

3.79

499k+

🕰️ Postwar Disillusionment 🗼 Paris Expat Scene 🍸 Dysfunctional Friends 💔 Impossible Love 🤕 Wounded Masculinity

The Sun Also Rises 90%

A wounded journalist follows his love to Pamplona, where bullfights mirror their impossible desire.

by Ernest Hemingway 1926

3.79

499k+ ratings

🕰️ Postwar Disillusionment 🗼 Paris Expat Scene 🍸 Dysfunctional Friends 💔 Impossible Love 🤕 Wounded Masculinity

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 89%

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

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 89%

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

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

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

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 89%

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

On the Road

by Jack Kerouac • 1957

A writer chases America with a drifter whose wild joy devours everyone close to him.

3.61

452k+

🎒 Beat Generation 🛣️ Road Novel 🌪️ Charismatic Drifter 🤝 Male Friendship ⚡ Restless Youth

On the Road 89%

A writer chases America with a drifter whose wild joy devours everyone close to him.

by Jack Kerouac 1957

3.61

452k+ ratings

🎒 Beat Generation 🛣️ Road Novel 🌪️ Charismatic Drifter 🤝 Male Friendship ⚡ Restless Youth

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 89%

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

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 89%

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

Montauk

by Max Frisch • 1975

At Montauk with a young woman, an aging writer confronts every life he failed to live.

3.82

3k+

🖋️ Autobiographical Novel 💔 Age Gap Relationship ⏳ Brief Encounter 🌊 Melancholy ✍️ Writer Protagonist

Montauk 89%

At Montauk with a young woman, an aging writer confronts every life he failed to live.

by Max Frisch 1975

3.82

3k+ ratings

🖋️ Autobiographical Novel 💔 Age Gap Relationship ⏳ Brief Encounter 🌊 Melancholy ✍️ Writer Protagonist

Dandelion Wine

by Ray Bradbury • 1957

One Illinois summer teaches a boy the taste of joy and the weight of goodbye.

4.09

80k+

🌞 Nostalgic Summer 🏘️ Small Town Vignettes 🍂 Loss Of Innocence 👴 Elder Wisdom 👬 Brother Bond

Dandelion Wine 88%

One Illinois summer teaches a boy the taste of joy and the weight of goodbye.

by Ray Bradbury 1957

4.09

80k+ ratings

🌞 Nostalgic Summer 🏘️ Small Town Vignettes 🍂 Loss Of Innocence 👴 Elder Wisdom 👬 Brother Bond

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

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

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 88%

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

The Interestings

by Meg Wolitzer • 2013

At arts camp, six teenagers decide they are exceptional. Forty years of ordinary life disagree.

3.60

124k+

🎨 Creative Ambition 💰 Class And Privilege 🕰️ Long Friendship 💔 Unrequited Love 🫂 Found Family

The Interestings 88%

At arts camp, six teenagers decide they are exceptional. Forty years of ordinary life disagree.

by Meg Wolitzer 2013

3.60

124k+ ratings

🎨 Creative Ambition 💰 Class And Privilege 🕰️ Long Friendship 💔 Unrequited Love 🫂 Found Family

Trust

by Hernan Diaz • 2022

A ghostwriter for a Jazz Age financier uncovers the story he paid to keep hidden.

3.80

179k+

📜 Competing Narratives 🖊️ Ghostwriting 🎺 Jazz Age New York 🧠 Introspective 👨‍👧 Father Daughter Tension

Trust 88%

A ghostwriter for a Jazz Age financier uncovers the story he paid to keep hidden.

by Hernan Diaz 2022

3.80

179k+ ratings

📜 Competing Narratives 🖊️ Ghostwriting 🎺 Jazz Age New York 🧠 Introspective 👨‍👧 Father Daughter Tension

Once an Eagle

by Anton Myrer • 1968

A Nebraska farm boy rises to Army command, but his deadliest enemy wears the same uniform.

