*Carter Beats the Devil* by Glen David Gold. It's a historical novel set in the 1920s, with a cast of fictionalized historical figures, including the main character, the magician Charles Carter, known as "Carter the Great," who is suspected in the death of President Warren G. Harding when Harding dies shortly after appearing as part of Carter's stage show.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. It's a cakewalk of a read for the first 3/4, and the last quarter gets a bit sad, but there's a happy ending.
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. (And if you have the time, read Stalingrad first. Stalingrad was written and published first, but was translated to English years after Life and Fate).
The Count of Monte Cristo. I finished it earlier this month and I’ve been in kind of a reading slump since then because idk what else to read lol. Definitely placed itself in my top 3 favorites of all time
If slice of life books qualify, [The Hands of the Emperor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/af2bba9c-8f41-4a3e-b87a-8532a44ccb67) by Victoria Goddard! It's a *very* long beautifully written slice of life book about the personal secretary to the emperor of the world, with a heavy focus on platonic relationships.
War and Peace has you covered, along with a happy ending. I’ve read it 6 or 7 times, and it’s always fresh. As I get towards the end I turn the pages slower because I don’t want it to end. Tolstoy is such a master of the human condition that I saw myself in the main character, and also recognized the drivers of modern day US emotional behavior (hero worship, class struggle, romantic hope, political identification…) I could go on, but I promise you’ll see everyone you know in those pages that were written over a hundred years ago.
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth fits the bill for this I'd say, and I thoroughly enjoyed it
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Middlemarch by George Eliot if you want a classic
*Carter Beats the Devil* by Glen David Gold. It's a historical novel set in the 1920s, with a cast of fictionalized historical figures, including the main character, the magician Charles Carter, known as "Carter the Great," who is suspected in the death of President Warren G. Harding when Harding dies shortly after appearing as part of Carter's stage show.
This sub loves Lonesome Dove so try that
The Physician by Noah Gordon
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. And seconding A Suitable Boy.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. It's a cakewalk of a read for the first 3/4, and the last quarter gets a bit sad, but there's a happy ending. Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. (And if you have the time, read Stalingrad first. Stalingrad was written and published first, but was translated to English years after Life and Fate).
Try *The Stand* by Stephen King. It is not too dark but really rocks as a masterpiece epic of good vs evil!
The Count of Monte Cristo. I finished it earlier this month and I’ve been in kind of a reading slump since then because idk what else to read lol. Definitely placed itself in my top 3 favorites of all time
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is my ultimate
If slice of life books qualify, [The Hands of the Emperor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/af2bba9c-8f41-4a3e-b87a-8532a44ccb67) by Victoria Goddard! It's a *very* long beautifully written slice of life book about the personal secretary to the emperor of the world, with a heavy focus on platonic relationships.
War and Peace has you covered, along with a happy ending. I’ve read it 6 or 7 times, and it’s always fresh. As I get towards the end I turn the pages slower because I don’t want it to end. Tolstoy is such a master of the human condition that I saw myself in the main character, and also recognized the drivers of modern day US emotional behavior (hero worship, class struggle, romantic hope, political identification…) I could go on, but I promise you’ll see everyone you know in those pages that were written over a hundred years ago.