Recommendations based on The Financierby Theodore Dreiser

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Sister Carrie

    by Theodore Dreiser
    A young woman's journey of ambition, navigating the opportunities and pitfalls of urban life.

    Late 1889. Dissatisfied with life in her rural Wisconsin home, 18-year-old Caroline "Sister Carrie" Meeber takes the train to Chicago , where her older sister Minnie, and Minnie's husband, Sven ... (Wikipedia)

  2. An American Tragedy

    by Theodore Dreiser
    A young man's ambition leads him to commit a heinous crime, and he must face the consequences of his actions.

    Ambitious, handsome, but poorly educated, naïve, and immature, Clyde Griffiths is raised by poor and devoutly religious parents to help in their street missionary work. As a young adult, Clyde must, ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The Twelve Chairs

    by Ilya Ilf
    A comedic tale of two men's quest for hidden jewels in a chair with a secret compartment.

    In the Soviet Union in 1927, a former Marshal of Nobility , Ippolit Matveyevich "Kisa" Vorobyaninov, works as the registrar of marriages and deaths in a sleepy provincial town. His mother-in-law ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Hard to Be a God

    by Arkady Strugatsky
    A group of scientists are sent to a planet stuck in the medieval era to observe and help, but find themselves struggling to maintain their humanity.

    The prologue shows a scene from Anton's childhood, in which he goes on an adventure with his friends Pashka (Paul) and Anka (Anna) and plays a game based on melodramatic recreations of events on the ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Père Goriot

    by Honoré de Balzac
    A tale of ambition, greed, and human relationships in 19th century Paris.

    The novel opens with an extended description of the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris' rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève covered with vines, owned by the widow Madame Vauquer. The residents include ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Three Comrades

    by Erich Maria Remarque
    Three German friends struggle to survive in the aftermath of World War I, facing poverty, illness, and political turmoil.

    The city, which never is referred to by name (however, it is likely Berlin), is crowded by a growing number of jobless and marked by increasing violence between left and right. The novel starts in ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country

    by Erich Maria Remarque
    A refugee's struggle for survival in a world of turmoil and violence in 1930s Europe.

    Set in 1939, and, despite having no permission to perform surgery, Ravic, a very accomplished German surgeon and a stateless refugee living in Paris, has been ghost-operating on patients for two ... (Wikipedia)

  8. A Hero of Our Time

    by Mikhail Lermontov
    A story of a young man's journey through life and his experiences of love, betrayal and morality.

    In its adventurous happenings, its abductions, duels, and sexual intrigues, A Hero of Our Time looks backward to the tales of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, so beloved by Russian society in the ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Winter Queen

    by Boris Akunin
    An investigation of corruption and deception that leads to a thrilling court drama.

    The novel opens on 13 May 1876 with a university student, Pyotr Kokorin, committing suicide in the public park in front of a beautiful young noblewoman, Elizaveta von Evert-Kolokoltseva. His will ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Master and Margarita

    by Mikhail Bulgakov
    A fantastical, satirical examination of Soviet life, intersecting with the supernatural.

    The novel has two settings. The first is Moscow during the 1930s, where Satan appears at Patriarch's Ponds as Professor Woland . He is accompanied by Koroviev, a grotesquely-dressed valet; Behemoth , ... (Wikipedia)

  11. A Farewell to Arms

    by Ernest Hemingway
    A story of unrequited love in the midst of war.

    The novel is divided into five sections or 'books'. Frederic Henry is first person narrator of the story. Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American paramedic , is serving in the Italian Army . The novel ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Main Street

    by Sinclair Lewis
    A small-town woman's quest for freedom and self-expression in a repressive society.

    With Commentary by E. M. Forster, Dorothy Parker, H. L. Mencken, Lewis Mumford, Rebecca West, Sherwood Anderson, Malcolm Cowley, Alfred Kazin, Constance Rourke, and Mark Schorer. Main Street , the ... (Goodreads)

  13. Moscow to the End of the Line

    by Venedikt Erofeev
    A surreal, comedic journey through the Soviet Union and its culture.

    In this classic of Russian humor and social commentary, a fired cable fitter goes on a binge and hops a train to Petushki (where his "most beloved of trollops" awaits). On the way he bestows upon ... (Goodreads)

  14. Babbitt

    by Sinclair Lewis
    A satirical exploration of the conformist culture of 1920s America.

