Books like 'Herself Surprised'
Readers who enjoyed Herself Surprised by Joyce Cary also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary classics literary-fiction female-mc drama
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The Ones We Leave Behind by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDiane picked up her mother’s phone. “How do you feel about your mother being let out of prison today after sixty-five years?” the reporter asked. Diane stared at her mother. “My grandmother is alive?” That one phone call hurled shock waves throughout the entire family.1955 – Anna Bergman Craine’s life changes in an instant when she commits a crime of passion and is sentenced to life in prison... -
![Not My Daughter by Kate Hewitt]()
Not My Daughter by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnna’s hands tense on Alice and she hesitates. In that endless pause, I see all I need to know. She doesn’t want to give Alice to me – not now, and not ever. And part of me doesn’t even blame her… Milly always dreamed of being a mother. Adopted herself, she has always imagined a powerful intimate connection with a child of her own... -
![Love and Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby]()
Love and Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAt long last, the Reverend Curtis Black appears to be living the straight life. The all-too-human preacher is a bestselling author now, and he and his wife, Charlotte, are raising two adorable children. But the ever-suspicious Charlotte doesn't trust that Curtis has put his womanizing past behind him... -
![The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório]()
The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLife under Brazil’s brutal “cordial racism” comes painfully alive in this novel of fathers and sons. How do you become the protagonist of your own life? For Pedro, it means searching for his murdered father in the objects he left behind―an archeology of affections... -
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![Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad]()
Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwin children Jeanne and Simon want to solve the mystery of their origins. In retracing the bitter history of their mother, who is about to die, other characters come into the story—witnesses or key players able to assist in the investigation. Carried aloft by poetic language, the inquiry pursued by Jeanne and Simon unfolds in a dreamlike atmosphere... -
![The Color of Destiny by Julianne MacLean]()
The Color of Destiny by Julianne MacLean
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEighteen years ago a teenage pregnancy changed Kate Worthington’s life forever. Faced with many difficult decisions, she chose to follow her heart and embrace an uncertain future with the father of her baby and her devoted first love… At the same time, in another part of the world, sixteen-year-old Ryan Hamilton makes his own share of mistakes, but learns important lessons along the way... -
![Shonkhonil Karagar by Humayun Ahmed]()
Shonkhonil Karagar by Humayun Ahmed
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShonkhonil Karagar is a 1973 novel by Bangladeshi author Humayun Ahmed. It is also a book that was made into a popular movie in Bangladesh. The book was made into the 1992 film with the same title, starring Zafar Iqbal, Champa, Doli Johur, Abul Hayat, Suborna Mustafa and Asaduzzaman Noor. It was filmed in 1992 in Dhaka, Bangladesh... -
![Still the Baddest Bitch by Deja King]()
Still the Baddest Bitch by Deja King
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAaliyah Mills Carter has to step up and watch the throne, to prove she has what it takes to be the Baddest Bitch. Chaos has always surrounded her family but now death may have hit too close to home. There are so many questions but not enough answers... -
![Christmas at Applemore by Rachael Lucas]()
Christmas at Applemore by Rachael Lucas
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHarry Robertson is determined to make the Applemore Hotel a success. As the busy season ends, the builders are ready to get to work. He’s closing the doors on the final guests of the year when a chance encounter changes everything. Capricious media star Ivy Winter causes a stir when she arrives in the tiny Highland village with her fiancé Ben... -
![Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan]()
Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsYou're six years old. Mum's in hospital. Dad says she's 'done something stupid'. She finds it hard to be happy.So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.1. Ice Cream2. Kung Fu Movies3. Burning Things4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose5. Construction cranes6. MeYou leave it on her pillow... -
![Goat Days by Benyamin]()
Goat Days by Benyamin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNajeeb’s dearest wish is to work in the Gulf and earn enough money to send back home. He achieves his dream only to be propelled by a series of incidents, grim and absurd, into a slave-like existence herding goats in the middle of the Saudi desert. Memories of the lush, verdant landscape of his village and of his loving family haunt Najeeb whose only solace is the companionship of goats...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction action-adventure adult bildungsroman book contemporary -
![Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins]()
Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWinner of the 1999 Paterson Poetry Prize Over the past decade, Billy Collins has emerged as the most beloved American poet since Robert Frost, garnering critical acclaim and broad popular appeal. Annie Proulx admits, "I have never before felt possessive about a poet, but I am fiercely glad that Billy Collins is ours... -
![The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse]()
