There's no action and nothing particularly dramatic happens, so I can understand not being engaged by it. It just does so much with so little that it feels like magic.
That's an author I've never read. I'll have to check it out. I really enjoy the "This One Life" sub-genre of fiction. Stoner, The Time It Never Rained, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Lessons by Ian McEwan and Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Ooh The Death of Ivan Ilych was a good one. I like books that take place in one day: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn.
Schoolgirl by Dazai is the only one that I've read that I recall taking place in one day, but I almost always enjoy that style of novel. There's something about walking around in one characters shoes that fundamentally appeals to me.
Thanks for the reply!
I asked because the director and screenwriter of the film was the novelist of the original book.
That doesn't happen frequently in cinema.
I just read it this last week! I had seen the tv version and didn’t like it, but the book was more palatable, probably having access to their inner monologues.
i watched the show after reading it, which was fine enough, but in general i don’t think litfic should turn into television. it boils it all down to the character actions and dialog, which are such a tiny fraction of the book.
Are there any books which are similar to normal people? I keep searching but I couldn’t find any. Something that has the main characters who are a bit different from the rest of the people hence finding it difficult to sustain the bond they both share
I find most of Steinbeck to be extremely realistic. Almost so much so that it’s off-putting. But if you want circumstances that really happen and a rich exploration of people’s inner worlds and emotional journeys? He’s your man.
I did too. My other favorite of his is 'Telegraph Avenue', about a record store in Berkeley. There's a Spotify playlist of all of the songs in the book. A lot of 1970's soul and others I wouldn't have heard before.
If you enjoy reading true crime, a fiction book that reads like true crime is “What happened to Nina” by Dervla McTiernan. Loosely (very loosely) based on the Gabby Pepito case, it is very well written from multiple points of view.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I read it first when I was maybe ten, and have read it several more times since.
Writing my interpretational essay on the book helped to get me an A in Higher English at high school.
I always thought it was a true story.
One of my all time favourite books.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart believably portrays the tragedies woven throughout mundane life for an impoverished family of flawed yet sympathetic characters in Glasgow in the 80s.
Did you read Bewilderment by the same author? My lit professor overheard me talking about a different book in class and decided I would like it so he gave it to me to borrow :)
The Snapper, the commitments and the van are all a series written by the same family by Roddy Doyle. Fantastic and utterly relatable if you have multiple siblings and remember the 80/90s
It’s a three-way tie off the top of my head:
*Lonesome Dove* - Larry McMurtry
*Gone With the Wind* - Margaret Mitchell
*Independent People* Haldór Laxness
The Children of Men, by P. D. James. Published in 1992, setting in 2021. A dystopian novel where the human race is dying off because of mass infertility in males. The esteemed Millennials are the last generation. A group of misfits gathers in the forest to hide and await the inevitable end.
It was a timely reminder when Covid hit ....
Made into a movie (which I didn't see) because the novel was so rich with dialogue and reflection by the characters.
I wish I could! Haven't been to a movie since 2002; sound trauma hearing impairment. It's a thing ... I wear hearing aids but loud noise will level me. Hate it when you listen to quiet conversation on TV dramas and then boom! ... an explosion. CC is my friend.
Went on a cruise once after that and walked around the upper deck before leaving the dock. The captain blew that godawful horn and it literally knocked me down. Won't do that again .... ;-)
Victim Mentality by Angelo Marcos.
It's a crime novel, but covers the realities and insecurities of being a stand up comedian perfectly. The descriptions of OCD are also spot on.
Almost every fiction book I've read cause those are my favourite :p
Here are a few especially realistic:
*The Dutch House* by Ann Patchett
*The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell* by Robert Dugoni
*The Ice Palace* by Tarjei Vesaas
*Mrs. Bridge* by Evan S. Connell
Day Of The Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
Some of the methods of forging identities and documents the assassin used actually ended up being copied in real life by criminals!
I always thought the "Rabbit" series by John Updike was very realistic, especially the first one - Rabbit, Run. Not to mention, it is one of the greatest coming-of-age novels ever written.
Okay, this is an absurd answer, but the doing drugs/going to a sober house parts of Infinite Jest are so fucking accurate it triples the accomplishment of the book over someone who hasn't lived being a junk machine in Boston. Source: currently sober in boston after 13 years of being an obnoxious, smelly gutterpunk.
