Books like

Books like The Woman Destroyed

12 books with a reading profile close to The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir. Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

Passing

by Nella Larsen, Matthew Hodgson

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Set in 1920s Harlem and Chicago, the narrative follows the unexpected reunion of two childhood friends, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry.
2

Kokoro

by Natsume Sōseki, Edwin McClellan

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

The narrative centers on a university student in Tokyo who befriends an older, cynical intellectual he calls Sensei.
3

Nine Stories

by J.D. Salinger

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Nine Stories centers on the Glass family and other urban protagonists navigating mid-century American life.
4

The End of the Affair

by Graham Greene

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Set in London during and after the Blitz, the novel follows Maurice Bendrix, a novelist who begins a physical relationship with Sarah Miles, the wife of a civil servant.
5

Confessions of a Mask

by Yukio Mishima, Meredith Weatherby

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

The novel chronicles the internal struggles of its narrator, Kochan, as he navigates his adolescence and young adulthood in post-war Japan.
6

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

by Tennessee Williams

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Set on a Mississippi Delta cotton estate, the narrative centers on the Pollitt family during Big Daddy’s sixty-fifth birthday.
7

Oblomov

by Ivan Goncharov

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a young Russian nobleman who lives in a state of terminal inertia within his dusty St.
8

The Meek One

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

A middle-aged pawnbroker ponders the corpse of his young wife, who has just committed suicide by jumping from their window while holding an icon.
9

The Seagull

by Anton Chekhov, Laurence Senelick

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Konstantin Treplev, an aspiring playwright, stages an experimental outdoor performance to impress Nina Zarechnaya, a young actress whom he loves.
10

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

by Edward Albee

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Middle-aged history professor George and his wife Martha return home after a campus party and invite a younger couple, Nick and Honey, for late-night drinks.
11

Zeno's Conscience

by Italo Svevo

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Zeno Cosini, a rich businessman from Trieste, is told by his psychoanalyst to write his memoirs, and he produces an account of his habits, in particular his failed attempts to give up smoking.
12

The Setting Sun

by Osamu Dazai

Also deep and inward-looking · psychology, classic literature

Set in Japan immediately following World War II, this novel follows the decline of an aristocratic family as the traditional social order collapses.

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