The Coordinates of Loss by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom bestselling author Amanda Prowse comes a tale of a blissful life, a happy marriage, a beloved son…and a tragedy that destroys it all. When Rachel Croft wakes up on her family’s boat in Bermuda, it’s to sunshine and yet another perfect day…until she goes to wake her seven-year-old son, Oscar. Because the worst thing imaginable has happened. He isn’t there... -
![Rain Man by Leonore Fleischer, Kieran McGovern]()
Rain Man by Leonore Fleischer, Kieran McGovern
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCharlie Babbitt thinks he will get a lot of money when his father dies. However the money goes to someone he doesn't know - a man who lives in hospital and is the brother Charlie never knew he had. The two meet and so starts a surprising new life for both of them. A deeply emotional story and also a major film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman... -
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![The Stories of Raymond Carver by Raymond Carver]()
The Stories of Raymond Carver by Raymond Carver
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWill You Please Be Quiet, Please? What We Talk About When We Talk About Love... -
![The Essential Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov]()
The Essential Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOf the two hundred stories that Anton Chekhov wrote, the twenty stories that appear in this extraordinary collection were personally chosen by Richard Ford--an accomplished storyteller in his own right. Included are the familiar masterpieces--"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"--as well as several brilliant lesser-known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction female-mc fiction anthologies contemporary psychological literary -
![Run With the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader by Charles Bukowski]()
Run With the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader by Charles Bukowski
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe best of Bukowski's novels, stories, and poems, this collection reads like an autobiography, relating the extraordinary story of his life and offering a sometimes harrowing, invariably exhilarating reading experience. A must for this counterculture idol's legion of fans...Categorized as:
classics female-mc literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies contemporary fiction -
![Easter on Lovelace Lane by Alice Ross]()
Easter on Lovelace Lane by Alice Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Dillon Delaney’s life might be far from perfect, but it’s one he’s grown accustomed to. Which is why, when his mother announces her ‘most fabulous idea’ of dispatching him to Lovelace Lane to stay with a grandad he barely knows, he has more than a few reservations... -
![Extreme by Joan Gelfand]()
Extreme by Joan Gelfand
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHope Ellson is from the wrong side of the tracks, but her genius transcends class. When Hope joins FearToShred, a Silicon Valley extreme gaming startup, Hope's mission is to groom the scrappy company for prime time. Enter Doug Wiser, her very married ex. While the two work in tandem, nefarious forces are at work behind the scenes... -
![Within This Circle by Deborah Raney]()
Within This Circle by Deborah Raney
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter a tumultuous courtship, John and Julia Brighton have a second chance at happiness! With tragedy behind them and their children grown, they're looking forward to a new and promising era in their lives. Only, such a promise is never guaranteed. And life can change in a moment...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction female-mc contemporary christian womens-fiction fiction family -
![Véspera by Carla Madeira]()
Véspera by Carla Madeira
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNovo romance da autora do fenômeno Tudo é rio, Véspera retoma a escrita brilhante e contagiante de Carla Madeira, que desperta todo tipo de emoção no leitor. Carla Madeira cria personagens que parecem estar vivos diante de nós. As emoções que sentem são palpáveis e suas reações, autênticas. Temos a sensação de conhecê-los de perto, inclusive as contradições e os pontos cegos... -
![Los nombres propios by Marta Jiménez Serrano]()
Los nombres propios by Marta Jiménez Serrano
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratings¿Quién es Belaundia Fu? Es la mejor amiga de Marta a los siete años: la amiga invisible que, en esos momentos en que las cosas no salen como había planeado y ni siquiera la abuela es capaz de consolarla, se sienta con ella y espera hasta que se le pase... -
![Fool for Love and Other Plays by Sam Shepard]()
Fool for Love and Other Plays by Sam Shepard
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHere are eight of Pulitzer-prizewinning Sam Shepard's most stunning plays. This brilliant American dramatist creates what The New Yorker dubbed "Shepard Country"--a landscape of the imagination, a unique theatrical experience that captures our culture and consciouness, our fears and fantasies... -
![The Brotherhood of the Grape by John Fante]()
The Brotherhood of the Grape by John Fante
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHenry Molise, a 50 year old, successful writer, returns to the family home to help with the latest drama; his aging parents want to divorce. Henry's tyrannical, brick laying father, Nick, though weak and alcoholic, can still strike fear into the hearts of his sons. His mother, though ill and devout to her Catholicism, still has the power to comfort and confuse her children... -
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![The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten]()
