Books like The Garden of Evening Mists
12 books with a reading profile close to The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
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1
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
Also deep and inward-looking · history, narrative
Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu pastor from the rural village of Ndotsheni, travels to Johannesburg to find his sister and his missing son, Absalom.
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2
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Also deep and thought-provoking · 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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3
Suite française
Also deep and thought-provoking · 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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4
Birdsong
Also deep and inward-looking · 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
The Leopard
by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Set in nineteenth-century Sicily during the Risorgimento, the narrative follows Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, as he witnesses the collapse of the Bourbon monarchy and the rise of a unified Italian state.
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6
The Grapes of Wrath
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
In 1930s America, a severe drought and aggressive agricultural mechanization force the Joad family off their Oklahoma farm.
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7
Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
Also deep and contemplative · history, narrative
Jean Valjean exits a French prison after nineteen years of hard labor, a sentence triggered by stealing bread for his family.
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8
Every Man Dies Alone
by Hans Fallada
Also thought-provoking · 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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9
A Prayer for Owen Meany
by John Irving
Also deep and inward-looking · narrative, classic literature
John Wheelwright narrates the life of his best friend, Owen Meany, a boy with a high-pitched voice who accidentally kills John’s mother with a foul ball during a Little League game in 1953.
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10
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy, Margaret R. Higonnet
Also deep and inward-looking · narrative, classic literature
Tess Durbeyfield, a young woman living in the rural English countryside, discovers her family descends from the aristocratic d’Urberville line.
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11
Small Island
by Andrea Levy
history, narrative
In 1948, Hortense Roberts arrives in London from Jamaica to join her husband, Gilbert Joseph, who fought for Britain in the war.
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12
A Fine Balance
Also deep and inward-looking · narrative, classic literature
Set in mid-1970s India during the government-mandated Emergency, the narrative centers on four strangers cohabitating in a cramped apartment to survive economic hardship.
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