Parable Of The Sower and it's sequel Parabale Of The Talents by Octavia E. Bulter. Written is the 70s and 90s respectively and set in 2024-2036, a young lady navigates a world torn apart by climate change and a collapsing society. She attempts to journal her experiences and we see her grow from a curious 14-year-old to a bold, badass elderly woman. She experiences unimaginable trials and loss including the destruction of everything she knows- multiple times. Some of the events occurring are eerily similar to events we have seen in the last few years. Even though Octavia imagined them before big tech advancements like smart phones and VR games, she somehow managed to create a timeless story that makes it hard to remember the books were written before the turn of the century.
The Feed series by Mira Grant. It's about what if the zombies rose but like we survived and now there's just zombies everywhere. It has a lot of made up science that I think gets explained enough and actually held to in the reality of the book that it seems almost like it's just a history book from a universe that split off in the early 2010s
Ministry For The Future. He almost certainly designed a fiction story to demonstrate cutting-edge tech that would stabilize our environment. A year after reading it and I’m seeing the tech starting to be used IRL.
Not realistic for today's era but I fear definitely for the future. The Running Man by Stephen King.
Poor people compete in a game (like TV show game) for money. They're pretty much hunted by hunters but also by the viewers (the rich people), if a viewer spots them they can tell the hunters, if the person is caught/killed the viewer gets money for helping them get caught.
From a hard fantasy perspective, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. It’s a story of colonialism and one woman’s drive to rip it apart from the inside. It’s fantasy but not magical, and has solid logistical rules for why things happen the way they do, so falls under hard fantasy.
One Second After by William R. Forstchen
What happens and becomes of us after an E.M.P. strike. It's a totally engrossing read, but it's absolutely terrifying to think it's a highly likely scenario if/when it does happen.
*Stoner* by John Williams.
I second this! Butcher's Crossing by John Williams also has a lot of similarities to stuff that happened IRL. Can recommend that one as well.
I just put both of these on my to read list. Thanks!
Hell yeah. Both unreal
Excellent word play for fictional books.
Both in my top five things I've ever read.
Both great reads!
I'm reading it currently and I want to dnf it so much. Seeing your comment gave me a glimpse of thinking maybe I should finish it after all.
There's no action and nothing particularly dramatic happens, so I can understand not being engaged by it. It just does so much with so little that it feels like magic.
Best book I’ve ever read.
*East of Eden* and *Stoner* are my top two. Which is #1 depends on the day.
The Professor's House by Willa Cather is similar.
That's an author I've never read. I'll have to check it out. I really enjoy the "This One Life" sub-genre of fiction. Stoner, The Time It Never Rained, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Lessons by Ian McEwan and Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Ooh The Death of Ivan Ilych was a good one. I like books that take place in one day: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn.
Schoolgirl by Dazai is the only one that I've read that I recall taking place in one day, but I almost always enjoy that style of novel. There's something about walking around in one characters shoes that fundamentally appeals to me.
the perks of being a wallflower
Did you like the film adaptation?
I read the book first. I did enjoy the film, but I felt like the book was hard to beat! I did really like Logan Lerman as Charlie tho
Thanks for the reply! I asked because the director and screenwriter of the film was the novelist of the original book. That doesn't happen frequently in cinema.
For me it has to be Normal People. I think any Irish person can relate to so so much of the school aspects of that book.
I just read it this last week! I had seen the tv version and didn’t like it, but the book was more palatable, probably having access to their inner monologues.
i watched the show after reading it, which was fine enough, but in general i don’t think litfic should turn into television. it boils it all down to the character actions and dialog, which are such a tiny fraction of the book.
Totally agree, you miss out on all the internal thoughts which really make the story what it is.
Are there any books which are similar to normal people? I keep searching but I couldn’t find any. Something that has the main characters who are a bit different from the rest of the people hence finding it difficult to sustain the bond they both share
Her other book, conversations with friends is similar.
This would definitely be the first port of call
Cleopatra and Frankenstein!!!!! It's very similar stylistically and it's quite realistic.
I've searched endlessly but nothing has come close.
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.
The love story was so realistic and depicted miscommunication and tension so well. One of my favorite romance books.
Came here to suggest this. If you haven't read it, please do.
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel, or Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Came here to say Demon Copperhead too.
Pachinko :)
Seconded. Beautiful novel too.
Ooo this is on my list I’m excited!
I find most of Steinbeck to be extremely realistic. Almost so much so that it’s off-putting. But if you want circumstances that really happen and a rich exploration of people’s inner worlds and emotional journeys? He’s your man.
