swap_horiz Quichotte Alternatives

1

Middlesex

Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex explores themes of identity and family through the life of Cal Stephanides, an American man...

American Satire 21ST Century Identity

8.7 Great

2

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Junot Díaz’s *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao* explores the complex experiences of an isolated Dominican-American m...

American Satire 21ST Century Diaspora

8.7 Great

3

Joseph Andrews

Joseph Andrews is Henry Fielding's 1742 first full-length novel, notable as a comic epic in prose about a footman and Pa...

18TH Century Classic Comic British

8.3 Great

4

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress

Roxana is Daniel Defoe's 1724 novel, notable for its first-person account of a woman using disguises, wealth, and sexual...

18TH Century Classic Satire British

8.2 Great

5

The Luck of Barry Lyndon

The Luck of Barry Lyndon is William Makepeace Thackeray's 1844 serial picaresque, narrated by an Irish fortune-hunter se...

19TH Century Satire Rogue British

8.2 Great

6

The Dog of the South

The Dog of the South is Charles Portis's 1979 comic road novel, following Ray Midge from Arkansas toward Belize in pursu...

American Comic Satire 20TH Century

8.2 Great

7

The Adventures of Roderick Random

Roderick Random is a 1748 picaresque novel by Tobias Smollett, partly based on his service as a naval surgeon's mate in...

18TH Century Satire Rogue British

8.1 Great

8

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman

The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman is Angela Carter's 1972 surreal picaresque about Desiderio in a war betwe...

Adventure Satire 20TH Century British

8.0 Great

9

Phineas Finn

Phineas Finn is Anthony Trollope's 1869 political novel, the second Palliser book, following an Irish MP through Parliam...

Classic Satire British Political

8.0 Great

10

The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, the Great

The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, the Great is a 1743 satiric novel by Henry Fielding, using a London thief-taker to...

18TH Century Classic Satire British

7.9 Good

11

The Year of the Hare

The Year of the Hare is Arto Paasilinna's 1975 Finnish picaresque, following journalist Vatanen as he abandons city life...

Comic Satire 20TH Century Road

7.9 Good

12

Baudolino

Baudolino is Umberto Eco's 2000 Italian historical novel, following a 12th-century fabulist linked to Frederick Barbaros...

Italian Satire Medieval 21ST Century

7.8 Good

13

The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan

The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan is James Justinian Morier's 1824 English satire of Qajar Iran, drawing on his se...

19TH Century Satire Rogue Persia

7.7 Good

14

The Slaughterman's Daughter

The Slaughterman's Daughter is Yaniv Iczkovits's 2015 Hebrew historical adventure, translated into English in 2020 and w...

Israeli Satire 21ST Century Historical

7.7 Good

15

The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle

Peregrine Pickle is Tobias Smollett's 1751 picaresque novel, notable for satire of European society and an early printed...

18TH Century Classic Satire Rogue

7.5 Good

16

Faserland

Faserland is Christian Kracht's 1995 German-language debut novel, often credited with launching a new wave of German pop...

German Contemporary Satire 20TH Century

7.4 Good

17

Divided Kingdom

Divided Kingdom is Rupert Thomson's 2005 dystopian picaresque, imagining Britain split into four temperament-based color...

Satire 21ST Century Dystopian British

7.1 Good

18

The Flying Inn

The Flying Inn is G. K. Chesterton's 1914 comic satire, following Humphrey Pump and Patrick Dalroy as they evade England...

Comic Satire 20TH Century British

7.1 Good

19

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim is Jonathan Coe's 2010 novel about a lonely salesman crossing Britain, noted for its...

Comic Satire 21ST Century British

7.0 Good

20

The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves

The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves is Tobias Smollett's 1760 serial novel, a Don Quixote-inspired satire a...

18TH Century Comic Satire British

6.5 Fair