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The Literary Escape: 18 Novels for Every Kind of Reader
18
items I read across a lot of genres, but the books that stay with me are the ones that transport me somewhere else entirely. This list is a collection of 18 novels that do exactly that, from sweeping historical epics and magical realism to intimate charact...
Sections
4
Magical Realism and Cozy Escapes
Identity, Belonging, and the Immigrant Experience
Historical Fiction and Powerful Sagas
Mythology, Retellings, and Contemporary Favorites
Magical Realism and Cozy Escapes
These are the books that feel like a warm hug or a dream you do not want to wake up from. They blend the ordinary with the extraordinary in the most beautiful way.
If your favorite comfort food was a book, this would be it. It follows a woman who inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop. It is dreamlike, poetic...
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
This is the book I recommend to everyone who feels a little lost. It is about a woman who finds herself in a library between life and death, where every book represents a life she could have lived if she had made different choices. It is a feel-good ...
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Fans of magical realism will adore this transformative novel about a woman whose life takes an unexpected turn. It is steeped in mystery and the importance of embracing change, and it is perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman and Jojo Moyes. The New York ...
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
This is a beautiful, bittersweet Japanese novel about a young man who is told he has one day to live, and makes a deal with the devil to extend his life by one day for every thing he erases from existence. It is a meditation on what truly matters in ...
If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
Identity, Belonging, and the Immigrant Experience
These are the powerful stories about what it means to search for home, to belong, and to carry your history with you across borders.
This is a lyrical, sweeping tale of one Palestinian man's restless search for home the world over. It is longlisted for the National Book Award, longlisted for the Women's Prize, and a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. Poet Hannah Lillith A...
Paradiso 17 by Hannah Lillith Assadi
Through the scrim of fading memory, an elderly woman confronts a lifetime of secrets and betrayal under the mysterious skies of her island home off the coast of Georgia. It was named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and NPR. It is a quiet, h...
The Stars Are Not Yet Bells by Hannah Lillith Assadi
From the Booker Prize finalist comes an enchanting tale about three characters living along two great rivers, all connected by a single drop of water. Arundhati Roy said to make place for Elif Shafak on your bookshelf and in your heart. It is a story...
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
This is a brilliant, funny, and deeply human novel from the author of An Unnecessary Woman. It follows a gullible man named Raja as he navigates life, love, and the stories we tell. Alameddine is a master storyteller, and this novel is a testament to...
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine
Hala Alyan is a poet and novelist who writes about family, displacement, and the search for home with incredible grace. This novel follows a family across generations and continents, exploring the ties that bind us and the secrets that divide us. It ...
I'll Tell You When I'm Home by Hala Alyan
This is a sharp, smart novel about a young woman who works in the oil and gas industry and navigates the complexities of ambition, climate, and complicity. It is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of global energy politics. I found it tho...
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Historical Fiction and Powerful Sagas
These are the sweeping stories that span generations and continents, exploring the bonds between mothers and daughters, communities and nations.
This is a powerful and unforgettable novel about the women who fought in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and named a Best Book of the Year by multiple publications. Mengiste writes with incredible lyr...
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
This is a bold, brutal, and brilliant novel that blends satire, speculative fiction, and social commentary. It is set in a near-future America where incarcerated people fight to the death in televised gladiator matches for a chance at freedom. It was...
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
From the author of A Woman Is No Man comes a powerful novel about a Palestinian American woman who must reconcile her cultural heritage with her own desires. It is a story about marriage, motherhood, and the weight of tradition. I found it deeply mov...
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Joy Williams is a master of the short story, and this collection is no exception. Her writing is sharp, strange, and deeply human, often exploring the natural world and our place in it. I found these stories unsettling in the best way, and they staye...
The Pelican Child by Joy Williams
Mythology, Retellings, and Contemporary Favorites
These are the books that have captured hearts and topped bestseller lists. They are the ones everyone is talking about, and for good reason.
How do you describe a book that absolutely and undeniably changed you? Miller's retelling of The Iliad draws attention to Achilles the man rather than the hero, looking at his intimate relationship with the tragic figure Patroclus. Ann Patchett calle...
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Matt Haig is back with a new novel that follows in the footsteps of The Midnight Library. If you loved that book, you will want to pick this one up immediately. Haig has a gift for writing about big questions in a way that feels accessible and deeply...
The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
Ann Patchett returns with a powerful novel about the choices we make and the ones that are made for us. It is a Katie Couric Book Club Pick and one of President Obama's Summer Reading List Picks. The Boston Globe called it a rare phenomenon in contem...
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite writers, and this new novel is another masterclass in character and quiet revelation. She writes about ordinary people with extraordinary depth. If you loved Olive Kitteridge or My Name Is Lucy Barton, you will ...
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout