Books like…

Books Like The Sense of an Ending

by Julian Barnes · about this book

Loved The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes? If its literary fiction, male lead and character-driven hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with Never Let Me Go, The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. 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 Sense of an Ending: Literary Fiction · Male Lead · Character-Driven · First Person Narrator · Friendship and Betrayal

1. 

   Never Let Me Go

   Kazuo Ishiguro

   Nostalgic · Literary Fiction · Death of a Friend · Bittersweet · Character-Driven

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
2. 

   The Great Gatsby

   F. Scott Fitzgerald

   Nostalgic · Literary Fiction · Haunting · Bittersweet · Secret Past

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
3. 

   The Catcher in the Rye

   Jerome David Salinger

   Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Unreliable Narrator · Nostalgic · First Person Narrator

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4. 

   Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

   Gabrielle Zevin

   Friendship and Betrayal · Death of a Friend · Nostalgic · Bittersweet · Literary Fiction

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5. 

   The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

   Robert Dugoni

   Nostalgic · Death of a Friend · Friendship and Betrayal · Character-Driven · Male Lead

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6. 

   A Man Called Ove

   Fredrik Backman

   Elderly Protagonist · Suicide Content · Bittersweet · Character-Driven · Male Lead

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7. 

   All the Broken Places

   John Boyne

   Elderly Protagonist · Haunting · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · First Person Narrator

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
8. 

   I'm Thinking of Ending Things

   Iain Reid

   Unreliable Narrator · Suicide Content · Haunting · Novella · Literary Fiction

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
9. 

   The Notebook

   Nicholas Sparks

   Aging · Elderly Protagonist · Nostalgic · Bittersweet · Slow-Paced

   ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
10. 

    Piranesi

    Susanna Clarke

    Unreliable Narrator · Literary Fiction · Haunting · First Person Narrator · Character-Driven

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
11. 

    These Silent Woods

    Kimi Cunningham Grant

    Contemporary Fiction · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Slow-Paced · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
12. 

    In the Woods

    Tana French

    Unreliable Narrator · Haunting · Friendship and Betrayal · Slow-Paced · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
13. 

    Gather

    Kenneth M. Cadow

    Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Contemporary Fiction · Male Lead · Slow-Paced

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
14. 

    Remarkably Bright Creatures

    Shelby Van Pelt

    Elderly Protagonist · Character-Driven · Bittersweet · Dry Humor · Contemporary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
15. 

    I Have Some Questions for You

    Rebecca Makkai

    Nostalgic · Death of a Friend · Contemporary Fiction · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
16. 

    A Gentleman in Moscow

    Amor Towles

    Literary Fiction · Nostalgic · Character-Driven · Dry Humor · Slow-Paced

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
17. 

    The News from Dublin: Stories

    Colm Tóibín

    Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Nostalgic · Bittersweet · Slow-Paced

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
18. 

    Fight Club

    Chuck Palahniuk

    Unreliable Narrator · Literary Fiction · First Person Narrator · Male Lead · Contemporary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
19. 

    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

    Ocean Vuong

    Literary Fiction · Death of a Friend · Haunting · Character-Driven · First Person Narrator

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla
20. 

    Firefly Lane

    Kristin Hannah

    Nostalgic · Death of a Friend · Friendship and Betrayal · Bittersweet · Contemporary Fiction

    ➕ Add Buy Libby Hoopla