Books like…

Books Like The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink · about this book

Loved The Reader by Bernhard Schlink? If its secret past, literary fiction and first person narrator hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with All the Broken Places, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Nightingale. 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 The Reader: Secret Past · Literary Fiction · First Person Narrator · Age Gap Romance · Male Lead

1. 

   All the Broken Places

   John Boyne

   War and Its Aftermath · World War II · Secret Past · Haunting · Survivor's Guilt

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2. 

   A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

   Anthony Marra

   War and Its Aftermath · Tragic · Survivor's Guilt · Haunting · War Atrocities

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3. 

   The Nightingale

   Kristin Hannah

   War and Its Aftermath · World War II · Tragic · War Atrocities · Haunting

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4. 

   All the Light We Cannot See

   Anthony Doerr

   Loss of Innocence · Tragic · World War II · Haunting · Bittersweet

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5. 

   Atonement

   Ian McEwan

   World War II · Tragic · Haunting · Loss of Innocence · Survivor's Guilt

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6. 

   The Great Gatsby

   F. Scott Fitzgerald

   Tragic · Haunting · Literary Fiction · Bittersweet · Secret Past

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7. 

   Strange the Dreamer

   Laini Taylor

   Bookish · War Atrocities · Survivor's Guilt · Bittersweet · Forbidden Love

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
8. 

   The Things We Cannot Say

   Kelly Rimmer

   Holocaust · War Atrocities · World War II · Historical Fiction · Bittersweet

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9. 

   The Outsiders

   S.E. Hinton

   Tragic · Loss of Innocence · Sparse Prose · Bittersweet · Character-Driven

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10. 

    The Complete Maus

    Art Spiegelman

    World War II · Survivor's Guilt · Tragic · War Atrocities · Historical Fiction

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11. 

    The Last Rose of Shanghai

    Weina Dai Randel

    World War II · War Atrocities · War and Its Aftermath · Forbidden Love · Bittersweet

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12. 

    The Other Side of the Bridge

    Mary Lawson

    Literary Fiction · Bittersweet · Sparse Prose · Loss of Innocence · Character-Driven

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13. 

    Never Let Me Go

    Kazuo Ishiguro

    Tragic · Loss of Innocence · Bittersweet · Haunting · Literary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
14. 

    Memoirs of a Geisha

    Arthur Golden

    Age Gap Romance · World War II · Forbidden Love · Literary Fiction · Bittersweet

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
15. 

    Jane Eyre

    Charlotte Bronte

    Age Gap Romance · Secret Past · Literary Fiction · Haunting · Character-Driven

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
16. 

    The Book Thief

    Markus Zusak

    Loss of Innocence · Bookish · Tragic · World War II · Literary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    The Kite Runner

    Khaled Hosseini

    War and Its Aftermath · Tragic · Survivor's Guilt · Literary Fiction · Historical Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
18. 

    Of Mice and Men

    John Steinbeck

    Sparse Prose · Tragic · Haunting · Literary Fiction · Novella

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19. 

    Nineteen Steps

    Millie Bobby Brown

    Survivor's Guilt · World War II · War and Its Aftermath · Tragic · Historical Fiction

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20. 

    The Stranger

    Albert Camus

    Sparse Prose · Courtroom Drama · Novella · Literary Fiction · Haunting

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla