Books like 'The Benefactor'
Readers who enjoyed The Benefactor by Susan Sontag also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
fantasy psychological classics magic religion humor university literary-fiction spirituality
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The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsAlternative cover for ISBN: 978-0-00-746123-3C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality university 20th-century action-adventure afterlife -
![The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis]()
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 78 ratingsThe story takes the form of a series of letters from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior "tempter" named Wormwood, so as to advise him on methods of securing the damnation of a British man, known only as "the Patient".Screwtape holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell, and acts as a mentor to Wormwood, the inexperienced tempter...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction religion spirituality university 20th-century audiobook -
![The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar, Alexander Afanasev]()
The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar, Alexander Afanasev
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn this illuminating work, a leading expert in the field of folklore guides readers through 26 fairy tales, exploring their historical origins, their cultural complexities, and their psychological effects on children. 350 full-color photos, paintings & illustrations... -
![Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, John Updike]()
Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, John Updike
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe only available collection that brings together all of Kafka's storiesthose published during his lifetime and those released after his death...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction university 20th-century adult anthologies contemporary -
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![The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom]()
The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe Next Person You Meet in Heaven: (B&N Exclusive Edition) The Sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch AlbomThis special edition contains an extra chapter and is available exclusively at Barnes & Noble...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality audiobook book christian contemporary -
![Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis]()
Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters, two of C. S. Lewis's most important and enduring works, are now available in this stunning, collectible hardcover edition. The most popular of C. S. Lewis's works of non-fiction, Mere Christianity, has sold several million copies worldwide... -
![Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin]()
Buddha's Little Finger by Victor Pelevin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRussian novelist Victor Pelevin is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most brilliant young writers at work today. His comic inventiveness and mind-bending talent prompted Time magazine to proclaim him a "psychedelic Nabokov for the cyber-age... -
![The Screwtape letters & Screwtape proposes a toast by C.S. Lewis]()
The Screwtape letters & Screwtape proposes a toast by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsDedicated to his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, this masterpiece of satire has entertained and enlightened millions of readers with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of the demon Screwtape. At once wildly comic and strikingly original, the correspondence of the worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood shows C.S. Lewis at his darkest and most playful... -
![The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks]()
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPresenting the stories of Zeus and Europa, Theseus and Ariadne, the birth of Athens and the fall of Troy, in all their variants, Calasso also uncovers the distant origins of secrets and tragedy, virginity, and rape. "A perfect work like no other. (Calasso) has re-created . . . the morning of our world."--Gore Vidal. 15 engravings...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century adult ancient-civilization book -
![Iliad, Books 13–24 by Homer]()
Iliad, Books 13–24 by Homer
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHere is a new Loeb Classical Library edition of Homer's stirring heroic account of the Trojan war and its passions... -
![Remembrance of Things Past: Volume III - The Captive, The Fugitive, & Time Regained by Marcel Proust]()
Remembrance of Things Past: Volume III - The Captive, The Fugitive, & Time Regained by Marcel Proust
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe third and final volume includes THE CAPTIVE, THE FUGITIVE, and TIME REGAINED...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction 20th-century anthologies family fiction historical literary -
![Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach]()
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders..Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magic religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis]()
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsIn this timeless tale of two mortal princesses- one beautiful and one unattractive- C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magic religion spirituality university 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar]()
The Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThis Norton Critical Edition collects forty-four fairy tales, from the fifth century to the present. The Classic Fairy Tales focuses on six tale types: "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast," "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Bluebeard," and "Hansel and Gretel," and presents multicultural variants and sophisticated literary rescriptings...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magic university anthologies children children-books fairy-tale -
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![Tamed & Unleashed: The Highlander's Vivacious Wife by Bree Wolf]()
Tamed & Unleashed: The Highlander's Vivacious Wife by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA forgotten night. A stolen child. And a stranger who feels all too familiar. Waking up alone after a drunken night with a stranger in Gretna Green, CLAUDIA DAVENPORT, sister to Viscount Ashwood, finds herself still unmarried…and with child... -
![The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig]()
The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe collected stories of Stefan Zweig, one of the most popular writers of short fiction of the twentieth century This collection brings together twenty-three of Stefan Zweig's best-loved short stories. Written in his typically flowing and readable style, these tales are characterised by their pacing, their psychological insightfulness, and above all their pervading humanity...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction fiction 20th-century anthologies psychological fantasy historical -
![The Spyglass: A Story of Faith by Richard Paul Evans]()
The Spyglass: A Story of Faith by Richard Paul Evans
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThere once was a king who ruled over a darkened kingdom. Crops were planted and then failed, houses were built and then neglected, people were impoverished and dispirited. But when a traveler arrives at the crumbling palace, he shows the monarch his kingdom through the lens of an enchanted spyglass -- a spyglass that shows him his kingdom not as it is, but as it could be... -
![The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch]()
