I've recently read a book series called mushoku tensei and it followed the while life of Rudeus greyrat. Honestly, it's my favorite piece of fiction ever and now I'm left with side stories. I will read them but I also want another novel like it to commit to. Thanks
by TelephoneFearless484
18 Comments
Pachinko
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
**American War** by Omar Al Akkad is one of my favorite novels. It’s set in the future in the American South, beginning years into a stalemated second Civil War. The war is fought over fossil fuels (as the worst effects of climate change warned about now are starting to actually happen in the novel).
It’s still North v. South, and the novel follows a young Southern black girl named Sarat. I think she’s 5 or 6 at the beginning. She’s dirt poor but happy with her close knit family, living on the flooded shores of the Mississippi in a converted corrugated steel trailer.
But when the war finally reaches their doorstep, she and her family must make increasingly difficult choices to find safety and minimize tragedy in the middle of a land with nothing to offer but long stretches of boredom punctuated by brief bursts of the terror of war.
The story follows her through adulthood and death, and it is fa beautiful and terrible journey to watch her change in response to the world around her.
I think the book is especially relevant today… with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, it’s important to consider what and who the children of these wars will eventually grow up to be.
Trout Opera by Matthew Condon
Maybe Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid could fit
I think the Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb will be a good one for you, especially if you loved the fantasy aspect of Mushoku Tensei. It’s a trilogy, plus there are other trilogies in the same universe, so it’ll keep you going for a while. 🙂
*The World According to Garp* by John Irving. A fun read.
_Julius_ by Daphne du Maurier.
Prayer for Owen meany
Fayne by Anne Marie MacDonald
Oooo definitely “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s very heavy and emotional though so just check out the trigger warnings for it. But it’s beautifully written and just an amazing novel. It follows four friends, focusing mainly on Jude St. Francis, exploring his traumatic past and complex relationships throughout his entire life. It’s a heavy but incredibly engaging read that deeply dives into the character’s struggles and growth.
A classic I love is “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Díaz. While not exclusively about one person’s whole life, this novel follows the multi-generational story of a family and focuses heavily on the life of Oscar, whose dreams, struggles, and ultimate fate are explored in a really profound way.
The blind assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer.
In search of lost time by Marcel Proust
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
Stoner by John Williams
East of Eden