Books like…

Books Like Stoner

by John Williams · about this book

Loved Stoner by John Williams? If its college campus, literary fiction and male lead hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with Gather, The Great Gatsby and Hamnet. 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 Stoner: College Campus · Literary Fiction · Male Lead · Character-Driven · Emotional

1. 

   Gather

   Kenneth M. Cadow

   Working-Class Protagonist · Rural Farm · Finding Purpose · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

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2. 

   The Great Gatsby

   F. Scott Fitzgerald

   Marriage in Trouble · Tragic · Literary Fiction · Bittersweet · Character-Driven

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3. 

   Hamnet

   Maggie O'Farrell

   Tragic · Literary Fiction · Marriage in Trouble · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

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4. 

   Of Mice and Men

   John Steinbeck

   Working-Class Protagonist · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Rural Farm · Emotional

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5. 

   Anna Karenina

   Leo Tolstoy

   Marriage in Trouble · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Character-Driven · Rural Farm

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6. 

   The Outsiders

   S.E. Hinton

   Working-Class Protagonist · Tragic · Emotional · Bittersweet · Character-Driven

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7. 

   The Mirror & the Light

   Hilary Mantel

   Tragic · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Working-Class Protagonist · Slow-Paced

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8. 

   Of Human Bondage

   W. Somerset Maugham

   Finding Purpose · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Slow-Paced · Bittersweet

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9. 

   The Bookbinder

   Pip Williams

   Working-Class Protagonist · Character-Driven · College Campus · Literary Fiction · Bittersweet

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10. 

    The Dead Don't Dance

    Charles Martin

    Rural Farm · Lyrical Prose · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Emotional

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
11. 

    The Seamstress

    Frances de Pontes Peebles

    Tragic · Marriage in Trouble · Literary Fiction · Rural Farm · Slow-Paced

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12. 

    The Other Side of the Bridge

    Mary Lawson

    Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Rural Farm · Bittersweet · Slow-Paced

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13. 

    As I Lay Dying

    William Faulkner

    Working-Class Protagonist · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Rural Farm · Character-Driven

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14. 

    Never Let Me Go

    Kazuo Ishiguro

    Tragic · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Slow-Paced · Classics

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15. 

    The Dog Stars

    Peter Heller

    Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Lyrical Prose · Male Lead

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
16. 

    To the Moon and Back

    Eliana Ramage

    Finding Purpose · Literary Fiction · Working-Class Protagonist · Character-Driven · Rural Farm

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    This Is Where I Leave You

    Jonathan Tropper

    Marriage in Trouble · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Male Lead · Literary Fiction

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18. 

    The Bee Sting

    Paul Murray

    Marriage in Trouble · Tragic · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

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19. 

    Les Misérables

    Victor Hugo

    Tragic · Working-Class Protagonist · Literary Fiction · Slow-Paced · Emotional

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20. 

    The Wedding People

    Alison Espach

    Marriage in Trouble · Finding Purpose · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla