Recommendations based on Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlifeby Sam Savage

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

  1. The Gospel of Loki

    by Joanne M. Harris
    The trickster god Loki narrates his own story, from his birth to his role in Ragnarok, in this humorous and irreverent retelling of Norse mythology.

    “A surprise from the author of Chocolat ,” New York Times bestselling author Joanne M. Harris, “this pacy adult fantasy is narrated by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief” ( Vogue ). This novel ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. Look Who's Back

    by Timur Vermes
    A satirical novel about a fictional Adolf Hitler, who wakes up in modern-day Germany.

    Berlin, Summer 2011. Adolf Hitler wakes up from a 66-year sleep in his subterranean Berlin bunker to find the Germany he knew entirely changed: Internet-driven media spreads ideas in minutes and ... (Goodreads)

  3. Signs Preceding the End of the World

    by Yuri Herrera
    A woman's journey crossing the Mexico-US border, reflecting on the power of language.

    Winner of the 2016 Best Translated Book Award for Fiction Signs Preceding the End of the World is one of the most arresting novels to be published in Spanish in the last ten years. Yuri Herrera does ... (Goodreads)

  4. Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons

    by Bill Watterson
    A hilarious adventure as Calvin and Hobbes battle mutant snowmen wreaking havoc.

    Calvin and Hobbes are back in another thrilling adventure involving escapes from girls, parents, and snow goon monsters. In Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, Calvin suffers a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. The Cellist of Sarajevo

    by Steven Galloway
    A story of resilience and courage in the midst of a war-torn city.

    This brilliant novel with universal resonance, set during the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo, tells the story of three people trying to survive in a city rife with the extreme fear of desperate times, and ... (Goodreads)

  6. A Long Way Down

    by Nick Hornby
    Four strangers, all on the brink of suicide, join forces and venture on an unexpected life-affirming journey.

    Disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp, the lonely housewife Maureen (51 years old), the unsuccessful musician JJ and the rude teenager Jess (18 years old) meet at Toppers' House in London on New Year's ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Hour of the Star

    by Clarice Lispector
    A poor Brazilian girl's life story, illustrating the struggles of the working class.

    The novel starts with the narrator, Rodrigo S.M., discussing what it means to write a story. He addresses the reader directly and spends a lot of time talking about his philosophical beliefs. After ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Marvel 1602

    by Neil Gaiman
    A reimagining of Marvel superheroes set in the Elizabethan era.

    In Marvel 1602 , award-winning writer Neil Gaiman presents a unique vision of the Marvel Universe set four hundred years in the past. Classic Marvel icons such as the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic ... (Goodreads)

  9. There's Treasure Everywhere

    by Bill Watterson
    A humorous collection of cartoons about the everyday adventures of a curious young boy.

    In the world that Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes share, treasures can be found in the most unlikely places, from the outer regions where Spaceman Spiff travels to the rocks in one's own ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Trial

    by Franz Kafka
    A man is arrested and put on trial for a crime that remains unclear throughout the novel.

    On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, Josef K., the chief cashier of a bank, is unexpectedly arrested by two unidentified agents from an unspecified agency for an unspecified crime. Josef is not ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Baltasar and Blimunda

    by José Saramago
    A forbidden love story set against the backdrop of 1700s Portugal and its Inquisition.

    From the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, a “brilliant...enchanting novel” (New York Times Book Review) of romance, deceit, religion, and magic set in eighteenth-century Portugal at ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Moonstone

    by Wilkie Collins
    A mystery novel, unraveling the secrets of an ancient Indian diamond.

    Colonel Herncastle, an unpleasant former soldier, brings the Moonstone back with him from India where he acquired it by theft and murder during the Siege of Seringapatam . Angry at his family, who ... (Wikipedia)

  13. People of the Book

    by Geraldine Brooks
    A journey through time as an ancient book is discovered and its secrets revealed.

    The "complex and moving" ( The New Yorker ) novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks follows a rare manuscript through centuries of exile and war. Inspired by a true story, "People of the ... (Goodreads)

  14. Murder at the Vicarage

    by Agatha Christie
    A seemingly peaceful English village is shaken when its vicar is murdered.