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHarry Mulisch's magnum opus, is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes—friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil—suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.The Discovery of Heaven begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Russian Fairy Tales by Alexander Afanasyev, Roman Jakobson]()
Russian Fairy Tales by Alexander Afanasyev, Roman Jakobson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTranslated by Norbert GutermanIllustrated by Alexander AlexeieffIn this most comprehensive collection of classic Russian tales available in English we meet both universal fairy-tale figures—thieves and heroes, kings and peasants, beautiful damsels and terrifying witches, enchanted children and crafty animals—and such uniquely Russian characters as Koshchey the Deathless, Baba Yaga, the Swan... -
![What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian]()
What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . ”Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction spirituality action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction -
![Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories by Shirley Jackson]()
Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories by Shirley Jackson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAcclaimed in her own time for her short story “The Lottery” and her novel The Haunting of Hill House—classics ranking with the work of Edgar Allan Poe—Shirley Jackson blazed a path for contemporary writers with her explorations of evil, madness, and cruelty... -
![Thief: Ratcatchers, Volume Two: A Fantasy Hardboiled by Matthew Colville]()
Thief: Ratcatchers, Volume Two: A Fantasy Hardboiled by Matthew Colville
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFor years the king bottled up the city's crime by pitting the thieves' guilds against each other. A balance enforced by ruthless double-dealing, blackmail and a special cadre of secret watchmen. Now, armed with a mysterious substance that turns men into ravening ghouls, the Count is prepared to upset the balance. Installing himself as Underking, master of all crime in the city... -
![Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, Multivoice]()
Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, Multivoice
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSUM shows us forty wonderfully imagined possibilities of life beyond death. In one afterlife you may find that God is the size of a microbe and is unaware of your existence. In another, your creators are a species of dim-witted creatures who built us to figure out what they could not. In a different version of the afterlife you work as a background character in other people's dreams...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction religion spirituality 21st-century adult afterlife anthologies -
![The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki]()
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfter the tragic death of his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house - a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magic religion spirituality 21st-century audiobook book coming-of-age -
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![The Magus by John Fowles]()
The Magus by John Fowles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis daring literary thriller, rich with eroticism and suspense, is one of John Fowles's best-loved and bestselling novels and has contributed significantly to his international reputation as a writer of the first degree. At the center of The Magus is Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching position on a remote Greek island, where he befriends a local millionaire...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magic religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Sacrificial Grounds by Sara Clancy]()
Sacrificial Grounds by Sara Clancy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThey survived the witch’s game. Now they’re fighting back… The offspring of the four families have barely managed to escape the Bell Witch’s deadly harvest. Exhausted, terrified, and haunted by their families’ twisted secrets, they know that death still awaits in the woods. Unless they can work together, and end the curse once and for all...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magic spirituality adult anthologies audiobook female-author -
![Arjun: Without a Doubt by Shinde Sweety]()
Arjun: Without a Doubt by Shinde Sweety
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsExplore Mahabharata in the voices & through the eyes of Arjun & Draupadi.Note - Draupadi's narrative is denoted by *** symbol.I knew there was nothing poetic about death. I knew not that the most horrific battles are fought off the battlefield. Arjun: The idealist in a non-ideal world; the warrior whose deadliest opponent was his conscience... -
![Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S. by Jeremy Leven]()
Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S. by Jeremy Leven
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlas, poor Satan. He's not happy. No one seems to like or understand him; people have got him all wrong. And his relationship with God is a hostile one. Unloved and misunderstood, he's come back to Earth in search of a psychotherapist; he's prepared- if cured- to deliver the all-important Great Answer... -
![Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin]()
Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA community of quirky, mismatched, and endearing women struggle to find meaning and purpose on a ramshackle monastery in upstate New York. Having spent their lives in service to a church that seems to no longer serve them, they are confused about their own futures and the future of the entire monastery...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction spirituality action-adventure adult book christian contemporary -
![My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn]()
My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAn extraordinary and startlingly original sequel to Ishmael "Enthralling, shocking, hope-filled, and utterly fearless, Daniel Quinn leads us deeper and deeper into the human heart, history, and spirit. In My Ishmael, Quinn strikes out into entirely new territory, posing questions that will rock you on your heels, and providing tantalizing possibilities for a truly new world vision...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction religion spirituality action-adventure adult animals -
![Aesop's Fables by Aesop, Ann McGovern]()
Aesop's Fables by Aesop, Ann McGovern
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsSixty-seven familiar and not so familiar fables from Aesop, including the tortoise and the hare, the frogs who wanted a king, the lion who fell in love, and the donkey who danced on the roof... -
![World of Wonders by Robertson Davies]()
World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHailed by the Washington Post Book World as "a modern classic," Robertson Davies’s acclaimed Deptford Trilogy is a glittering, fantastical, cunningly contrived series of novels, around which a mysterious death is woven... -
![The Divine Farce by Michael S.A. Graziano]()
The Divine Farce by Michael S.A. Graziano
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“A Dante/Beckett reduction of human struggle to its lowest common denominator.”— Michael Mirolla, author of The Formal Logic of Emotion and Berlin“One of the most original and thought-provoking stories I have ever read...true literary art...Not a word is wasted in this masterpiece. Yes, I call it that... -
![Death with Interruptions by José Saramago]()
Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question what happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death?On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, of course, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially mass celebration...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction magic religion spirituality 20th-century 21st-century -
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![The Buddha and the Terrorist by Satish Kumar, Thomas Moore]()
The Buddha and the Terrorist by Satish Kumar, Thomas Moore
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“A challenging story, beautifully written, most pertinent and relevant to our time.” —Deepak Chopra Not every book will change your life, but any book can. Not every discussion will make a difference, but a conversation can change the world... -
![Vishwamitra by Vineet Aggarwal]()
Vishwamitra by Vineet Aggarwal
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe was born a Kshatriya. He became a Brahmarishi. When Satyavati, wife of Rishi Ruchik, exchanges with her mother, Queen Ratna, the magic potion for bearing a child, they change not just their children’s destiny, but also the history of mankind. Born of this mix up is Vishwamitra, the son of a Kshatriya, with the qualities of a Brahmin... -
![Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn]()
Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsImagine Being Pulled Into the Hereafter. While You’re Still Alive. A disillusioned business executive whose life has hit a dead-end, Nick Seagrave has lost loved ones to tragedy and his family to neglect. Now, at a point of great crisis, he unbelievably and inexplicably finds himself transported to what appears to be another world...Categorized as:
classics religion spirituality action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook christian -
![Ishmael by Daniel Quinn]()
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsWinner of the 1992 Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, "Ishmael" is a unique and captivating novel that has earned a large and passionate following among readers and critics worldwide...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality university 20th-century action-adventure animals -
![There's No Such Place As Far Away by Richard Bach]()
There's No Such Place As Far Away by Richard Bach
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen she was about to turn five, a little girl named Rae Hansen invited Richard Bach to her birthday party. Though deserts, storms, mountains, and a thousand miles separated them, Rae was confident that her friend would appear... -
![House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar]()
House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"Casa Tomada" (English: "House Taken Over") is a 1946 short story by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. It was originally published in Los anales de Buenos Aires, a literary magazine edited by Jorge Luis Borges, and later included in his volume of stories, Bestiario.It tells the story of a brother and sister living together in their ancestral home which is being "taken over" by unknown entities...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction university fiction horror magical-realism politics fantasy -
![Death with Interruptions by José Saramago]()
Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsNobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question what happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death?On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, of course, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially mass celebration...Categorized as:
classics humor literary-fiction magic religion spirituality 20th-century 21st-century -
![A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L'Engle]()
A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L'Engle
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsKatherine Forrester Vigneras, in a continuation of her story from The Small Rain, returns to New York City from Europe to retire. Now in her seventies, she encounters an old friend from her Greenwich Village days who, it turns out, is the former Bishop of New York. He asks Katherine to give a benefit concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality book children children-books contemporary -
![Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories by John Updike]()
Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories by John Updike
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe triumphant collection of short stories by America's most acclaimed novelist... -
![Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder]()
Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsA page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction religion spirituality university 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
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![Abel Sanchez and Other Stories by Miguel de Unamuno]()
Abel Sanchez and Other Stories by Miguel de Unamuno
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a... -
![The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories by W.P. Kinsella, Frank Muller]()
The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories by W.P. Kinsella, Frank Muller
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn W. P Kinsella's magical world of baseball - where reality comes spiced with mysticism - all-star legends and would-be heroes join forces in an eerie universe in which the national pastime is always in season. In the title story, a young baseball player goes looking for a break in the cornfields of small-town Iowa, but finds something very disquieting about his roster of teammates... -
![The Cripple and His Talismans by Anosh Irani]()
The Cripple and His Talismans by Anosh Irani
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPrepare to enter a world where the norms of human behavior—even the rules governing time and gravity—are set on their heads. This dark and wry fable begins with the narrator waking up and discovering he is missing an arm... -
![The Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny]()
The Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMillions of people already live their lives in accordance with Rob Brezsny's "Real Astrology" prophecies. But the time has come for a deeper dose of Brezsny's brain. The Televisionary Oracle is an archetypal roller-coaster that would make Rumi dizzy and leave Carl Jung gasping for breath...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction spirituality adult alpha-mc anthologies contemporary female-mc -
![The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume XIII: A Vision: The Original 1925 Version: Volume 13 by W.B. Yeats]()
The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume XIII: A Vision: The Original 1925 Version: Volume 13 by W.B. Yeats
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Collected Works of W. B. Yeats, Volume XIII: A Vision is part of a fourteen-volume series under the general editorship of eminent Yeats scholar George Bornstein and formerly the late Richard J. Finneran and George Mills Harper. One of the strangest works of literary modernism, A Vision is Yeats's greatest occult work. Edited by Yeats scholars Catherine E... -
![Don't Try This at Home by Angela Readman]()
Don't Try This at Home by Angela Readman
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA girl repeatedly chops her boyfriend in half but, while her other half’ multiplies, she is still not satisfied. Love transforms a mother working down the chippie into Elvis. Clary’s father puts antlers on stuffed rabbits to make jackalopes, but when her mother walks out on them, Clary has to help her father if they are to survive...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction adult anthologies contemporary female-author fiction haunted-places
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