Books like…

Books Like Ham on Rye

by Charles Bukowski · about this book

Loved Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski? If its literary fiction, male lead and bildungsroman hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with Viper in the fist, One of the Boys and Demon Copperhead. Every pick is matched by what’s actually inside the book, not just its genre, and we skip other books by the same author so you find someone new.

What’s inside Ham on Rye: Literary Fiction · Male Lead · Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · First Person Narrator

1. 

   Viper in the fist

   Herve Bazin

   Bildungsroman · Child Abuse · Childhood Trauma · Toxic Family Dynamics · Coming of Age

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
2. 

   One of the Boys

   Daniel Magariel

   Child Abuse · Childhood Trauma · Toxic Family Dynamics · Father and Son · Sparse Prose

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
3. 

   Demon Copperhead

   Barbara Kingsolver

   Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Child Abuse · Working-Class Protagonist · Substance Abuse

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
4. 

   Angela's Ashes

   Frank McCourt

   Father and Son · Child Abuse · Toxic Family Dynamics · Coming of Age · Working-Class Protagonist

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
5. 

   The Shipping News

   Annie Proulx

   Childhood Trauma · Working-Class Protagonist · Sparse Prose · Child Abuse · Toxic Family Dynamics

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
6. 

   Bastard Out of Carolina

   Dorothy Allison

   Child Abuse · Toxic Family Dynamics · Childhood Trauma · Working-Class Protagonist · Coming of Age

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
7. 

   The Liars' Club

   Mary Karr

   Childhood Trauma · Toxic Family Dynamics · Working-Class Protagonist · Child Abuse · Coming of Age

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
8. 

   David Copperfield

   Charles Dickens

   Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Child Abuse · Bullying · Working-Class Protagonist

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
9. 

   Affliction

   Russell Banks

   Toxic Family Dynamics · Working-Class Protagonist · Childhood Trauma · Father and Son · Child Abuse

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
10. 

    Fight Club

    Chuck Palahniuk

    Sparse Prose · Substance Abuse · Father and Son · Literary Fiction · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
11. 

    Where All Light Tends to Go

    David Joy

    Toxic Family Dynamics · Father and Son · Working-Class Protagonist · Coming of Age · Substance Abuse

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
12. 

    The Glass Castle

    Jeannette Walls

    Child Abuse · Childhood Trauma · Coming of Age · Toxic Family Dynamics · Working-Class Protagonist

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
13. 

    My Sister, the Serial Killer

    Oyinkan Braithwaite

    Sparse Prose · Toxic Family Dynamics · Childhood Trauma · Child Abuse · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
14. 

    Back Roads

    Tawni O'Dell

    Working-Class Protagonist · Childhood Trauma · Child Abuse · Coming of Age · Substance Abuse

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
15. 

    The Cider House Rules

    John Irving

    Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Substance Abuse · Literary Fiction · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
16. 

    Ellen Foster

    Kaye Gibbons

    Childhood Trauma · Child Abuse · Toxic Family Dynamics · Sparse Prose · Working-Class Protagonist

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    The House on Mango Street

    Sandra Cisneros

    Bildungsroman · Coming of Age · Sparse Prose · Working-Class Protagonist · Literary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
18. 

    Running with Scissors

    Augusten Burroughs

    Childhood Trauma · Toxic Family Dynamics · Child Abuse · Coming of Age · Substance Abuse

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
19. 

    The Outsiders

    S.E. Hinton

    Bildungsroman · Working-Class Protagonist · Coming of Age · Sparse Prose · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
20. 

    Joe

    Larry Brown

    Toxic Family Dynamics · Working-Class Protagonist · Child Abuse · Sparse Prose · Substance Abuse

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla