Books like The Idiot
12 books with a reading profile close to The Idiot by Elif Batuman. Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
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1
The Days of Abandonment
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
When Mario abruptly announces he is leaving their fifteen-year marriage, Olga is stranded in a Turin apartment with two young children and a dog.
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2
The Woman Upstairs
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Nora Eldridge is a schoolteacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in her forties, once an aspiring artist, who has been living a careful, respectable life.
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3
House of Sand and Fog
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Kathy Nicolo, a recovering addict, loses her small California bungalow due to a bureaucratic tax error.
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4
Eileen
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Set in a 1964 New England winter, the story follows Eileen Dunlop, a young woman trapped in a cycle of self-loathing and squalor.
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5
Conversations With Friends
by Sally Rooney
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Frances is a university student and aspiring poet in Dublin who performs spoken word pieces with her former girlfriend and best friend, Bobbi.
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6
History of Wolves
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Fourteen-year-old Linda lives in a former commune in the woods of Northern Minnesota, isolated by her parents’ counterculture lifestyle and her own social alienation.
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7
Still Born
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
In Mexico City, Laura and her close friend Alina reach their thirties with a shared resolve to remain childless.
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8
Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
The novel documents the twenty-four-year marriage of Lotto and Mathilde Satterwhite, beginning with their impulsive college graduation wedding and following their ascent into the New York elite.
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9
Sally Rooney 3 Books Collection Set
by Sally Rooney
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · 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.
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10
The Lying Life of Adults
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
Giovanna, a teenager living in an upper-class neighborhood in Naples, overhears her father compare her appearance to his estranged sister, Vittoria.
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11
Crossroads
Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · narrative, psychology
In suburban Chicago on a single day in 1971, the Hildebrandt family faces individual crises of faith and morality.
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12
L'Avversario
Also inward-looking · narrative, psychology
On January 9, 1993, Jean-Claude Romand killed his wife, his children, and his parents before attempting to take his own life.
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