Books like…

Books Like The World According to Garp

by John Irving · about this book

Loved The World According to Garp by John Irving? If its literary fiction, writer protagonist and character-driven hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with The Bee Sting, Women and Middlesex. 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 World According to Garp: Literary Fiction · Writer Protagonist · Character-Driven · Dark Comedy · Single Mother

1. 

   The Bee Sting

   Paul Murray

   Dark Comedy · Tragic · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic

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2. 

   Women

   Charles Bukowski

   Writer Protagonist · Literary Fiction · Dark Comedy · Character-Driven · Funny

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3. 

   Middlesex

   Jeffrey Eugenides

   Literary Fiction · Multigenerational Family · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic · Emotional

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4. 

   Clytemnestra

   Costanza Casati

   Feminism · Tragic · Literary Fiction · Emotional · Death of a Child

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5. 

   The Sword of Kaigen

   M.L. Wang

   Tragic · Character-Driven · Feminism · Literary Fiction · Male Lead

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6. 

   The Outsiders

   S.E. Hinton

   Tragic · Writer Protagonist · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · Bildungsroman

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7. 

   Lessons in Chemistry

   Bonnie Garmus

   Single Mother · Feminism · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · Emotional

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8. 

   The Seamstress

   Frances de Pontes Peebles

   Tragic · Literary Fiction · Feminism · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic

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9. 

   I See You've Called in Dead

   John Kenney

   Writer Protagonist · Dark Comedy · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · Emotional

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10. 

    Cutting for Stone

    Abraham Verghese

    Multigenerational Family · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic · Emotional

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11. 

    Ship of Magic

    Robin Hobb

    Multigenerational Family · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic · Emotional · Male Lead

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12. 

    The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild

    Mathias Énard

    Literary Fiction · Dark Comedy · Character-Driven · Funny · Sprawling Epic

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13. 

    Homecoming

    Kate Morton

    Multigenerational Family · Writer Protagonist · Sprawling Epic · Literary Fiction · Emotional

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14. 

    The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

    Nadia Hashimi

    Multigenerational Family · Feminism · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Emotional

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15. 

    Half His Age

    Jennette McCurdy

    Single Mother · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Dark Comedy · Writer Protagonist

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16. 

    Hamnet

    Maggie O'Farrell

    Multigenerational Family · Tragic · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Emotional

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17. 

    The Weight of Ink

    Rachel Kadish

    Feminism · Writer Protagonist · Literary Fiction · Character-Driven · Emotional

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18. 

    Pachinko

    Min Jin Lee

    Literary Fiction · Multigenerational Family · Tragic · Character-Driven · Sprawling Epic

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19. 

    This Is Where I Leave You

    Jonathan Tropper

    Dark Comedy · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · Emotional · Funny

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20. 

    Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

    Rebecca Wells

    Multigenerational Family · Character-Driven · Literary Fiction · Funny · Writer Protagonist

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