Recommendations based on Ways of Going Homeby Alejandro Zambra

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

  1. Fever Dream

    by Samanta Schweblin
    A woman's surreal, unsettling journey into the depths of her subconscious.

    Waking up disoriented in a clinic, Amanda begins a conversation with a young boy named David. He urges Amanda to try to remember what happened before she came to the clinic. Through the constant ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Pedro Páramo

    by Juan Rulfo
    A man returns to his hometown in search of his father, discovering the ghostly inhabitants.

    A classic of Mexican modern literature about a haunted village. As one enters Juan Rulfo's legendary novel, one follows a dusty road to a town of death. Time shifts from one consciousness to another ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Savage Detectives

    by Roberto Bolaño
    A poetic journey of two young poets searching for a mysterious figure through Latin America.

    The novel is narrated in first person by several narrators and divided into three parts. The first section , "Mexicans Lost in Mexico", set in late 1975, is told by 17-year-old aspiring poet, Juan ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Cronopios and Famas

    by Julio Cortázar
    A surrealist collection of short stories, exploring the absurdities of the world.

    "The Instruction Manual," the first chapter, is an absurd assortment of tasks and items dissected in an instruction-manual format. "Unusual Occupations," the second chapter, describes the obsessions ... (Goodreads)

  5. 10:04

    by Ben Lerner
    A poet's journey through life, confronting the obstacles of mortality and identity.

    In the last year, the narrator of 10:04 has enjoyed unlikely literary success, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal medical condition, and has been asked by his best friend to help her ... (Goodreads)

  6. By Night in Chile

    by Roberto Bolaño
    A Catholic priest reflects on his past life, offering insight on Chilean politics.

    The story is narrated entirely in the first person by the sick and aging Father Urrutia. Taking place over the course of a single evening, the book is the macabre, feverish monologue of a flawed man ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Outline

    by Rachel Cusk
    A woman's journey of self-reflection, exploring relationships and the complexities of life.

    An English woman writer flies to Athens to teach a summer writing workshop. On the plane, she meets an older Greek bachelor , who tells her about his two failed marriages. The next day she meets with ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Things We Lost in the Fire

    by Mariana Enríquez
    A collection of horror stories, exploring society's dark and disturbing aspects.

    In these wildly imaginative, devilishly daring tales of the macabre, internationally bestselling author Mariana Enriquez brings contemporary Argentina to vibrant life as a place where shocking ... (Goodreads)

  9. Stoner

    by John Williams
    An academic's life of quiet desperation, finding solace in literature.

    William Stoner is born on a small farm in 1891. After high school, the county agent advises he go to agriculture school. Stoner enrolls in the University of Missouri , where all agriculture students ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Reader

    by Bernhard Schlink
    A man's journey of understanding, uncovering a dark secret from his past.

    Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Elementary Particles

    by Michel Houellebecq
    Story of two half-brothers, exploring the depths of humanity and the emptiness of modern life.

    Despite the essentially elaborate scope of the plot revealed in the novel's conclusion, the narrative focuses almost exclusively on the bleak and unrewarding day-to-day lives of the protagonists, two ... (Wikipedia)

  12. On Such a Full Sea

    by Chang-rae Lee
    In a dystopian future, a young woman named Fan searches for her missing boyfriend. Her journey takes her through different social classes and reveals the harsh realities of society.

    Against a vividly imagined future America, Lee tells a stunning, surprising, and riveting story that will change the way readers think about the world they live in. On Such a Full Sea takes Chang-rae ... (Goodreads)

  13. Heartstopper: Volume One

    by Alice Oseman
    A charming graphic novel about two boys falling in love and navigating their feelings in a homophobic world.

    Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork., Shy ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories

    by Franz Kafka
    A collection of surreal stories exploring the depths of the human condition.

    Virtually unknown during his lifetime, Franz Kafka is now one of the world’s most widely read and discussed authors. His nightmarish novels and short stories have come to symbolize modern man’s ... (Goodreads)

  15. A Horse Walks into a Bar

    by David Grossman
    A stand-up comedian's harrowing story of trauma, told over the course of one explosive performance.

