Books like Small Island
12 books with a reading profile close to Small Island by Andrea Levy. Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
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1
The Captain's Daughter
history, narrative
The Captain's Daughter, set during Pugachev's Rebellion in 18th-century Russia, follows the young nobleman Pyotr Grinyov as he falls in love with Masha Mironova, the daughter of a fortress commander.
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2
Every Man Dies Alone
by Hans Fallada
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.
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3
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
history, narrative
The narrative follows the parallel trajectories of Uncle Tom, a devout Christian man sold away from his family in Kentucky, and Eliza, an enslaved mother who escapes across the Ohio River to save her son from the same f…
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4
Birdsong
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.
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5
Suite française
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.
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6
For Whom the Bell Tolls
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.
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7
A Tale of Two Cities
history, narrative
Set against the violent backdrop of the French Revolution, the narrative follows physician Alexandre Manette, his daughter Lucie, and the two men who love her: Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton.
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8
The Grapes of Wrath
history, narrative
In 1930s America, a severe drought and aggressive agricultural mechanization force the Joad family off their Oklahoma farm.
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9
Germinal
by Émile Zola
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.
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10
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
by Lew Wallace
history, narrative
Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in first-century Jerusalem, is betrayed by his childhood friend, the Roman officer Messala.
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11
The Garden of Evening Mists
by Tan Twan Eng
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.
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12
Island Beneath the Sea
history, narrative
Zarité, a young girl sold into slavery in eighteenth-century Saint-Domingue, navigates the brutal sugar plantations owned by Toulouse Valmorain.
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