Books like The Old Man and the Sea

If you liked The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, start here: 12 similar summaries, with why each one matches.

  1. Heart of Darkness

    Joseph Conrad · 1899

    Because shares tags: classics, novella.

    Marlow pilots a steamer up the Congo for a trading company and seeks Kurtz, the brilliant agent who stopped sending ivory and started…

  2. The Metamorphosis

    Franz Kafka · 1915

    Because shares tags: classics, novella.

    Gregor Samsa wakes as an insect, cannot go to work, and watches his family shift from shock to cold relief.

  3. A Farewell to Arms

    Ernest Hemingway · 1929

    Because also by Ernest Hemingway; shares tag: classics.

    Frederic loves Catherine in Italy until desertion leads to Switzerland and stillbirth.

  4. The Sun Also Rises

    Ernest Hemingway · 1926

    Because also by Ernest Hemingway; shares tag: classics.

    Jake Barnes drifts through Paris bars and Pamplona bullfights with Brett Ashley and a wounded generation.

  5. War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy · 1869

    Because shares tag: classics.

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

  6. Things Fall Apart

    Chinua Achebe · 1958

    Because shares tag: classics.

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

  7. Their Eyes Were Watching God

    Zora Neale Hurston · 1937

    Because shares tag: classics.

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

  8. The Trial

    Franz Kafka · 1925

    Because shares tag: classics.

    Josef K. is arrested one morning on an unknown charge and pulled into an endless court he can never leave.

  9. The Three Musketeers

    Alexandre Dumas · 1844 · The d'Artagnan Romances #1

    Because shares tag: classics.

    Young dArtagnan joins Athos, Porthos and Aramis to recover the queens diamonds and face Milady.

  10. The Prince

    Niccolo Machiavelli · 1532

    Because shares tag: classics.

    Machiavelli advises Lorenzo on rule through fear and love, fortune, cruelty and mercy.

  11. The Name of the Rose

    Umberto Eco · 1980

    Because shares tag: classics.

    Friar William and Adso investigate 1327 abbey deaths amid library labyrinth.

  12. The Master and Margarita

    Mikhail Bulgakov · 1967

    Because shares tag: classics.

    Devil Woland visits 1930s Moscow while Master writes Pilate and Margarita bargains.

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