Books like…

Books Like Trainspotting

by Irvine Welsh · about this book

Loved Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh? If its literary fiction, male lead and substance abuse hooked you, these 20 books hit the same notes — starting with Post Office, Demon Copperhead and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 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 Trainspotting: Literary Fiction · Male Lead · Substance Abuse · Addiction · Scotland

1. 

   Post Office

   Charles Bukowski

   Working-Class Protagonist · Substance Abuse · Dark Comedy · Anti-Hero · Literary Fiction

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2. 

   Demon Copperhead

   Barbara Kingsolver

   Addiction · Working-Class Protagonist · Substance Abuse · Literary Fiction · Contemporary Fiction

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3. 

   Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

   Hunter S. Thompson

   Substance Abuse · Dark Comedy · Anti-Hero · Addiction · Literary Fiction

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4. 

   Fight Club

   Chuck Palahniuk

   Dark Comedy · Anti-Hero · Literary Fiction · Male Lead · Contemporary Fiction

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5. 

   As I Lay Dying

   William Faulkner

   Working-Class Protagonist · Bleak · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Dense Prose

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6. 

   Martyr!

   Kaveh Akbar

   Addiction · Literary Fiction · Substance Abuse · Contemporary Fiction · Male Lead

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7. 

   The Running Man

   Richard Bachman

   Working-Class Protagonist · Bleak · Class Struggle · Anti-Hero · Intense

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8. 

   On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

   Ocean Vuong

   Addiction · Literary Fiction · Substance Abuse · Working-Class Protagonist · Death of a Friend

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9. 

   Of Mice and Men

   John Steinbeck

   Working-Class Protagonist · Bleak · Literary Fiction · Death of a Friend · Male Lead

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10. 

    Gather

    Kenneth M. Cadow

    Working-Class Protagonist · Addiction · Contemporary Fiction · Substance Abuse · Male Lead

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11. 

    Dark Age

    Pierce Brown

    Bleak · Death of a Friend · Tragic · Intense · Multiple POV

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12. 

    Tender Is the Flesh

    Agustina Bazterrica

    Bleak · Intense · Male Lead · Literary Fiction · Dark

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13. 

    Long Bright River

    Liz Moore

    Addiction · Substance Abuse · Working-Class Protagonist · Contemporary Fiction · Literary Fiction

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14. 

    Human Acts

    Han Kang

    Bleak · Literary Fiction · Death of a Friend · Multiple POV · Dark

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15. 

    Red Seas Under Red Skies

    Scott Lynch

    Anti-Hero · Death of a Friend · Friendship and Betrayal · Dark Comedy · Male Lead

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16. 

    The Magicians

    Lev Grossman

    Substance Abuse · Male Lead · Bleak · Death of a Friend · Anti-Hero

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17. 

    The Outsiders

    S.E. Hinton

    Working-Class Protagonist · Class Struggle · Death of a Friend · Tragic · Male Lead

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18. 

    Lord of the Flies

    William Golding

    Bleak · Death of a Friend · Literary Fiction · Tragic · Intense

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19. 

    Munmun

    Jesse Andrews

    Working-Class Protagonist · Dark Comedy · Class Struggle · Male Lead · Funny

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20. 

    Blood Over Bright Haven

    M.L. Wang

    Class Struggle · Tragic · Bleak · Dark · Violent

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