Books like An American Tragedy
12 books with a reading profile close to An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
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1
El coronel no tiene quien le escriba
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
A retired colonel in a small Colombian town has waited fifteen years for the pension he was promised after serving in a civil war.
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2
On Beauty
by Zadie Smith
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
The narrative center of the novel is the Belsey family, led by Howard, a white British art historian living in a fictional Massachusetts college town.
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3
Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder
by Evelyn Waugh
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
During the mobilization of World War II, Captain Charles Ryder finds himself stationed at Brideshead Castle, the ancestral seat of the Marchmain family.
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4
Assommoir
by Émile Zola
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
L’Assommoir documents the physical and moral decline of Gervaise Macquart, a laundress striving for domestic stability in the slums of Second Empire Paris.
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5
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
Also deep and thought-provoking · narrative, literary
Set in New York City during August 1974, the narrative centers on Philippe Petit’s unauthorized tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.
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6
A Sportsman's Sketches Vol. I
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
In this 2025 edition from Double 9 Books, an aristocratic narrator travels through the Russian countryside on hunting expeditions, documenting his encounters with various social strata.
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7
A Fine Balance
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
Set in mid-1970s India during the government-mandated Emergency, the narrative centers on four strangers cohabitating in a cramped apartment to survive economic hardship.
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8
Howards End
by E.M. Forster
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
Set in Edwardian England, the narrative follows three families representing distinct social strata: the intellectual Schlegel sisters, the wealthy business-minded Wilcoxes, and the struggling clerk Leonard Bast.
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9
Native Son
by Richard Wright, Richard Wright - undifferentiated
Also deep and thought-provoking · narrative, literary
Set in the segregated South Side of Chicago during the 1930s, the narrative follows Bigger Thomas, a young Black man trapped by systemic poverty and racial prejudice.
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10
Half of a Yellow Sun
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
Set in the 1960s, the narrative centers on the Biafran War through the intersecting lives of five characters.
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11
Great Gatsby
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
Jay Gatsby spends his life accumulating wealth through criminal channels to reclaim a past romance with Daisy Buchanan.
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12
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Also deep and contemplative · narrative, literary
This comprehensive collection gathers the full breadth of Hemingway’s short fiction, including the iconic Nick Adams adventures, vignettes from In Our Time, and posthumously published fragments.
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