Books like

Books like Shuggie Bain

12 books with a reading profile close to Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

Cat’s Eye

by Margaret Atwood

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Elaine Risley, a middle-aged painter, returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her art.
2

Transcendent Kingdom

by Yaa Gyasi

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Gifty is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where she studies reward-seeking behavior in mice to understand the neural pathways of addiction and depression.
3

Purple Hibiscus

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Fifteen-year-old Kambili Achike lives in Enugu, Nigeria, under the rigid authority of her father, Eugene, a charismatic businessman and devout Catholic.
4

The Dutch House

by Ann Patchett

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Danny Conroy narrates his life through the lens of the Dutch House, an architectural marvel in Pennsylvania purchased by his father.
5

Sally Rooney 3 Books Collection Set

by Sally Rooney

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

This collection gathers Sally Rooney’s early prose, focusing on the intricate social dynamics and intimate exchanges between young adults in modern Ireland.
6

On Chesil Beach

by Ian McEwan

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Set in 1962, the novella follows Edward Mayhew and Florence Ponting on their wedding night at a hotel on the Dorset coast.
7

Did You Ever Have a Family

by Bill Clegg

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

On the night before her daughter Lolly's wedding, June Reid's house burns down, killing her daughter, Lolly's fiancé Will, her ex-husband Luke and her boyfriend Adam.
8

The Death of Vivek Oji

by Akwaeke Emezi

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

The novel begins with the discovery of Vivek’s lifeless body on his mother’s doorstep in southeastern Nigeria.
9

Sana Soyleyemedigim Her Sey

by Celeste Ng

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Set in 1970s Ohio, the narrative begins with the disappearance and subsequent death of Lydia Lee, the favorite child of a Chinese-American family.
10

Sana Anlatmadigim Her Sey

by Celeste Ng

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Set in 1970s Ohio, the narrative begins with the death of Lydia Lee, the favorite daughter of a biracial family.
11

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage

by Haruki Murakami

Also inward-looking and contemplative · narrative, psychology

Tsukuru Tazaki is a railway engineer in Tokyo whose life is defined by a sudden, unexplained rejection from his tight-knit group of high school friends.
12

Real Life

by Brandon Taylor

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

Wallace, a Black queer doctoral student from Alabama, navigates a tense weekend at a predominantly white Midwestern university.

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