swap_horiz Possession: A Romance Alternatives

1

Stoner

John Williams’ *Stoner* chronicles the life of Edwin “Stoner” Grant, a Midwestern student at Midwestern State Teachers C...

1960S Literary Fiction Tragic Professorial

9.4 Excellent

2

Lucky Jim

Kingsley Amis’s *Lucky Jim* chronicles the chaotic life of James Baldwin, a young lecturer at Bretton Hall College in Yo...

Comedy 1950S Academic Satire UK University

9.2 Excellent

3

Kokoro

Kokoro is a significant literary work by Natsume Soseki set in Japan’s Meiji Era. The novel centers on the evolving rela...

Literary Fiction 1910S Meiji Era Japanese University

9.1 Excellent

4

Doctor Faustus

Doctor Faustus is Thomas Mann’s sprawling 1947 novel exploring themes of ambition and morality through the story of Adri...

Intellectual Literary Fiction 1940S German Music School

8.9 Great

5

Fifth Business

Fifth Business explores themes of memory and consequence through the recollections of Rearrangement Phillips, a retired...

1970S Literary Fiction Professorial Robertson Davies

8.8 Great

6

A Prayer for Owen Meany

John Irving’s *A Prayer for Owen Meany* explores faith, friendship, and destiny through the story of John Wheelwright an...

Coming Of Age 1980S Literary Fiction Boarding School

8.7 Great

7

No Longer Human

No Longer Human is an influential 1948 novel by Osamu Dazai. It portrays the isolation and psychological struggles of a...

Coming Of Age Literary Fiction 1940S Japanese University

8.7 Great

8

Villette

Villette is an 1853 novel by Charlotte Brontë that draws heavily on her own experiences teaching at a boarding school in...

Coming Of Age Victorian Literary Fiction Bronte

8.6 Great

9

Sanshiro

Sanshiro is a 1908 novel by Japanese author Natsume Soseki that chronicles the intellectual and emotional coming-of-age...

Coming Of Age Literary Fiction Meiji Era Japanese University

8.6 Great

10

The Bell Jar

"The Bell Jar" is a 1963 novel by American writer Sylvia Plath, originally published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas....

Coming Of Age 1960S Literary Fiction Us College

8.5 Great

11

The History Man

"The History Man" is a campus novel written by Malcolm Bradbury, published in 1975. The book centers on Howard Kirk, a m...

1970S Literary Fiction Academic Satire UK University

8.3 Great

12

Nice Work

"Nice Work" is a 1988 novel by British author David Lodge that examines the cultural divide between academia and industr...

1980S Literary Fiction Academic Satire UK University

8.2 Great

13

Mating

Mating is a 1991 novel by Norman Rush that won the National Book Award for Fiction. Narrated by a highly educated Americ...

Intellectual 1990S Literary Fiction Academic Fieldwork

7.8 Good

14

The House of Sleep

The House of Sleep is a novel by British author Jonathan Coe, published in 1997. The narrative shifts between the 1980s...

Coming Of Age 1990S Literary Fiction UK University

7.7 Good

15

The Cunning Man

The Cunning Man is a 1994 novel by Canadian writer Robertson Davies and the last novel he completed. Presented largely t...

Intellectual 1990S Literary Fiction Robertson Davies

7.6 Good

16

Thinks...

Thinks... is a 2001 novel by David Lodge set at a fictional British university where a married cognitive scientist and a...

2000S Literary Fiction Academic Satire UK University

7.5 Good

17

The Sleep of Reason

The Sleep of Reason is a 1968 novel by C. P. Snow in the Strangers and Brothers sequence. Set within the moral and insti...

1960S Literary Fiction UK University Academic Milieu

7.2 Good

18

For Kings and Planets

For Kings and Planets is a 1998 novel by American writer Ethan Canin. It follows a student from the rural Midwest during...

Coming Of Age 1990S Literary Fiction Columbia University

7.1 Good

19

The Murther & Walking Spirits

Murther & Walking Spirits is a 1991 novel by Canadian writer Robertson Davies. Its narrator, Connor Gilmartin, is murder...

1990S Literary Fiction Ghost Story Robertson Davies

6.9 Fair

20

The Final Club

The Final Club is a 1990 novel by Geoffrey Wolff set at Princeton University. The story examines social class, privilege...

Ivy League 1990S Literary Fiction Secret Society

5.8 Mediocre