Books like

Books like The Handmaid's Tale

12 books with a reading profile close to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

The Martian Chronicles

by Ray Bradbury

Also deep · narrative, science fiction

Ray Bradbury’s story cycle documents the systematic arrival of humans on Mars through a series of expeditions.
2

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

During the summer of 1922 in Long Island, Nick Carraway observes the extravagant life of Jay Gatsby, a man who hosts massive parties to lure back his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.
3

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

Set in the 1960s, the narrative centers on the Biafran War through the intersecting lives of five characters.
4

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway

by Ernest Hemingway

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

This comprehensive collection gathers the full breadth of Hemingway’s short fiction, including the iconic Nick Adams adventures, vignettes from In Our Time, and posthumously published fragments.
5

White Teeth

by Zadie Smith

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

In post-war North London, two former soldiers, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal, navigate a cityscape shaped by the aftermath of the British Empire.
6

The dark tower, and other stories

by C.S. Lewis

Also deep and contemplative · science fiction, classic literature

This posthumous collection centers on an unfinished sequel to Out of the Silent Planet, titled The Dark Tower.
7

Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder

by Evelyn Waugh

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

During the mobilization of World War II, Captain Charles Ryder finds himself stationed at Brideshead Castle, the ancestral seat of the Marchmain family.
8

Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

Jay Gatsby spends his life accumulating wealth through criminal channels to reclaim a past romance with Daisy Buchanan.
9

A Sportsman's Sketches Vol. I

by Ivan Turgenev

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

In this 2025 edition from Double 9 Books, an aristocratic narrator travels through the Russian countryside on hunting expeditions, documenting his encounters with various social strata.
10

A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving

Also deep and contemplative · 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.
11

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, science fiction

The narrative begins with a stage actor dying of a heart attack during a production of King Lear, moments before a Georgia Flu pandemic kills most of the global population.
12

The Inheritance of Loss

by Kiran Desai

Also deep and contemplative · narrative, classic literature

Set in a crumbling house in the Himalayas against the 1980s Gorkhaland insurgency, the narrative follows Biju and Sai.

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