Recommendations based on The Twentieth Wifeby Indu Sundaresan

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

  1. The Namesake

    by Jhumpa Lahiri
    A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.

    The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Beneath a Marble Sky

    by John Shors
    A historical fiction novel set in 17th century India, following the construction of the Taj Mahal and the love story behind it.

    Journey to dazzling seventeenth-century Hindustan, where the reigning emperor, consumed with grief over the tragic death of his beloved wife, commissioned the building of a grand mausoleum as a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. The Palace of Illusions

    by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
    A narrative of a brave woman's journey through Indian mythology, coming to terms with her fate.

    A reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat—told from the point of view of an amazing woman. Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that ... (Goodreads)

  4. Anne of Avonlea

    by L.M. Montgomery
    A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.

    Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Last Wife of Henry VIII

    by Carolly Erickson
    The story of Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII, and her struggle for power and survival in the Tudor court.

    Courageous, attractive, romantic, intelligent, Catherine Parr became the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Her story, as Carolly Erickson re-creates it, is page-turning drama: from the splendors of the Field ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Kindness of Strangers

    by Katrina Kittle
    A woman's life is changed when she takes in a homeless teenager. A story of compassion, love, and the power of human connection.

    A young widow raising two boys, Sarah Laden is struggling to keep her family together. But when a shocking revelation rips apart the family of her closest friend, Sarah finds herself welcoming yet ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  8. A Fine Balance

    by Rohinton Mistry
    A gripping story of four unlikely lives intertwined in the tumult of India's caste system.

    The book exposes the changes in Indian society from independence in 1947 to the Emergency called by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . Mistry was generally critical of Indira Gandhi in the book. ... (Wikipedia)

  9. And the Mountains Echoed

    by Khaled Hosseini
    Interconnected stories of family and love, tracing the consequences of decisions made throughout life.

    The novel opens in the year 1952. Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Empress Orchid

    by Anchee Min
    A young girl's rise to power as the last empress of China.

    To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, seventeen-year-old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor's wives. When she is chosen as a lower-ranking concubine ... (Goodreads)

  11. Fudge-a-Mania

    by Judy Blume
    A humorous take on family dynamics as siblings battle for their parents' attention.

    Peter Hatcher is horrified to learn of his family's plans to spend summer in a vacation home alongside the Tubmans, the family of his archrival, Sheila Tubman, located in Southwest Harbor, Maine . On ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

    by Judy Blume
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery, navigating the transition from childhood to adolescence.

    Margaret Simon is just eleven going on twelve when her family moves from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish . Margaret has been raised ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Sorceress

    by Michael Scott
    A quest to save the world of legend with the help of an ancient power.

    Flamel takes the twins to London , where he uses Francis to enlist Palamedes , the Saracen Knight, to help them. Palamedes takes them to his home, a junk-yard in London, and they manage to work ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Nefertiti

    by Michelle Moran
    Historical fiction about the life of Nefertiti, queen of Egypt, and her rise to power alongside her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten.

    Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Far Pavilions

    by M.M. Kaye
    Epic adventure story set in 19th century India, exploring the clash of East and West.

    Ashton Pelham-Martyn (Ash) is the son of a British botanist travelling through India; he is born on the road shortly before the Sepoy uprising of 1857 . His mother dies from childbed fever shortly ... (Wikipedia)

  16. 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)

  17. Secrets of a Charmed Life

    by Susan Meissner
    A young woman discovers family secrets, learns the power of forgiveness and finds her place in the world.

    The author of, A Bridge Across the Ocean, and, The Last Year of the War, journeys from the present day to World War II England, as two sisters are separated by the chaos of wartime... , , Current ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Women in the Castle

    by Jessica Shattuck
    Three women unite in a quest to survive in war-torn Germany and seek justice for their pasts.

    The story begins at the site of a Bavarian castle in 1938, with detailed descriptions of the society of the pre-war days in Germany among a certain class of landed aristocrats. Countess Marianne von ... (Wikipedia)

  19. To Sir Phillip, With Love

    by Julia Quinn
    A romantic coming-of-age story of a woman finding love and independence in the Regency era.

    Sir Phillip knew from his correspondence with his dead wife's distant cousin that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he'd proposed, figuring that she'd be homely and unassuming, and more than a ... (Goodreads)

  20. Cry, the Beloved Country

    by Alan Paton
    A journey of faith in a divided land, seeking justice and reconciliation.

    In the remote village of Ndotsheni, in the Natal province of eastern South Africa , the Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a fellow minister summoning him to Johannesburg . He is needed ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Those Who Save Us

    by Jenna Blum
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, uncovering the secrets of her mother's past.

    For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. An Offer From a Gentleman

    by Julia Quinn
    A story of two star-crossed lovers, struggling against the odds to be together.

    Will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight? Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Museum of Extraordinary Things

    by Alice Hoffman
    A love story set in early 20th century New York City, featuring a museum of oddities and two young people searching for their place in the world.

    The “spellbinding” (,People, 4 stars),, New York Times, bestseller from the author of, The Dovekeepers,: an extraordinary novel about an electric and impassioned love affair—“an enchanting love story ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. The Forty Rules of Love

    by Elif Shafak
    A story of romance and spiritual enlightenment, exploring the teachings of a Sufi master.

    Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy , a novel written by a ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Good Earth

    by Pearl S. Buck
    A story of humble farmers facing the struggles of poverty and the upheaval of social change.

    The story begins on Wang Lung 's wedding day and follows the rise and fall of his fortunes. The House of Hwang, a family of wealthy landowners, lives in the nearby town, where Wang Lung's future ... (Wikipedia)

  26. A House Without Windows

    by Nadia Hashimi
    A woman in Afghanistan is imprisoned for killing her abusive husband. Her lawyer fights for her freedom and uncovers the truth.

    A vivid, unforgettable story of an unlikely sisterhood—an emotionally powerful and haunting tale of friendship that illuminates the plight of women in a traditional culture—from the author of the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. Rebel Queen

    by Michelle Moran
    Historical fiction about Rani Lakshmibai, the warrior queen who led a rebellion against British rule in 1857 India.

    From the internationally best-selling author of Nefertitiand Cleopatra's Daughter comes the breathtaking story of Queen Lakshmi - India's Joan of Arc - who against all odds defied the mighty British ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Beekeeper's Apprentice

    by Laurie R. King
    A young girl’s journey to becoming a detective apprentice, uncovering crime and solving mysteries.

    After losing her family in a tragic motor accident in California, fifteen-year-old Mary Russell goes to live with her aunt in Sussex, England. Wandering the Sussex Downs in April 1915, she literally ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Girls of Riyadh

    by Rajaa Alsanea
    Four young Saudi women navigate love, tradition, and societal expectations in a conservative society. A modern-day Arabian Nights tale.

    The novel describes the relationship between men and women in Saudi Arabia . Girls of Riyadh tells the story of four college-age high class friends in Saudi Arabia, girls looking for love but stymied ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

    by Sandra Gulland
    A fictionalized account of the life of Josephine Bonaparte, from her childhood in Martinique to her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte.

    Young Josephine Bonaparte shines at the center of a new, sweeping, romantic work of historical fiction by Sandra Gulland: detailed and exhaustively researched, compelling and powerful, The Many Lives ... (Goodreads)