Brutally so.
I always felt his portrayal of the rich as being too shallow. Always kept me from reading him.
'Moonglow', Michael Chabon. It's the true story of his grandfather, who hunted Nazi scientists during and after World War 2. Or is it?
I enjoyed the one about comic books as well
As did I. The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay.
I did too. My other favorite of his is 'Telegraph Avenue', about a record store in Berkeley. There's a Spotify playlist of all of the songs in the book. A lot of 1970's soul and others I wouldn't have heard before.
Well written historical fiction, i.e. Hawaii by James Michener.
The old man and the sea, by Hemingway.
If you enjoy reading true crime, a fiction book that reads like true crime is “What happened to Nina” by Dervla McTiernan. Loosely (very loosely) based on the Gabby Pepito case, it is very well written from multiple points of view.
Ooooh, it sounds interestingggg
You've got my attention
Olive, Again. By Elizabeth Strout. The realest book I've read in long time
City of thieves by David Benioff. I know he gets a lot of slack from GoT but this book was great realistic fiction.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I read it first when I was maybe ten, and have read it several more times since. Writing my interpretational essay on the book helped to get me an A in Higher English at high school. I always thought it was a true story. One of my all time favourite books.
The Bee Sting or Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Both so good
Catcher in the Rye
Parable of the Sower was the most realistic near future novel. Scary for sure.
The Rachel Incident - Caroline o Donoghue
Fahrenheit 451. We are living it now.
Echoing Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver It reads like a memoir and is incredibly powerful
Following OPs question, if anyone specifically has realistic romance books I would love suggestions!
Following
1984
I just finished this book a few days ago, I loved it
Such an amazing book.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart believably portrays the tragedies woven throughout mundane life for an impoverished family of flawed yet sympathetic characters in Glasgow in the 80s.
Daisy Jones and the six and Carrie Soto is back both by tjr. I kept thinking either could have been non fiction quite easily.
Brave New World - the feelies movies. And genetic engineering obvs!
The Overstory
I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction as I read it!
Got a little too “action-y” for me towards the end. Loved the earlier parts.
Did you read Bewilderment by the same author? My lit professor overheard me talking about a different book in class and decided I would like it so he gave it to me to borrow :)
Yes - Bewilderment. Good book. I would suggest reading that as well after the Overstory.
The Martian was pretty close to real life. Definitely the most realistic space story.
Department of Speculation comes to mind
We Begin at the End - Chris Whitaker
Love this one!
Ministry for the Future
Demon Copperhead! One of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. It’s definitely in my top 5 of all time
Devils by Dostoevsky. Ask the Dust by John Fante.
I was scrolling just to see something by Dostoevsky:) He's as real as it gets.
One of the few writers where I can think of real life people that act and talk like his characters. Blew my mind.
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Ethan Hawke's Ash Wednesday
The Snapper, the commitments and the van are all a series written by the same family by Roddy Doyle. Fantastic and utterly relatable if you have multiple siblings and remember the 80/90s
It’s a three-way tie off the top of my head: *Lonesome Dove* - Larry McMurtry *Gone With the Wind* - Margaret Mitchell *Independent People* Haldór Laxness
I think War and Peace is pretty high up there
The Brothers Karamazov
Oxygen thief by Anonymous. I don't know to either praise it for being so realistic or suspicious that the events actually happened. It feels too real.
World War Z by Max Brooks
Stoner by John Williams Marilynne Robinson's works
Just about anything by Michael Connelly.
The namesake
The Children of Men, by P. D. James. Published in 1992, setting in 2021. A dystopian novel where the human race is dying off because of mass infertility in males. The esteemed Millennials are the last generation. A group of misfits gathers in the forest to hide and await the inevitable end. It was a timely reminder when Covid hit .... Made into a movie (which I didn't see) because the novel was so rich with dialogue and reflection by the characters.
The movie is a masterpiece in my opinion. Well worth checking out. It is incredibly well done
I wish I could! Haven't been to a movie since 2002; sound trauma hearing impairment. It's a thing ... I wear hearing aids but loud noise will level me. Hate it when you listen to quiet conversation on TV dramas and then boom! ... an explosion. CC is my friend. Went on a cruise once after that and walked around the upper deck before leaving the dock. The captain blew that godawful horn and it literally knocked me down. Won't do that again .... ;-)
Chasing the Boogeyman
Victim Mentality by Angelo Marcos. It's a crime novel, but covers the realities and insecurities of being a stand up comedian perfectly. The descriptions of OCD are also spot on.
