I’m traveling to San Francisco soon and would love to get into the city’s spirit through fiction. I’m looking for short novels or story collections (ideally under ~250 pages) that capture the city at different points in its history, really want to get into the Gold Rush days and maybe something on more recent history.
So far I’ve found but not yet read:
- The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte (Gold Rush era)
- The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner (1906 earthquake)
- Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1970s SF)
I’d love more recommendations like these, maybe something lesser-known, literary, or even weird.
Bonus points if the book really captures the feeling of the city in its time (the chaos, the freedom, the cultural mix, etc.).
by elexe_