Books like

Books like The Spear Cuts Through Water

12 books with a reading profile close to The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. Balanced in tone; a moderate read.

  1. 1 The Water Dancer

    The Water Dancer

    by Ta-Nehisi Coates

    narrative, literary

    Hiram Walker is born into bondage on a Virginia plantation, the son of an enslaved woman and the white man who owns them both.

  2. 2 Who Fears Death

    Who Fears Death

    by Nnedi Okorafor

    narrative, literary

    In a post-apocalyptic Sudan, the light-skinned Nuru people systematically oppress the dark-skinned Okeke.

  3. 3 Once Upon a River

    Once Upon a River

    by Diane Setterfield

    narrative, literary

    On a winter night at the Swan Inn along the Thames, a wounded stranger staggers through the door carrying the lifeless body of a small girl.

  4. 4 Swamplandia!

    Swamplandia!

    by Karen Russell

    narrative, literary

    Set in the sinking geography of the Florida Everglades, this novel follows the Bigtree family, a clan of alligator wrestlers struggling to maintain their failing theme park.

  5. 5 The Deep

    The Deep

    by Rivers Solomon

    narrative, literary

    Inspired by a song by the group clipping., this novella follows the wajinru, water-breathing descendants of pregnant African women thrown overboard during the Atlantic slave trade.

  6. 6 The Lions of Al-Rassan

    The Lions of Al-Rassan

    by Guy Gavriel Kay

    narrative, literary

    Set in a reimagined medieval Spain, the story traces the collision of three rival cultures: the Asharites, the Jaddites, and the Kindath.

  7. 7 The Snow Child

    The Snow Child

    by Eowyn Ivey

    narrative, literary

    In 1920s Alaska, homesteaders Jack and Mabel struggle with the isolation of the frontier and the grief of their childless marriage.

  8. 8 Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions

    Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions

    by Neil Gaiman

    narrative, literary

    In this collection, Neil Gaiman assembles dozens of stories and poems that distort familiar reality.

  9. 9 The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables & Reflections

    The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables & Reflections

    by Neil Gaiman

    narrative, literary

    Fables & Reflections is a collection of nine short stories featuring Dream of the Endless, moving through historical eras and mythological landscapes.

  10. 10 The Tiger's Wife

    The Tiger's Wife

    by Téa Obreht

    narrative, literary

    Set in a nameless Balkan country recovering from war, the narrative follows Natalia, a young doctor on a mission to deliver medicine to an orphanage.

  11. 11 Tigana

    Tigana

    by Guy Gavriel Kay

    narrative, literary

    Set in a Mediterranean-inspired peninsula called the Palm, the narrative centers on a group of rebels attempting to overthrow two rival sorcerer-kings, Brandin of Ygrath and Alberico of Barbentain.

  12. 12 Tales from Earthsea

    Tales from Earthsea

    by Ursula K. Le Guin

    narrative, literary

    This collection consists of five stories and a factual appendix documenting the history and mechanics of the archipelago.

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