    Lewis has been both criticized and congratulated for his unorthodox writing style in Babbitt . One reviewer said "There is no plot whatever... Babbitt simply grows two years older as the tale ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Hound of the Baskervilles

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
    A thrilling detective story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they investigate a mysterious murder on the moor.

    Dr James Mortimer calls on Sherlock Holmes in London for advice after his friend Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead in the yew alley of his manor on Dartmoor in Devon . The death was attributed ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Martin Eden

    by Jack London
    A young sailor's ambition for a better life leads him on a journey of self-improvement and exploration of the upper classes.

    Living in Oakland at the beginning of the 20th century, Martin Eden struggles to rise above his destitute, proletarian circumstances through an intense and passionate pursuit of self-education, ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Airport

    by Arthur Hailey
    An airport becomes a microcosm of human drama, revealing the stories of those who pass through its gates.

    The story takes place at Lincoln International, a fictional Chicago airport based very loosely on O'Hare International Airport . The action mainly centers on Mel Bakersfeld, the Airport General ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Winesburg, Ohio

    by Sherwood Anderson
    Portrayal of small town life, exploring its inhabitants' inner struggles and struggles with conformity.

    Winesburg, Ohio depicts the strange, secret lives of the inhabitants of a small town. In "Hands," Wing Biddlebaum tries to hide the tale of his banishment from a Pennsylvania town, a tale represented ... (Goodreads)

  19. Heart of a Dog

    by Mikhail Bulgakov
    A satirical story of a scientist who attempts to transform a stray dog into a human.

    Moscow , 1924. While foraging for trash one winter day, a stray dog is found by a cook and scalded with boiling water. Lying forlorn in a doorway, the dog awaits his end awash in self-pity. To his ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Atlas Shrugged

    by Ayn Rand
    A tale of a dystopian future where the strongest minds take control of society.

    This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators? Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, ... (Goodreads)

  21. Doctor Zhivago

    by Boris Pasternak
    A love story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, exploring the tragedy of a nation in upheaval.

    The plot of Doctor Zhivago is long and intricate. It can be difficult to follow for two reasons. First, Pasternak employs many characters, who interact with each other throughout the book in ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Magnificent Ambersons

    by Booth Tarkington
    The story of a family's rise and fall, and the changing landscape of a small town.

    The story is set in a largely fictionalized version of Indianapolis, and much of it was inspired by the neighborhood of Woodruff Place . , , The novel and trilogy trace the growth of the United ... (Wikipedia)

  23. War and Peace

    by Leo Tolstoy
    Epic tale of war, peace, and love, focusing on the lives of five aristocratic families.

    The novel begins in July 1805 in Saint Petersburg , at a soirée given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer—the maid of honour and confidante to the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna . Many of the main characters ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Name of the Rose

    by Umberto Eco
    A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.

    In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Pygmalion

    by George Bernard Shaw
    The transformation of a poor flower girl into an elegant society lady.

    George Orwell claimed that "The central plot of Shaw's play, Pygmalion , is lifted out of Peregrine Pickle [by Tobias Smollett ], and I believe that no one has ever pointed this out in print, which ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Queen Margot

    by Alexandre Dumas
    An epic tale of political and religious intrigue, filled with love and revenge.

    The story begins in Paris in August 1572, during the reign of the Valois King Charles IX , it is the French Wars of Religion . The protagonist is Marguerite de Valois , better known as Margot, the ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Way We Live Now

    by Anthony Trollope
    A satirical tale of greed and corruption, set in the world of high society.

    Augustus Melmotte is a financier with a mysterious past. He is rumoured to have Jewish origins, and to be connected to some failed businesses in Vienna. When he moves his business and his family to ... (Wikipedia)

  28. And Quiet Flows the Don

    by Mikhail Sholokhov
    A sweeping epic of the Cossack people during the tumultuous Russian Revolution.

    The novel deals with the life of the Cossacks living in the Don River valley during the early 20th century, probably around 1912, just prior to World War I . The plot revolves around the Melekhov ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Nobody's Boy

    by Hector Malot
    A young boy's journey of survival, relying on his own resourcefulness to make his way in the world.

    A compelling story in which orphaned Remi gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer when his foster parents fall on hard times. Going from village to village with its act, ‘nobody’s boy’ has ... (Goodreads)

  30. The 39 Steps

    by John Buchan
    An ordinary man is framed for murder and must go on the run from the police to clear his name.

    In May of 1914, war looms in Europe. Richard Hannay returns home to London after living in Rhodesia . One night his neighbour, an American who claims to be in fear for his life, visits Hannay. The ... (Wikipedia)