4.40

8k+

🎖️ Military Epic ⚔️ Rival Officers ⚖️ Military Ethics 🕯️ Generational Sacrifice 💔 Military Marriage

Once an Eagle 88%

A Nebraska farm boy rises to Army command, but his deadliest enemy wears the same uniform.

by Anton Myrer 1968

4.40

8k+ ratings

🎖️ Military Epic ⚔️ Rival Officers ⚖️ Military Ethics 🕯️ Generational Sacrifice 💔 Military Marriage

Big Sur

by Jack Kerouac • 1962

A writer escapes his celebrity to a Big Sur cabin, where solitude unravels into madness.

3.83

38k+

🥁 Beat Generation 📖 Autofiction 🎨 Tortured Artist 🍺 Alcoholic Spiral 🪤 Fame As Trap

Big Sur 88%

A writer escapes his celebrity to a Big Sur cabin, where solitude unravels into madness.

by Jack Kerouac 1962

3.83

38k+ ratings

🥁 Beat Generation 📖 Autofiction 🎨 Tortured Artist 🍺 Alcoholic Spiral 🪤 Fame As Trap

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 88%

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

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 91%

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

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 91%

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

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

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

Tropic of Cancer

by Henry Miller • 1934

A broke American drifts through Paris, turning hunger, sex, and failure into an ecstatic howl.

3.65

79k+

🧪 Experimental Fiction 🗼 1930s Paris 🎨 Starving Artist 🧳 Expatriate Life 🔥 Transgressive Fiction

Tropic of Cancer 88%

A broke American drifts through Paris, turning hunger, sex, and failure into an ecstatic howl.

by Henry Miller 1934

3.65

79k+ ratings

🧪 Experimental Fiction 🗼 1930s Paris 🎨 Starving Artist 🧳 Expatriate Life 🔥 Transgressive Fiction

The Idiot

by Elif Batuman • 2017

A Harvard freshman discovers that email can spark a love affair words alone cannot sustain.

3.64

110k+

🎓 Campus Novel 📚 Intellectual Attraction 💔 Unresolved Longing ✈️ Summer Abroad 📧 Email Correspondence

The Idiot 88%

A Harvard freshman discovers that email can spark a love affair words alone cannot sustain.

by Elif Batuman 2017

3.64

110k+ ratings

🎓 Campus Novel 📚 Intellectual Attraction 💔 Unresolved Longing ✈️ Summer Abroad 📧 Email Correspondence

Sentimental Education

by Gustave Flaubert • 1869

Paris, the 1840s. A young dreamer falls for a married woman and never quite recovers.

3.81

25k+

😔 Novel Of Disillusionment 🇫🇷 French Realism 💔 Unattainable Love 😶 Passive Protagonist 🏛️ Bourgeois Society

Sentimental Education 88%

Paris, the 1840s. A young dreamer falls for a married woman and never quite recovers.

by Gustave Flaubert 1869

3.81

25k+ ratings

😔 Novel Of Disillusionment 🇫🇷 French Realism 💔 Unattainable Love 😶 Passive Protagonist 🏛️ Bourgeois Society

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee • 1960

A lawyer defends a Black man in 1930s Alabama, and his daughter sees her town's true face.

4.26

7.0M+

🏚️ Southern Gothic ⚖️ Courtroom Drama 👧 Child Narrator 🎭 False Accusation 🌞 Deep South

To Kill a Mockingbird 88%

A lawyer defends a Black man in 1930s Alabama, and his daughter sees her town's true face.

by Harper Lee 1960

4.26

7.0M+ ratings

🏚️ Southern Gothic ⚖️ Courtroom Drama 👧 Child Narrator 🎭 False Accusation 🌞 Deep South

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 88%

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 Manhattan Girls

by Gill Paul • 2022

Four women in jazz age Manhattan fight for careers, love, and a table of their own.

3.69

3k+

🗽 Jazz Age Manhattan 👯 Female Friendship 🖤 Dark Humor 🎭 Backstage Broadway 🏠 Found Family

The Manhattan Girls 88%

Four women in jazz age Manhattan fight for careers, love, and a table of their own.

by Gill Paul 2022

3.69

3k+ ratings

🗽 Jazz Age Manhattan 👯 Female Friendship 🖤 Dark Humor 🎭 Backstage Broadway 🏠 Found Family

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

by Walker Percy • 1961

A New Orleans stockbroker drifts through pleasure and routine, searching for a life that feels true.

