Books like

Books like When the Emperor Was Divine

12 books with a reading profile close to When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka. Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

Wandering Stars

by Tommy Orange

Also thought-provoking · history, narrative

Wandering Stars traces a lineage of a Cheyenne family from the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and the forced assimilation at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to the present day.
2

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

by Anthony Marra

Also contemplative and thought-provoking · history, narrative

In a rural village in war-torn Chechnya, Akhmed rescues an eight-year-old girl named Havaa after her father is abducted by Russian soldiers.
3

The Night Watch

by Sarah Waters

Also inward-looking and thought-provoking · history, narrative

Set in London during and immediately after the Second World War, the narrative moves backward in time from 1947 to 1941.
4

The Buddha in the Attic

by Julie Otsuka

Also thought-provoking · history, narrative

Julie Otsuka tells the collective history of "picture brides" who traveled from Japan to San Francisco in the early 1900s.
5

Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah, Purple Hibiscus

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

This three-volume collection tracks the socio-political evolution of Nigeria through specific family lineages and individual migrations.
6

The Vaster Wilds

by Lauren Groff

Also thought-provoking · history, narrative

In the early seventeenth century, a young servant girl escapes a starving, disease-ridden colonial settlement in North America, fleeing alone into the winter wilderness.
7

Americanah

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Also thought-provoking · history, narrative

Ifemelu and Obinze are young lovers in military-ruled Nigeria who depart the country for different hemispheres.
8

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

by C Pam Zhang

Also thought-provoking · history, narrative

Set against the declining years of the American Gold Rush, the novel follows Lucy and Sam, two orphaned siblings of Chinese descent, as they carry their father’s decomposing body across a harsh western landscape.
9

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

Set in antebellum Virginia, the narrative centers on Henry Townsend, a black man who, having purchased his own freedom, becomes a master himself and owns thirty-three slaves.
10

Duizend schitterende zonnen

by Khaled Hosseini

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

Set against the backdrop of three decades of Afghan history, the narrative follows Mariam and Laila, two women from different generations and social backgrounds whose lives intersect through a forced marriage to the sam…
11

Bin Muhteşem Güneş

by Khaled Hosseini

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

Mariam and Laila are two women from different generations and social backgrounds whose lives collide in Kabul during decades of political upheaval.
12

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

by Ayana Mathis

Also inward-looking and contemplative · history, narrative

In 1923, Hattie Shepherd leaves Georgia for Philadelphia as part of the Great Migration, hoping for a better life.

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