Recommendations based on Mink Riverby Brian Doyle

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

  1. Sometimes a Great Notion

    by Ken Kesey
    A powerful story of a family's struggle against the odds and the forces of change.

    The story centers on the Stamper family, a hard-headed logging clan in the coastal town of Wakonda, on the Oregon coast, in the early 1960s. The union loggers in Wakonda go on strike in demand of the ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Angle of Repose

    by Wallace Stegner
    A man's search for his ancestors and their stories, leading to a journey of self-discovery.

    Lyman Ward narrates a century after the fact. Lyman interprets the story at times and leaves gaps that he points out at other times. Some of the disappointments of his life, including his divorce, ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

    by Carson McCullers
    Exploring the lives of diverse characters in a small Southern town, unearthing secrets and desires.

    The book begins with a focus on the relationship between two close friends, John Singer and Spiros Antonapoulos, deaf-mutes who have lived together for several years. Antonapoulos becomes mentally ... (Wikipedia)

  4. A Confederacy of Dunces

    by John Kennedy Toole
    A satirical tale of an eccentric slacker's misadventures in New Orleans.

    Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found, here, "A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles ... (Goodreads)

  5. State of Wonder

    by Ann Patchett
    A journey in the Amazon rainforest to find a missing colleague and unlock the secrets of a mysterious drug.

    In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, "State of Wonder" presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional ... (Goodreads)

  6. The River Why

    by David James Duncan
    A young man's quest to find himself, living by a river and learning the secrets of life.

    A coming-of-age story narrated by Gus Orviston, a high school graduate and the oldest son in a fishing-crazed family. Frustrated with life in Portland, Oregon, and the constant bickering of his bait ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Tiger's Wife

    by Téa Obreht
    A young doctor in a war-torn Balkan country uncovers the secrets of her grandfather's past, including his relationship with a mysterious woman known as the Tiger's Wife.

    Weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love, Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker ’s twenty best American fiction writers under forty, has spun a timeless novel that will ... (Goodreads)

  8. Straight Man

    by Richard Russo
    A university professor's humorous journey of self-discovery as he navigates campus politics.

    William Henry Devereaux, Jr., spiritually suited to playing left field but forced by a bad hamstring to try first base, is the unlikely chairman of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

    by Gabrielle Zevin
    Life of an isolated bookseller is transformed when an unexpected visitor brings unexpected joy.

    “Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both.”—, The Washington Post, A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his ... (Barnes & Noble)

  10. The Overstory

    by Richard Powers
    Nine strangers are brought together by their love for trees, leading to a fight to save the last of the remaining forests.

    Nicholas Hoel, Mimi Ma, Adam Appich, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Douglas Pavlicek, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, and Olivia Vandergriff are people who had unique relationships with trees which ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Dear Life

    by Alice Munro
    A collection of stories of ordinary people facing extraordinary moments of change and transformation.

    Suffused with Munro's clarity of vision and her unparalleled gift for storytelling, these tales about departures and beginnings, accidents and dangers, and outgoings and homecomings both imagined and ... (Goodreads)

  12. Out Stealing Horses

    by Per Petterson
    An elderly man reflects on his past, uncovering long-buried secrets and memories.

    We were going out stealing horses. That was what he said, standing at the door to the cabin where I was spending the summer with my father. I was fifteen. It was 1948 and one of the first days of ... (Goodreads)

  13. Beautiful Ruins

    by Jess Walter
    A romantic story of fate, secrets, and destiny, spanning from Italy in the 1960s to present day.

    "The best novel of the year." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air A #1 New York Times bestseller, this “absolute masterpiece” (Richard Russo) is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the ... (Goodreads)

  14. What Is the What

    by Dave Eggers
    A young African refugee's journey from Sudan to America, struggling to survive and keep his culture alive.

    Achak is separated from his family during the Second Sudanese Civil War when the Arab militia, referred to as murahaleen (which is Arabic for the deported), wipes out his Dinka village, Marial Bai . ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Marcelo in the Real World

    by Francisco X. Stork
    A young man with Asperger's Syndrome navigates the challenges of the real world.