    A Horse Walks into a Bar is narrated by a retired district court judge, Avishai Lazar, who is invited out of the blue by a local comedian to attend his show, a stand-up routine in a bar in the ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Silk

    by Alessandro Baricco
    Adventure of a 19th century French trader who travels to Japan to find rare silkworm eggs.

    The novel tells the story of a French silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler named Hervé Joncour in 19th century France who travels to Japan for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out ... (Wikipedia)

  17. City on Fire

    by Garth Risk Hallberg
    A mystery novel set in 1970s New York City, exploring the interconnected lives of its inhabitants leading up to a catastrophic event.

    New York City, 1976. Meet Regan and William Hamilton-Sweeney, estranged heirs to one of the city's great fortunes; Keith and Mercer, the men who, for better or worse, love them; Charlie and Samantha, ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Aleph and Other Stories

    by Jorge Luis Borges
    A collection of stories featuring metaphysical and philosophical explorations of the human condition.

    Full of philosophical puzzles and supernatural surprises, these stories contain some of Borges's most fully realized human characters. With uncanny insight, he takes us inside the minds of an ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Rings of Saturn

    by W.G. Sebald
    An exploration of the physical and metaphysical landscapes of the English coast.

    The Rings of Saturn — with its curious archive of photographs — records a walking tour along the east coast of England. A few of the things which cross the path and mind of its narrator (who both is ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Sound of Things Falling

    by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
    An exploration of the history and consequences of the drug trade in Colombia.

    Juan Gabriel Vásquez has been hailed not only as one of South America’s greatest literary stars, but also as one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation. In this gorgeously wrought, ... (Goodreads)

  21. 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)

  22. My Brilliant Friend

    by Elena Ferrante
    A story of two friends' lives, exploring the intricacies of female friendship and life in a Neapolitan neighbourhood.

    A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante's inimitable style lends ... (Goodreads)

  23. Perrault's Fairy Tales

    by Charles Perrault
    Collection of classic French fairy tales, exploring the power of imagination and morality.

    Here are the original eight stories from the 1697 volume, Contes de temps passé, by the great Charles Perrault (1628–1703) in a translation that retains the charming and unsentimental simplicity that ... (Goodreads)

  24. Steppenwolf

    by Hermann Hesse
    The inner struggles of a tortured soul as he searches for redemption.

    The book is presented as a manuscript written by its protagonist , a middle-aged man named Harry Haller, who leaves it to a chance acquaintance, the nephew of his landlady. The acquaintance adds a ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Sense of an Ending

    by Julian Barnes
    An exploration of memory and its impact on the present, looking at the choices we make in life.

    By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be ... (Goodreads)

  26. Ficciones

    by Jorge Luis Borges
    A collection of short stories exploring the limits of the imagination.

    The seventeen pieces in Ficciones demonstrate the whirlwind of Borges's genius and mirror the precision and potency of his intellect and inventiveness, his piercing irony, his skepticism, and his ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Fall

    by Albert Camus
    A man's journey into alienation and despair, driven by a sense of absurdity in life.

    The Fall, ( French :, La Chute, ) is a philosophical novel by Albert Camus . First published in 1956, it is his last complete work of fiction. Set in Amsterdam , The Fall consists of a series of ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Sound and the Fury

    by William Faulkner
    Tragic story of the decline of a southern family, exploring the human condition.

    The first section of the novel is narrated by Benjamin "Benjy" Compson, a source of shame to the family due to his diminished mental capacity; the only characters who show genuine care for him are ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Ocean Sea

    by Alessandro Baricco
    A poetic exploration of the sea, full of stories and emotions.

    This haunting, suspenseful tale of love and vengeance by the author of the international bestseller Silk surges with the hypnotic power of the ocean sea. In Ocean Sea , Alessandro Baricco presents a ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Book of Strange New Things

    by Michel Faber
    Intergalactic missionary journeys to an alien planet, facing challenges of faith and morality.

    A monumental, genre-defying novel over ten years in the making, Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, ... (Goodreads)