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Recommendations based on Folliaby Patrick McGrath
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Embers
by Sándor Márai
A story of a lifelong friendship between two men that is tested by secrets and betrayal.
Originally published in 1942 and now rediscovered to international acclaim, this taut and exquisitely structured novel by the Hungarian master Sandor Marai conjures the melancholy glamour of a ... (Goodreads)
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
by Peter Cameron
A coming-of-age story of a teenage boy struggling to cope with change and life's struggles.
James Sveck, 18, is an isolated young adult caught in the summer before he is to begin college at Brown University . The only person in his life with whom he is able to successfully relate is his ... (Wikipedia)
Black Water Lilies
by Michel Bussi
A murder mystery set in Giverny, France, where three women's lives intertwine around a painting by Monet.
From the bestselling author of AFTER THE CRASH ('a novel so extraordinary it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the first time' Sunday Times), a thrilling intrigue about a missing masterpiece. ... (Goodreads)
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)
Letter to a Child Never Born
by Oriana Fallaci
A woman reflects on her life and contemplates the implications of motherhood.
Published by Rizzoli in 1975, Letter to a Child Never Born was quickly translated and sold in twenty-seven countries worldwide, becoming an extraordinary success. It is the tragic monologue of a ... (Goodreads)
The Secret History
by Donna Tartt
A small group of misfit college students uncover a sinister secret and their lives become entangled with dangerous consequences.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the ... (Goodreads)
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)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
A story of two unlikely outcasts who find solace and comfort in each other's company.
The story revolves mainly around the characters of Renée Michel and Paloma Josse, residents of an upper-middle class Left Bank apartment building at 7 Rue de Grenelle – one of the most elegant ... (Wikipedia)
The Dogs of Babel
by Carolyn Parkhurst
A man's journey to uncover the truth behind his wife's sudden death using the only witness – their pet dog.
Paul Iverson called home to find a police officer answering the phone and suggesting him to come home. When he comes home he finds his wife, Alexandra "Lexy" Ransome, dead, fallen from an apple tree. ... (Wikipedia)
The Tartar Steppe
by Dino Buzzati
A young Italian soldier stationed at a remote fort in a desolate landscape, waiting for a mythical enemy.
The plot of the novel is Drogo's lifelong wait for a great war in which his life and the existence of the fort can prove its usefulness. The human need for giving life meaning and the soldier's ... (Wikipedia)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid
A Pakistani man's journey of identity and belonging, in a post-9/11 world.
At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter… Changez is ... (Goodreads)
Breath
by Tim Winton
A sea-faring epic about the power of love and courage in the face of adversity.
The novel is set in a small Western Australian logging village named Sawyer, near the fictional coastal town of Angelus, which has featured in several of Winton's works, including Shallows and The ... (Wikipedia)
The Baron in the Trees
by Italo Calvino
A young boy's journey of self-discovery as he lives among the trees, away from society.
A landmark new translation of a Calvino classic, a whimsical, spirited novel that imagines a life lived entirely on its own terms Cosimo di Rondó, a young Italian nobleman of the eighteenth century, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
Exploration of African culture and traditions, grappling with the tension between modernity and tradition.
The novel's protagonist , Okonkwo, is famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion, defeating a wrestler nicknamed "Amalinze The Cat" (because he never lands on his back). Okonkwo ... (Wikipedia)
The Comfort of Strangers
by Ian McEwan
A couple's romantic getaway in Venice takes a dark turn when they become entangled with a mysterious and sinister local couple.
Mary and Colin are an English couple on holiday abroad in an unnamed city. Mary is divorced with two children; Colin is her angelically handsome lover who has been with her for seven years. Although ... (Wikipedia)
The Assistant
by Bernard Malamud
A Jewish grocer's assistant struggles with his conscience after discovering his boss's corrupt practices.
Morris Bober, the 60-year-old proprietor of an old-fashioned grocery store, faces destitution as his customers abandon him in favor of more modernized shops. The situation is aggravated late one ... (Wikipedia)
The Light Years
by Elizabeth Jane Howard
A family saga set in the 1930s, exploring the complexities of relationships and the changing social landscape of England.
In 1937, the coming war is only a distant cloud on Britain's horizon. As the Cazalet households prepare for their summer pilgrimage to the family estate in Sussex, readers meet Edward, in love with ... (Goodreads)
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)
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)
Kiss of the Spider Woman
by Manuel Puig
An unlikely friendship between two prisoners, exploring themes of sexuality, fantasy and politics.
Two prisoners, Luis Molina and Valentín Arregui, share a cell in a Buenos Aires prison. The story takes place between September 9, 1975 and October 8, 1975. , Molina, a transgender woman, is in jail ... (Wikipedia)
Bartleby the Scrivener
by Herman Melville
A story of a mysterious scrivener whose refusal to comply with workplace demands leads to tragedy.
The narrator is an unnamed Manhattan lawyer, aged around his late 50s, with a business in legal documents. He already employs two scriveners , Nippers and Turkey, to copy legal documents by hand, but ... (Wikipedia)
Capital
by John Lanchester
An exploration of the lives of a group of characters in London, revealing the dark side of modern capitalism.
Celebrated novelist John Lanchester (author of The Debt to Pleasure ) returns with an epic novel that captures the obsessions of our time. It’s 2008 and things are falling apart: Bear Stearns and ... (Goodreads)
American Pastoral
by Philip Roth
A man's experience of the American Dream gone wrong, as his daughter's political radicalism unravels his family life.
Seymour Irving Levov is born and raised in the Weequahic section of Newark, New Jersey , in 1927 as the elder son of a successful Jewish American glove manufacturer, Lou Levov, and his wife Sylvia. ... (Wikipedia)
Disgrace
by J.M. Coetzee
A professor's fall from grace in post-apartheid South Africa, reckoning with the consequences of his actions.
David Lurie is a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his own ... (Wikipedia)
The Seven Sisters
by Lucinda Riley
An epic family saga spanning generations, exploring secrets and mysteries of the past.
Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, ... (Goodreads)
1Q84 #1-2
by Haruki Murakami
A surreal and magical story of two people trying to find each other amidst a strange alternate universe.
The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, ... (Goodreads)
American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
A corporate psychopath's descent into homicidal madness, exposing the dark side of 1980s New York.
Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho follows the life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. Bateman, in his mid-20s when the story begins, ... (Wikipedia)
The Corrections
by Jonathan Franzen
A family drama exploring the complexities of relationships, aging and life’s choices.
The novel shifts back and forth through the late 20th century, intermittently following spouses Alfred and Enid Lambert as they raise their children Gary, Chip, and Denise in the traditional ... (Wikipedia)
Something Under the Bed is Drooling
by Bill Watterson
A collection of cartoons featuring the adventures of Calvin and Hobbes, exploring the world of childhood imagination.
"Be good to yourself: Buy a copy of this, Calvin and Hobbes, cartoon book. If you don't laugh out loud at every third strip, check your pulse. You may be dead." —Phil Musick,, Pittsburgh Press, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Benediction
by Kent Haruf
A story of compassion and redemption in a small Colorado town.
When Dad Lewis is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he and his wife must work together, along with their daughter, to make his final days as comfortable as possible, despite the bitter absence of their ... (Goodreads)
