Books like All the Light We Cannot See

If you liked All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, start here: 12 similar summaries, with why each one matches.

  1. All Quiet on the Western Front

    Erich Maria Remarque · 1929

    Because shares tags: war, historical fiction, coming of age.

    Paul Bäumer enlists at nineteen and faces the trenches of World War I in Remarque's 1929 classic, told from the German side of the wire.

  2. The Nightingale

    Kristin Hannah · 2015

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, world war ii, war.

    Nightingale retold: Vianne and Isabelle in occupied France, hide children, run routes, trials.

  3. The Kite Runner

    Khaled Hosseini · 2003

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, literary fiction, coming of age.

    Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner retold: Amir and Hassan in Kabul, the alley, the escape to America, and the return to find Sohrab.

  4. A Thousand Splendid Suns

    Khaled Hosseini · 2007

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, war, literary fiction.

    Splendid Suns retold: Mariam and Laila share Kabul house, war, Rasheed, escape and return.

  5. White Oleander

    Janet Fitch · 1999

    Because shares tags: literary fiction, coming of age.

    Astrid cycles foster homes after mother Ingrid murders boyfriend.

  6. War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy · 1869

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, war.

    Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei search for meaning amid the Napoleonic wars.

  7. Things Fall Apart

    Chinua Achebe · 1958

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, literary fiction.

    Proud Igbo wrestler Okonkwo rises in 1890s Umuofia, then loses standing through hard exile, a son's conversion, and British missionaries…

  8. Their Eyes Were Watching God

    Zora Neale Hurston · 1937

    Because shares tags: literary fiction, coming of age.

    Janie Crawford tells Pheoby about Eatonville life with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks called Jody, and Tea Cake.

  9. The Virgin Suicides

    Jeffrey Eugenides · 1993

    Because shares tags: literary fiction, coming of age.

    Five Lisbon sisters die in 1970s Grosse Pointe as boys watch.

  10. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

    Lisa See · 2005

    Because shares tags: historical fiction, literary fiction.

    Footbound Lily and Snow Flower share laotong bond through 19th century Hunan hardship.

  11. She's Come Undone

    Wally Lamb · 1992

    Because shares tags: literary fiction, coming of age.

    Abused as a girl, divorced and struggling with weight, Dolores Price slowly finds healing after years of trauma.

  12. My Dark Vanessa

    Kate Elizabeth Russell · 2020

    Because shares tags: literary fiction, coming of age.

    Vanessa recalls teacher Strane abuse as adult reckoning looms.

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