3.64

31k+

🎭 Southern Gothic 🤔 Existential Novel 🎬 Disaffected Narrator 🌊 Melancholy 🏙️ Mid-Century America

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy 88%

A New Orleans stockbroker drifts through pleasure and routine, searching for a life that feels true.

by Walker Percy 1961

3.64

31k+ ratings

🎭 Southern Gothic 🤔 Existential Novel 🎬 Disaffected Narrator 🌊 Melancholy 🏙️ Mid-Century America

by Thomas Pynchon • 1963

One man chases a woman who keeps appearing across history, each time less human than before.

3.97

26k+

🔍 Conspiracy Quest 🎭 Identity As Performance 🧿 Object Fetishism 🌍 Colonial Africa 🗽 Bohemian New York

V. 88%

One man chases a woman who keeps appearing across history, each time less human than before.

by Thomas Pynchon 1963

3.97

26k+ ratings

🔍 Conspiracy Quest 🎭 Identity As Performance 🧿 Object Fetishism 🌍 Colonial Africa 🗽 Bohemian New York

The Children's Book

by A.S. Byatt • 2009

An Edwardian novelist writes each child a private fairy tale. War comes for the final chapter.

3.69

19k+

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multi-Generational Saga 🎩 Edwardian England 📖 Metafiction 🔐 Family Secrets 🫂 Found Family

The Children's Book 88%

An Edwardian novelist writes each child a private fairy tale. War comes for the final chapter.

by A.S. Byatt 2009

3.69

19k+ ratings

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Multi-Generational Saga 🎩 Edwardian England 📖 Metafiction 🔐 Family Secrets 🫂 Found Family

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 88%

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

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

The Custom of the Country

by Edith Wharton • 1913

A small-town beauty carries herself into old New York, where acceptance only sharpens her appetite.

4.07

16k+

🎭 Novel Of Manners 🥂 Gilded Age New York 🏙️ Social Climber 💔 Doomed Marriage 🗼 Belle ÉPoque Paris

The Custom of the Country 88%

A small-town beauty carries herself into old New York, where acceptance only sharpens her appetite.

by Edith Wharton 1913

4.07

16k+ ratings

🎭 Novel Of Manners 🥂 Gilded Age New York 🏙️ Social Climber 💔 Doomed Marriage 🗼 Belle ÉPoque Paris

The Post-Office Girl

by Stefan Zweig • 1982

One week of borrowed luxury teaches a postal clerk that poverty is a slow death.

4.15

11k+

📚 Post-War Literature 💰 Class Divide 😶 Quiet Desperation 📉 Downward Spiral 🔪 Crime Of Desperation

The Post-Office Girl 88%

One week of borrowed luxury teaches a postal clerk that poverty is a slow death.

by Stefan Zweig 1982

4.15

11k+ ratings

📚 Post-War Literature 💰 Class Divide 😶 Quiet Desperation 📉 Downward Spiral 🔪 Crime Of Desperation

The Baron in the Trees

by Italo Calvino • 1977

Over a plate of snails, a boy climbs into the trees and never comes down.

4.02

55k+

🦉 Philosophical Fable 🌿 Coming Of Age Rebellion 💔 Tempestuous Romance 🎭 First Love Returns 🍂 Whimsical Melancholy

The Baron in the Trees 88%

Over a plate of snails, a boy climbs into the trees and never comes down.

by Italo Calvino 1977

4.02

55k+ ratings

🦉 Philosophical Fable 🌿 Coming Of Age Rebellion 💔 Tempestuous Romance 🎭 First Love Returns 🍂 Whimsical Melancholy

The Setting Sun

by Osamu Dazai • 1947

Fallen from grace in post-war Japan, she writes feverish letters to a married writer, chasing hope.