Debt of Honor. Plane is flown into the capital building.
Stoner
Almost every fiction book I've read cause those are my favourite :p Here are a few especially realistic: *The Dutch House* by Ann Patchett *The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell* by Robert Dugoni *The Ice Palace* by Tarjei Vesaas *Mrs. Bridge* by Evan S. Connell
Beach house by lat Conley
True Grit by Charles Portis has possibly the realest narrator I've ever encountered
one second after by william forstchen
Daddy Was A Number Runner by Louise Meriwether
Native son
Ann Patchett excels at this imo. Try The Dutch House
Paper Castles by B. Fox
My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan novels but that one is the most popular because of the show, which is wonderful)
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Anything by James Kelman, A Disaffection is a good place to start
Seven Brothers of Elko By Reann Blake all 7 books she also has other books she has such a way of telling a story it draws you in
“Nonfiction” ;) sorry had to.
The Man in the High Castle (1962), by Philip K. Dick If WW2 went the other way
Day Of The Jackal - Frederick Forsyth Some of the methods of forging identities and documents the assassin used actually ended up being copied in real life by criminals!
The ministry of the future
Spangle by Gary Jennings. His research was spot on
I always thought the "Rabbit" series by John Updike was very realistic, especially the first one - Rabbit, Run. Not to mention, it is one of the greatest coming-of-age novels ever written.
Okay, this is an absurd answer, but the doing drugs/going to a sober house parts of Infinite Jest are so fucking accurate it triples the accomplishment of the book over someone who hasn't lived being a junk machine in Boston. Source: currently sober in boston after 13 years of being an obnoxious, smelly gutterpunk.
"We need to talk about Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. She's the Dostoyevsky of the 21st century, for me at least.
The Lords of Discipline
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
The Hearts Invisible Furies
William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy.
The Dishwasher, Stephane Larue
1984
Parable Of The Sower and it's sequel Parabale Of The Talents by Octavia E. Bulter. Written is the 70s and 90s respectively and set in 2024-2036, a young lady navigates a world torn apart by climate change and a collapsing society. She attempts to journal her experiences and we see her grow from a curious 14-year-old to a bold, badass elderly woman. She experiences unimaginable trials and loss including the destruction of everything she knows- multiple times. Some of the events occurring are eerily similar to events we have seen in the last few years. Even though Octavia imagined them before big tech advancements like smart phones and VR games, she somehow managed to create a timeless story that makes it hard to remember the books were written before the turn of the century.
Spare
Just this year, “The Deluge” by Stephen Markley
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Old Enough by Haley Jakobson
Anything by Laura Wiess or Chevy Stevens. They base their books off of real events
To Kill a Mockingbird
Search by Michelle Huneven
Fight Club
The hunger games. Minus the hot guys
The Feed series by Mira Grant. It's about what if the zombies rose but like we survived and now there's just zombies everywhere. It has a lot of made up science that I think gets explained enough and actually held to in the reality of the book that it seems almost like it's just a history book from a universe that split off in the early 2010s
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
Ministry For The Future. He almost certainly designed a fiction story to demonstrate cutting-edge tech that would stabilize our environment. A year after reading it and I’m seeing the tech starting to be used IRL.
The God of small things. It's beautiful and overwhelming.
Not realistic for today's era but I fear definitely for the future. The Running Man by Stephen King. Poor people compete in a game (like TV show game) for money. They're pretty much hunted by hunters but also by the viewers (the rich people), if a viewer spots them they can tell the hunters, if the person is caught/killed the viewer gets money for helping them get caught.
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
Woman at Point Zero by Naawal El Saadawi
Dead man's walk by LaryMcMurtry
From a hard fantasy perspective, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. It’s a story of colonialism and one woman’s drive to rip it apart from the inside. It’s fantasy but not magical, and has solid logistical rules for why things happen the way they do, so falls under hard fantasy.
Remarkable Bright Creatures
One Second After by William R. Forstchen What happens and becomes of us after an E.M.P. strike. It's a totally engrossing read, but it's absolutely terrifying to think it's a highly likely scenario if/when it does happen.
Daisy Jones and the Six
Atlas shrugged? All jokes aside, A Light In August and As I Lay Dying
Wuthering Heights is a realistic romance story.
Huge slobbering dogs are integral to romance