    Marcelo Sandoval, is a seventeen-year-old who hears music in his head as a result of mild autism , described as a " cognitive disorder " by his father. , He attends a school that caters to the needs ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Face of a Stranger

    by Anne Perry
    A gripping mystery surrounding the identity of a murdered man and the secrets that lie beneath.

    His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detective. But the accident that felled him has left him with only half a life; his memory and his entire past have vanished. As he ... (Goodreads)

  17. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  18. Forever

    by Pete Hamill
    A love story of two star-crossed lovers who span the ages, testing the power of eternal love.

    This widely acclaimed bestseller is the magical, epic tale of an extraordinary man who arrives in New York in 1740 and remains . . . forever. Through the eyes of Cormac O'Connor – granted immortality ... (Goodreads)

  19. Summerland

    by Michael Chabon
    An imaginative adventure of a young boy, uncovering the secrets of the magical town of Summerland.

    The story begins on a small island off the coast of Washington called Clam Island. The central character, Ethan Feld, is on one of the island's baseball teams despite being terrible at the game. He ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Turner House

    by Angela Flournoy
    The Turner family's Detroit home is at the center of their struggles as they confront their past and present.

    The novel tells the story of a Detroit family with 13 children as it responds to the economic woes of the city, in both the 1940s, and then in 2008. The house that sees the changes in the family, ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Cold Mountain

    by Charles Frazier
    A Confederate soldier's homecoming journey, filled with danger and adventure.

    The novel opens in a Confederate military hospital near Raleigh, North Carolina , where Inman is recovering from battle wounds during the American Civil War . The soldier is tired of fighting for a ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Shipping News

    by Annie Proulx
    A man's attempt to rebuild his life in a small Newfoundland town, discovering compassion and joy.

    The story centers around Quoyle, a newspaper reporter from upstate New York , whose father had emigrated from Newfoundland . Shortly after his parents' joint suicide, Quoyle's unfaithful and abusive ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Doubt, a Parable

    by John Patrick Shanley
    A priest's moral dilemma as he faces accusations of inappropriate behavior.

    The play is set in the fictional St. Nicholas Church School, in the Bronx , during the fall of 1964. It opens with a sermon by Father Flynn, a beloved and progressive parish priest, addressing the ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Tenth of December

    by George Saunders
    A collection of stories exploring the human condition through diverse characters and their struggles.

    A young girl named Alison is kidnapped three days before her birthday. Kyle, a boy who lives nearby whose parents enforce very strict household rules, sees the event unfold and must decide whether to ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Cloudstreet

    by Tim Winton
    Two families share a house in Perth, Australia, and navigate their lives over two decades. A story of love, loss, and redemption.

    In 1943, precipitated by separate personal tragedies, two poor families, the Lambs and the Pickles, flee their rural homes to share a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Australia. , The ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

    by Sherman Alexie
    A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.

    The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Age of Innocence

    by Edith Wharton
    A romantic drama set in the high society of 19th century New York, exploring the limits of love and longing.

    Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's most illustrious families, happily anticipates his highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Bring Up the Bodies

    by Hilary Mantel
    A gripping historical drama recounting the downfall of Anne Boleyn during the reign of Henry VIII.

    Bring Up the Bodies follows closely upon the events of Wolf Hall . The King and Cromwell —now Master Secretary to the King's Privy Council—are guests of the Seymour family at Wolf Hall. The King ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Fifteen Dogs

    by André Alexis
    A group of dogs gain human intelligence and experience the highs and lows of life.

    Over drinks at Toronto's Wheat Sheaf Tavern, Hermes and Apollo get into a debate about whether animals could live happily if they had the same cognitive and speech abilities as humans. , They decide ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Bridge of Sighs

    by Richard Russo
    A sweeping story of a small town and its inhabitants, facing the challenges of life and love.

    Bridge of Sighs courses with small-town rhythms and the claims of family. Here is a town, as well as a world, defined by magnificent and nearly devastating contradictions. Louis Charles (“Lucy”) ... (Goodreads)