Books like

Books like The Solitaire Mystery

12 books with a reading profile close to The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. Deep; a moderate read.

  1. 1 Three Daughters of Eve

    Three Daughters of Eve

    by Elif Shafak

    philosophy, narrative

    Peri is an Istanbul housewife in her thirties, married with a child, who is at a dinner party when a mugger takes her bag and she chases him.

  2. 2 Women Talking

    Women Talking

    by Miriam Toews

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    Based on real events in the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia, this novel centers on eight Mennonite women meeting secretly in a hayloft.

  3. 3 The Dharma Bums

    The Dharma Bums

    by Jack Kerouac

    philosophy, narrative

    Ray Smith, a fictionalized version of Kerouac, navigates the contrast between urban jazz parties and the solitude of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

  4. 4 The Children Act

    The Children Act

    by Ian McEwan

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    High Court judge Fiona Maye presides over the Family Division in London, where she adjudicates cases involving medical ethics and religious freedom.

  5. 5 Desert Solitaire

    Desert Solitaire

    by Edward Abbey

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    Edward Abbey recounts his seasons as a seasonal ranger at Arches National Monument in the late 1950s.

  6. 6 The Zahir

    The Zahir

    by Paulo Coelho

    philosophy, narrative

    Esther, a war correspondent, is married to a celebrated novelist, the narrator, who is living comfortably in Paris.

  7. 7 Soumission

    Soumission

    by Michel Houellebecq

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    Set in a near-future France, the narrative follows François, a lonely academic specializing in the works of Joris-Karl Huysmans.

  8. 8 The Witch of Portobello

    The Witch of Portobello

    by Paulo Coelho

    philosophy, narrative

    Athena is a woman born in Romania to a Roma mother, adopted as a baby by a Lebanese couple, and raised partly in Beirut and later in London.

  9. 9 The Elegance of the Hedgehog

    The Elegance of the Hedgehog

    by Muriel Barbery

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    Set in a luxury Parisian apartment building, the story follows Renée Michel, a fifty-four-year-old concierge who hides her deep knowledge of Kant, Tolstoy, and art behind a facade of working-class dullness.

  10. 10 The Book of Form and Emptiness

    The Book of Form and Emptiness

    by Ruth Ozeki

    Also deep · philosophy, narrative

    Following the sudden death of his father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear the voices of inanimate objects.

  11. 11 Daytripper

    Daytripper

    by Fábio Moon

    philosophy, narrative

    Brás de Oliva Domingos writes obituaries for a Brazilian newspaper while living in the shadow of his famous novelist father.

  12. 12 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

    The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

    by Claire North

    philosophy, narrative

    Harry August is a kalachakra, a man who lives his life in a loop.

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