Books like

Books like Dostoevsky

12 books with a reading profile close to Dostoevsky by Frank, Joseph. Deep and contemplative; a demanding read.

1

Essays of three decades

by Thomas Mann

Also deep and contemplative · academic, dense

This collection brings together sixteen of Mann’s non-fiction pieces written between 1911 and 1937, focusing on the intellectual heritage of Europe.
2

Kazuo Ishiguro in a Global Context

by Cynthia F. Wong, Hulya Yildiz

Also deep and contemplative · academic, dense

This collection of scholarly essays examines Kazuo Ishiguro’s literary output through the lens of world literature and transnationalism.
3

Hidden Paths

by Chiara Thumiger

Also deep · academic, dense

Chiara Thumiger examines the construction of the human self in classical Athens through a close philological analysis of Euripides’ Bacchae.
4

The Iliad

by Homer

Also deep · academic, dense

Set during the final year of the Trojan War, this epic poem centers on the devastating pride and anger of the Greek warrior Achilles.
5

Beowulf

by Unknown

Also deep · academic, dense

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem centered on a Geatish warrior who travels to Denmark to assist King Hrothgar.
6

The Tempest

by William Shakespeare

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan, lives in exile on a remote island with his daughter, Miranda.
7

Daniel Deronda

by George Eliot

Also deep · dense, literary

George Eliot’s final novel follows two primary paths that eventually merge through the encounter of Gwendolen Harleth and Daniel Deronda.
8

The Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Also deep · academic, dense

Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem presents a fictional storytelling competition among thirty pilgrims traveling from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket.
9

Obras completas

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Also deep · dense, literary

This 1841 collection compiles the literary output of Miguel de Cervantes, centering on the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a country gentleman who adopts the persona of Don Quixote.
10

Memorial do Convento

by José Saramago

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

In early eighteenth-century Portugal, King João V promises to build a convent in Mafra if his wife, Queen Maria Ana, gives him an heir.
11

Richard II

by William Shakespeare

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

King Richard II believes his authority originates from divine right, yet his erratic leadership and the seizure of John of Gaunt’s estate trigger a political crisis.
12

Ludwig Van Beethoven

by Carl Dahlhaus

Also deep · biography, academic

Carl Dahlhaus rejects the traditional divide between technical formal analysis and historical biography, proposing instead a reconstruction of Beethoven’s musical thinking.

Get picks matched to your own reading on papr.

Get papr

Your library, beautifully understood.