Books like

Books like Salvage the Bones

12 books with a reading profile close to Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

How the García girls lost their accents

by Julia Alvarez

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

The narrative follows the four García sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía—as they flee the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic to settle in New York City.
2

Drown

by Junot Díaz

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

Drown is a debut short story collection told mostly by Yunior, who grows up between a poor neighborhood in the Dominican Republic and the industrial towns of New Jersey.
3

March

by Geraldine Brooks

Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary

This novel reimagines the American Civil War from the perspective of John March, the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
4

The Mighty Red

by Louise Erdrich

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

Set in the Red River Valley of North Dakota during the 2008 financial crisis, the narrative centers on Kismet Poe, a teenager caught between two suitors: a star athlete and a fragmented loner.
5

Mayflies

by Andrew O'Hagan

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

The story begins in 1986, following teenager James Noble and his charismatic friend Tully Dawson in a small Scottish town.
6

The Master Butchers Singing Club

by Louise Erdrich

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

Fidelis Waldvogel returns to Germany from the First World War with a sniper's skill and a plan to become a butcher like his father.
7

Inseparable

by Simone de Beauvoir

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

This autobiographical novel tracks the intense friendship between Sylvie and Andrée, fictionalized versions of Simone de Beauvoir and Elisabeth "Zaza" Lacoin.
8

Stone Mattress: Nine Tales

by Margaret Atwood

Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary

Margaret Atwood's 2014 collection gathers nine stories about aging, grudges and the lingering consequences of old choices.
9

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

by Kate Atkinson

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

Ruby Lennox begins her story at the moment of her conception in 1951 in York, and narrates her family's history through her own eyes.
10

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

by Angie Cruz

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

Set in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the narrative follows Cara Romero, a woman in her sixties who loses her factory job of twenty-five years.
11

Brick Lane

by Monica Ali

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

Nazneen is seventeen when she leaves a village in Bangladesh for an arranged marriage to Chanu, a man more than twenty years older, in a London housing estate in Tower Hamlets.
12

The Wife

by Meg Wolitzer

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

Joan Castleman has stood beside her husband Joe, a celebrated novelist, for decades.

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