Books like

Books like Homegoing

12 books with a reading profile close to Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

Pachinko

by Min Jin Lee

Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative

Sunja, the daughter of a crippled fisherman in colonial Korea, becomes pregnant by a married yakuza member.
2

Americanah

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also deep and thought-provoking · history, narrative

Ifemelu and Obinze are young lovers in military-ruled Nigeria who depart the country for different hemispheres.
3

The Nickel Boys

by Colson Whitehead

Also contemplative and thought-provoking · history, narrative

Set in Jim Crow Florida, the story follows Elwood Curtis, a studious teenager who adheres to Dr.
4

Duizend schitterende zonnen

by Khaled Hosseini

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

Set against the backdrop of three decades of Afghan history, the narrative follows Mariam and Laila, two women from different generations and social backgrounds whose lives intersect through a forced marriage to the sam…
5

Bin Muhteşem Güneş

by Khaled Hosseini

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

Mariam and Laila are two women from different generations and social backgrounds whose lives collide in Kabul during decades of political upheaval.
6

Cutting for Stone

by Abraham Verghese

Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative

The story follows twin brothers Marion and Shiva Stone, born from a clandestine union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon in an Addis Ababa mission hospital.
7

There Are Rivers in the Sky

by Elif Shafak

Also contemplative and thought-provoking · history, narrative

The narrative follows a single drop of water across centuries, linking three distinct lives shaped by the Tigris and Thames rivers.
8

Hamnet

by Maggie O'Farrell

Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative

Set in 1580s Stratford-upon-Avon, the narrative centers on Agnes Hathaway, a woman with deep knowledge of medicinal plants and prophetic instincts.
9

Brotherless Night

by V. V. Ganeshananthan

Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative

Set in Jaffna during the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the narrative follows Sashi, a young woman whose ambitions to become a doctor are redirected by the escalating ethnic conflict.
10

Hiroshima

by John Hersey

Also deep · history, narrative

John Hersey details the immediate and long-term consequences of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima through the experiences of six survivors: a clerk, two doctors, a tailor’s widow, a German priest, and a Methodist pastor.
11

The Cellist of Sarajevo

by Steven Galloway

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · history, narrative

Set in the besieged city of Sarajevo, the narrative follows three civilians navigating a landscape of sniper fire and shellings.
12

Five Little Indians

by Michelle Good

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · history, narrative

Five children, Kenny, Clara, Maisie, Lucy and Howie, are taken from their families as small children and sent to a residential school in British Columbia.

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