Books like Cry, the Beloved Country
12 books with a reading profile close to Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
-
1
The Garden of Evening Mists
by Tan Twan Eng
Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative
Set in the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the narrative follows Teoh Yun Ling, a survivor of a brutal prisoner-of-war camp.
-
2
Suite française
Also deep and thought-provoking · history, narrative
Set in 1940 during the German invasion of France, the narrative follows a chaotic exodus from Paris as civilians flee an oncoming army.
-
3
The Leopard
by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Set in nineteenth-century Sicily during the Risorgimento, the narrative follows Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, as he witnesses the collapse of the Bourbon monarchy and the rise of a unified Italian state.
-
4
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Also deep and thought-provoking · history, narrative
Robert Jordan, an American language instructor, joins an International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War to fight against Francisco Franco’s fascist forces.
-
5
Birdsong
Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative
Stephen Wraysford begins the novel as a young Englishman living in Amiens, where he conducts a forbidden affair with Isabelle Azaire, his host’s wife.
-
6
The Grapes of Wrath
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
In 1930s America, a severe drought and aggressive agricultural mechanization force the Joad family off their Oklahoma farm.
-
7
Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Jean Valjean exits a French prison after nineteen years of hard labor, a sentence triggered by stealing bread for his family.
-
8
Every Man Dies Alone
by Hans Fallada
Also thought-provoking · history, narrative
Otto and Anna Quangel are ordinary Berliners who, after their son's death in the war, start leaving postcards that criticize Hitler in stairwells and offices.
-
9
A Raisin in the Sun
Also deep and inward-looking · narrative, literary
Set in Chicago’s South Side during the late 1950s, the play follows the Younger family as they await a ten-thousand-dollar life insurance check following the patriarch's death.
-
10
The Known World
Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative
Set in antebellum Virginia, the narrative centers on Henry Townsend, a black man who, having purchased his own freedom, becomes a master himself and owns thirty-three slaves.
-
11
Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, Purple Hibiscus
Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative
This three-volume collection tracks the socio-political evolution of Nigeria through specific family lineages and individual migrations.
-
12
Germinal
by Émile Zola
Also deep and thought-provoking · history, narrative
Set in a coal-mining settlement in northern France during the 1860s, the narrative follows Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker who secures a job at the Voreux pit.
Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.
Get papr