    The novel is narrated by Rev. Leonard Clement, the vicar of St. Mary Mead, who lives with his much younger wife Griselda and their nephew Dennis. Colonel Lucius Protheroe, Clement's churchwarden , is ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Zeno's Conscience

    by Italo Svevo
    A comedic exploration of a man's life and his attempt to turn it around with the help of a psychologist.

    The novel is presented as a diary written by Zeno, published by his doctor (who claims that it is full of lies). The doctor has left a little note in the beginning, saying he had Zeno write an ... (Wikipedia)

  16. 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)

  17. Underworld

    by Don DeLillo
    A sweeping narrative of two people, their pasts and their parallel paths through history.

    The prologue is a fictionalized account of The Shot Heard 'Round the World , a home run by Bobby Thomson on October 3, 1951, that won the National League pennant for the New York Giants against their ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

    by Patrick Süskind
    A murder mystery set in 18th century France, exploring the depths of human obsession.

    An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury

    by Bill Watterson
    An anthology of comic strips about the adventures of a mischievous boy and his stuffed tiger.

    The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes , is a large-format treasury of the cartoons from Yukon Ho! and Weirdos from Another Planet! (including full-color Sunday cartoons) plus a full-color original ... (Barnes & Noble)

  20. The English Patient

    by Michael Ondaatje
    A World War II love story, exploring the depths of human emotion in the midst of tragedy.

    With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, ... (Goodreads)

  21. South of the Border, West of the Sun

    by Haruki Murakami
    A married man's reflections on a once-in-a-lifetime love affair, and his struggle to reconcile the past with the present.

    Alternate cover edition, here,. Growing up in the suburbs of post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. ... (Goodreads)

  22. After Dark

    by Haruki Murakami
    A night in Tokyo filled with mysterious events and surreal encounters.

    Set in metropolitan Tokyo over the course of one night, characters include Mari Asai, a 19-year-old student, who is spending the night reading in a Denny's . There she meets Takahashi Tetsuya, a ... (Wikipedia)

  23. About a Boy

    by Nick Hornby
    A man reevaluates his life when he meets an awkward 12-year-old boy.

    Set in 1993 London, About a Boy features two main protagonists: Will Freeman, a 36-year-old bachelor, and Marcus Brewer, an incongruous schoolboy described as 'introverted' by his suicidal mother, ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

    by John le Carré
    A retired spy is called back into action to uncover a mole in the British Secret Service.

    Control , chief of the Circus, suspects one of the five senior intelligence officers at the Circus to be a long-standing Soviet mole and assigns code names with the intention that should his agent ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Woman in the Dunes

    by Kōbō Abe
    A man finds himself stuck in a remote village, struggling to escape a mysterious sand pit.

    In 1955, , Jumpei Niki, , a schoolteacher from Tokyo, visits a fishing village to collect insects. After missing the last bus, he is led by the villagers, in an act of apparent hospitality, to a ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Girl from Everywhere

    by Heidi Heilig
    Nix, a time-traveling pirate, must choose between saving her father and erasing her own existence.

    The Girl from Everywhere , the first of two books, blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility. Its sparkling wit, breathless adventure, multicultural cast, and enchanting romance will dazzle ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. She Stoops to Conquer

    by Oliver Goldsmith
    A comedy of errors where a wealthy young woman pretends to be a barmaid to win the heart of a bashful gentleman.

    Act I begins at the Hardcastles’ home in the countryside. Mrs. Hardcastle complains to her husband that they never leave their rural home to see the new things happening in the city. Hardcastle says ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

    by Haruki Murakami
    A surreal exploration of two separate yet interwoven realities.

    The story is split between parallel narratives. The odd-numbered chapters take place in the 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland', although the phrase is not used anywhere in the text, only in page headers. The ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Importance of Being Earnest

    by Oscar Wilde
    A lighthearted comedy of manners, full of witty dialogue and satirizing Victorian society.

    Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The ... (Goodreads)

  30. Mort

    by Terry Pratchett
    A Discworld fantasy novel about a young man's journey to save a princess from a magical kingdom.

    As a teenager, Mort has a personality and temperament that makes him unsuited to the family farming business. Mort's father Lezek takes him to a local hiring fair in the hope that Mort will land an ... (Wikipedia)