I read the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante a while back, and since then have been trying to find another good series to dive into. Most of the ones I find online are sci fi or fantasy, which I’m not as interested in. Does anyone know of a good book series in the classics or literary fiction genre? I already know of a few, such as In search of lost time or the Border Trilogy by McCarthy, but have been searching for more.
by orcleave
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The Cairo Trilogy, by Egyptian Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz (*Palace Walk*, *Palace of Desire*, and *Sugar Street*)
Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series — the four novels are Gilead, Home, Lila, and Jack. I’ve only read the first two so far but loved them!
I just finished The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard. They helped scratch my Ferrante itch!
Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann and obviously LotR despite being fantasy. And maybe the trilogy of Patrick Leigh Fermor documenting his travels by foot through europe before the second world war.
The Lucy Barton series by Elizabeth Strout
This is an oldie but (I think) goodie: The USA trilogy by John Dos Passos. It consists of three books: *The 42nd Parallel* (1930), *Nineteen Nineteen* (1932) and *The Big Money* (1936). They are packaged together under the title *USA*. I read *USA* in college 40 years ago (I was an English major/History minor). Dos Passos uses fictional narratives, biographies of famous politicians and businessmen, and news articles to explore life in America for a group of ordinary people from WWI to the end of the 1920s. The book is not well-known to modern readers but is considered one of the top English-language novels of the 20th century.
The African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe, I’ve only read Things Fall Apart recently, but I’m eager to continue the series. (Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, No Longer At Ease)