Books like The Jungle
12 books with a reading profile close to The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Outward-looking, clear-cut and thought-provoking; 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
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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3
Germinal
by Émile Zola
Also thought-provoking · 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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4
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Also thought-provoking · 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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5
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Also thought-provoking · history, narrative
Set in a 1950s Soviet labor camp, the novel tracks Ivan Denisovich Shukhov through a single winter day of his ten-year sentence.
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6
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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7
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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8
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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9
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10
The Grapes of Wrath
Also thought-provoking · history, narrative
In 1930s America, a severe drought and aggressive agricultural mechanization force the Joad family off their Oklahoma farm.
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11
The Moon is Down
Also thought-provoking · history, narrative
In a coastal mining town, an unnamed invading force led by Colonel Lanser replaces the local government to secure coal exports.
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12
Hard Times
Also thought-provoking · narrative, literary
In the industrial settlement of Coketown, Thomas Gradgrind raises his children, Louisa and Tom, according to a philosophy of cold rationalism and "Facts." He rejects imagination, emotion, and the arts, viewing human bei…
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