3.97

44k+

🏚 Aristocratic Decline 🇯🇵 Post-War Japan 💔 Forbidden Love 💌 Unrequited Love ✉ Epistolary

The Setting Sun 88%

Fallen from grace in post-war Japan, she writes feverish letters to a married writer, chasing hope.

by Osamu Dazai 1947

3.97

44k+ ratings

🏚 Aristocratic Decline 🇯🇵 Post-War Japan 💔 Forbidden Love 💌 Unrequited Love ✉ Epistolary

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison • 1952

He steals electricity and lives underground because the world above never learned to see him.

3.92

203k+

🎓 Bildungsroman 📚 African American Classic 🎭 Unnamed Narrator 🛤️ Picaresque Journey 🏛️ Institutional Betrayal

Invisible Man 88%

He steals electricity and lives underground because the world above never learned to see him.

by Ralph Ellison 1952

3.92

203k+ ratings

🎓 Bildungsroman 📚 African American Classic 🎭 Unnamed Narrator 🛤️ Picaresque Journey 🏛️ Institutional Betrayal

Pnin

by Vladimir Nabokov • 1957

Professor Pnin takes the wrong train, loves the wrong woman, and outlives the right country.

3.87

30k+

🏫 Campus Novel 🧳 Exile Fiction 👨‍🏫 Awkward Professor 👨‍👦 Surrogate Father 🎭 Tragicomic

Pnin 88%

Professor Pnin takes the wrong train, loves the wrong woman, and outlives the right country.

by Vladimir Nabokov 1957

3.87

30k+ ratings

🏫 Campus Novel 🧳 Exile Fiction 👨‍🏫 Awkward Professor 👨‍👦 Surrogate Father 🎭 Tragicomic

The Game

by Jack London • 1905

A boxer promises his bride one last fight. She disguises herself as a man to watch.

3.73

2k+

🖤 Tragic Romance 🥊 Boxing Drama 🎭 Naturalist Tragedy 💔 Doomed Athlete 🔀 Divided Loyalties

The Game 88%

A boxer promises his bride one last fight. She disguises herself as a man to watch.

by Jack London 1905

3.73

2k+ ratings

🖤 Tragic Romance 🥊 Boxing Drama 🎭 Naturalist Tragedy 💔 Doomed Athlete 🔀 Divided Loyalties

Sex and Rage

by Eve Babitz • 2017

In Hollywood parties and New York salons, a surfer chases the person the glamour keeps hiding.

3.55

20k+

🌴 Bohemian Los Angeles 🎬 Hollywood Facade 🖋️ Female Artist Journey 🖼️ Art World Satire 🥂 Elite Social Circles

Sex and Rage 87%

In Hollywood parties and New York salons, a surfer chases the person the glamour keeps hiding.

by Eve Babitz 2017

3.55

20k+ ratings

🌴 Bohemian Los Angeles 🎬 Hollywood Facade 🖋️ Female Artist Journey 🖼️ Art World Satire 🥂 Elite Social Circles

The Flamethrowers

by Rachel Kushner • 2013

A motorcyclist turns speed into art, then follows her Italian lover into his family's violent world.

3.51

25k+

🎨 1970s Art World 💫 Artist And Muse 💰 Old Money Family ⚡ Political Violence 👩‍🎨 Woman Artist

The Flamethrowers 87%

A motorcyclist turns speed into art, then follows her Italian lover into his family's violent world.

by Rachel Kushner 2013

3.51

25k+ ratings

🎨 1970s Art World 💫 Artist And Muse 💰 Old Money Family ⚡ Political Violence 👩‍🎨 Woman Artist

The Rotters' Club

by Jonathan Coe • 2001

Birmingham, 1973: four school friends, their rock band, and the IRA bomb that ends a world.

3.96

16k+

🎭 Ensemble Coming-Of-Age 🇬🇧 1970s England 💔 Unrequited First Love 🔐 Family Secrets 🎸 Music Obsession

The Rotters' Club 87%

Birmingham, 1973: four school friends, their rock band, and the IRA bomb that ends a world.

by Jonathan Coe 2001

3.96

16k+ ratings

🎭 Ensemble Coming-Of-Age 🇬🇧 1970s England 💔 Unrequited First Love 🔐 Family Secrets 🎸 Music Obsession

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