The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the spirit of Amor Towles and George Saunders, the renowned, bestselling Norwegian author Frode Grytten takes listeners on a quietly epic ferry driver Nils Vik’s last route along the fjord, on what he knows will be his last day alive. Nils Vik wakes up on November the 18th and knows it will be the day he dies... -
![A Natureza da Mordida by Carla Madeira]()
A Natureza da Mordida by Carla Madeira
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA Natureza da Mordida, segundo livro de Carla Madeira, autora de “Tudo é rio”, é um livro sobre a amizade. É sobretudo um livro marcado pelo amor à literatura. Olívia e Biá, as duas protagonistas da história, se encontram pela primeira vez num pequeno sebo improvisado... -
![A Taste of Peace (Malibu #1) by J.J. Sorel]()
A Taste of Peace (Malibu #1) by J.J. Sorel
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen reformed bad boy Lachlan Peace starts running his dying father’s billion-dollar empire, he inherits shady investment schemes that threaten to tarnish his reputation and destroy the Peace empire. Lachlan Peace’s true passion in life is music and surfing. He also can’t take his eyes off his new admin assistant, Miranda Flowers... -
![Live for Me by Emma Thomas]()
Live for Me by Emma Thomas
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwenty-seven-year-old Ophelia Lux Taylor is feisty and driven; she also happens to have bipolar disorder. Although she's had her ups and downs, life is good now: she lives with her twin brother, Onyx, and another friend in an artsy community in Cincinnati and is pursuing a master's degree in psychology... -
![Baby Talk by Judith S. Keim]()
Baby Talk by Judith S. Keim
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsReaders of the Hartwell Women Series asked for more. I listened. Baby Talk is Book 4. When Marissa Crawford and her husband Brad decide to start a family, Marissa has serious doubts about her ability to be a good mother--she was raised by one of the worst... -
![Straight Talk by Judith Keim]()
Straight Talk by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStraight Talk - Book Three in the Hartwell Women Trilogy Samantha Hartwell’s life changes completely when she’s attacked by a client’s boyfriend. She leaves Boston and Straight Talk, her consulting business, and escapes to California wine country to heal and to help her sister and brother-in-law with their vineyard’s growth... -
![Robert's Rules by J.F. Riordan]()
Robert's Rules by J.F. Riordan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs the new Chairman of the Town Board, Fiona Campbell finds that life has become a series of petty squabbles, dull meetings, and papers everywhere, all complicated by her guardianship of the as yet unidentified screaming goat. In desperation, she hires an unknown newcomer, the compulsively orderly Oliver Robert, to run her office and keep her organized... -
![Alphalicious Billionaires Box Set, Vol II by Lindsey Hart]()
Alphalicious Billionaires Box Set, Vol II by Lindsey Hart
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsClaiming Her V-CardI must have been out of my damn mind when I asked my ultra hot playboy boss to pop my cherry... -
![Plays and Petersburg Tales by Nikolai Gogol]()
Plays and Petersburg Tales by Nikolai Gogol
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis volume brings together Gogol's Petersburg Tales with his two most famous plays, all of which guide us through the streets of St. Petersburg, the city erected by force and ingenuity on the marshes of the Neva estuary... -
![Les v domě by Alena Mornštajnová]()
Les v domě by Alena Mornštajnová
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsŘíkají jí Cácora a vypadá to, že je na světě nedopatřením a jakoby navíc. Otec kamsi zmizel při povodních, matka utíká před odpovědností k milencům a alkoholu — a Cácora zůstala viset na krku nevraživé babičce, která obhospodařuje zahradnictví a je přesvědčená o tom, že všechno špatné lze v životě jednoduše vyhubit jako žravé plzáky. Nebo o tom prostě nemluvit... -
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![Absence of Grace by Ann Warner]()
Absence of Grace by Ann Warner
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe memory of an act committed when she was nineteen has woven a dark thread through Clen McClendon's life. It is a darkness Clen ignores until the discovery of her husband's infidelity propels her into a quest for redemption and forgiveness. Leaving her old life, she begins a search for a place to call home and a new way to live... -
![Padma River Boatman by Manik Bandopadhyay]()
Padma River Boatman by Manik Bandopadhyay
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFishing life along the coastline of the Padma and its bitsy melancholic account of intense physical, helpless yet illusory tale. Kuber's struggles, Kapila's voluptuous youth like the rainfilled Padma and the presence of a mysterious man, Hasan Mia, make and break the narrative with tweaks that are deep, covert and sudden like hidden currents... -
![In The Garden Of The North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff]()
In The Garden Of The North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAmong the characters you'll find in this collection of twelve stories by Tobias Wolff are a teenage boy who tells morbid lies about his home life, a timid professor who, in the first genuine outburst of her life, pours out her opinions in spite of a protesting audience, a prudish loner who gives an obnoxious hitchhiker a ride, and an elderly couple on a golden anniversary cruise who endure the...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
![Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel]()
Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsStill Born, Guadalupe Nettel's fourth novel, treats one of the most consequential decisions of early adulthood – whether or not to have children – with the intelligence and originality that have won her international acclaim. Alina and Laura are independent and career-driven women in their mid-thirties, neither of whom have built their future around the prospect of a family... -
