Books like

Books like The Luminaries

12 books with a reading profile close to The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Deep; a demanding read.

1

An Instance of the Fingerpost

by Iain Pears

Also deep · dense, mystery

Set in 1660s Oxford, the novel centers on the suspicious death of Dr.
2

The Little Friend

by Donna Tartt

Also deep · dense, mystery

Set in Alexandria, Mississippi, during the 1970s, the story follows twelve-year-old Harriet Cleve Dufresnes as she attempts to solve the decade-old murder of her brother, Robin.
3

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

by Michael Chabon

Also deep · mystery, literary

In this alternate history set in the Alaskan panhandle, the Sitka District serves as a temporary federal preserve for Jewish refugees after the collapse of Israel in 1948.
4

The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare

Also deep · dense, literary

Bassanio, a young Venetian nobleman, seeks a loan from his friend Antonio to fund a pursuit of the wealthy heiress Portia.
5

Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare

Also deep · dense, literary

After a shipwrecks near the coast of Illyria, Viola believes her twin brother Sebastian is dead.
6

Our Share of Night

by Mariana Enriquez

Also deep · dense, literary

Juan, a Black Argentine man with a rare gift, can serve as a medium for the Order, a secret society that wants immortality by calling up a dark entity.
7

The Empusium

by Olga Tokarczuk

Also deep · dense, literary

Set in 1913, the story follows Mieczysław Wojnicz, a student seeking treatment for tuberculosis at a sanatorium in Görbersdorf.
8

Zone One

by Colson Whitehead

Also deep · dense, literary

Mark Spitz is a civilian volunteer working as a manual laborer in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
9

The Raven and Other Poems

by Edgar Allan Poe

Also deep · dense, literary

This collection centers on the psychological collapse triggered by permanent loss and the finality of death.
10

Obras completas

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Also deep · dense, literary

This 1841 collection compiles the literary output of Miguel de Cervantes, centering on the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a country gentleman who adopts the persona of Don Quixote.
11

The Fraud

by Zadie Smith

Also deep · dense, literary

Eliza Touchet is housekeeper and cousin to the novelist William Harrison Ainsworth in Victorian London.
12

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

by Shehan Karunatilaka

Also deep · mystery, literary

Maali Almeida, a war photographer, gambler and closeted gay man, wakes up dead in a visa office in the afterlife with no idea how he died.

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