![The Gypsy Ballads of Federico Garcia Lorca by Federico García Lorca, Robert G. Harvard]()
The Gypsy Ballads of Federico Garcia Lorca by Federico García Lorca, Robert G. Harvard
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsTranslations of "Preciosa and the Wind""Walking Asleep," "The Moon, The Moon" "Fracas," "The Gypsy Nun" "Black Trouble" "St. Michael (Granada)""St. Gabriel (Seville)""Dead of Love""The Man Who Was Given a Summons""The Comical History of Pedro, Knight""Walking Asleep""The Unfaithful Married Woman""The Martyrdom of St... -
![The Sense of Touch by Ron Parsons]()
The Sense of Touch by Ron Parsons
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNamed to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014Sprung from the variously lush, rugged, and frozen emotional landscapes of the north country, this luminous collection of stories captures the progress of a diverse ensemble of souls as they struggle to uncover themselves and negotiate a meaningful communion, of any kind, with the world around them... -
![Dream a Little Dream by Sue Moorcroft]()
Dream a Little Dream by Sue Moorcroft
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat would you give to make your dreams come true? Liza Reece has a dream. Working as a reflexologist for a troubled holistic centre isn’t enough. When the opportunity arises to take over the Centre she jumps at it. Problem is, she needs funds, and fast, as she’s not the only one interested. Dominic Christy has dreams of his own... -
![The Connection by Morgan Elizabeth]()
The Connection by Morgan Elizabeth
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsShe does it all.When Kate had to move back to her hometown with her then 5 year old son to help out with her elderly parents, she didn't think she'd wind up stuck in the small town indefinitely. But here she is. Now Kate finds herself constantly juggling a million balls - mother, employee, dog walker, house cleaner, daughter, friend - and all of them are falling to the ground... -
![The Art of Remembering by Alison Ragsdale]()
The Art of Remembering by Alison Ragsdale
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsProfessional ballerina, Ailsa MacIntyre, is at the peak of her career when her world is shattered by a shocking diagnosis. Life-saving surgery leaves her with a fractured memory, little recollection of her husband, Evan, and none of her career as a principal dancer... -
![Homecomings by Marcia Willett]()
Homecomings by Marcia Willett
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAt the end of the row of fishermen’s cottages by the harbour’s edge, stands an old granite house.First it belonged to Ned’s parents; then Ned dropped anchor here after a life at sea and called it home. His nephew Hugo moved in too, swapping London for the small Cornish fishing village where he’d spent so many happy holidays... -
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![The Orchard by Peter Heller]()
The Orchard by Peter Heller
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Dog Stars and The River, the story of a young girl coming of age among the streams and mountains of southern Vermont—an unforgettable tale of love, friendship, loss, and the enduring power of nature.Hayley and her seven-year-old daughter, Frith, live in a rustic cabin with no electricity in the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction female-mc fiction audiobook contemporary outdoors coming-of-age -
![A Family Affair: Spring by Mary Campisi]()
A Family Affair: Spring by Mary Campisi
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Family Affair: Spring is a story of betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption, all wrapped up in the lives of the people we love to love, and even a few we love to hate. Harry Blacksworth is rich, handsome, the ultimate playboy with a killer smile and a clever wit. He’s fought it, denied it, ignored it, but the damn truth won’t go away: He’s fallen in love... -
![Bir Süre Yere Paralel Gittikten Sonra by Barış Bıçakçı]()
Bir Süre Yere Paralel Gittikten Sonra by Barış Bıçakçı
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Bir şey sunulmuştu bana, bir hediye, bir meyve. Ama ben o meyveden tadamadım, gök erik gibi kaldı avcumda dünya. Şimdi ben uykusuzum, yalınayağım, kendimle meşgulüm. Kapımın önünde boş peynir tenekeleri, yağmur suyu biriktiriyorum... -
![The People Look Like Flowers at Last by Charles Bukowski]()
The People Look Like Flowers at Last by Charles Bukowski
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe People Look like Flowers at Last is the last of five collections of never-before published poetry from the late great Dirty Old Man, Charles Bukowski.In it, he speaks on topics ranging from horse racing to military elephants, lost love to the fear of death. He writes extensively about writing, and about talking to people about writers such as Camus, Hemingway, and Stein... -
![Don't Blink by L.G. Davis]()
Don't Blink by L.G. Davis
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings*This book was previously published under the titles The Girl in the Rain and The Girl in the Storm.* Two years ago, Paige Wilson watched helplessly as her brother Ryan was shot, right on her doorstep. He survived the attack, but never fully recovered from the trauma. Stuck in a wheelchair, Ryan refuses to accept the life of a paraplegic... -
![Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by Richard Yates]()
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by Richard Yates
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRichard Yates's unflinchingly realistic stories explore loneliness, but they don't neglect failure, cruelty, and heartbreak. Most of the stories feature men who have been disappointed, somehow, by their inability to go on and fulfill the promise of their youth...
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