Books like 'Beautiful Thing (Modern Classics)'
Readers who enjoyed Beautiful Thing (Modern Classics) by Jonathan Harvey also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance 20th century lgbtq drama mlm coming-of-age
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My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFifty years after its first publication, the multimillion-copy international bestseller is available again in English, sharing the heartbreaking tale of a gifted, mischievous, direly misunderstood boy growing up in Rio de Janeiro.When the precocious Zeze grows up, he wants to be a poet in a bow tie... -
![Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado]()
Captains of the Sands by Jorge Amado
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLiving by their wits in the steamy slums of Bahia, a gang of orphans and runaways, led by fifteen-year-old "Bullet," spend their time stealing from Brazil's rich and privileged until public outcry demands their capture... -
![Somebody Else's Sky by Jessica Hawkins]()
Somebody Else's Sky by Jessica Hawkins
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIf I closed my eyes, I could still see them—all blonde sunshine, ocean-blue eyes, and long limbs. The glint of Lake’s gold bracelet. Pink cotton candy on Tiffany’s tongue. My scenery may have changed from heaven to hell, but some things never would: my struggle to do right by both sisters. To let Lake soar. To lift Tiffany up. The sacrifices I made for them, I made willingly... -
![A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks]()
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsA high school rebel and a minister's daughter find strength in each other in this star-crossed tale of "young but everlasting love" (Chicago Sun-Times).There was a time when the world was sweeter....when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats... -
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![Lake + Manning by Jessica Hawkins]()
Lake + Manning by Jessica Hawkins
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe final book in the Something in the Way series, a love saga.Manning and I have what happily-ever-after is made of . . .A home he built us on the unshakeable foundation we fought for.A life of laughter carved out of heartache and betrayal.A love story to stand the test of time... -
![The Tin Box by Kim Fielding]()
The Tin Box by Kim Fielding
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWilliam Lyon's past forced him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty... -
![The Prisoner by Marcel Proust]()
The Prisoner by Marcel Proust
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe long-awaited fifth volume — representing "the very summit of Proust's art" (Slate) — in the acclaimed Penguin translation of "the greatest literary work of the twentieth century" (The New York Times)Carol Clark's acclaimed translation of The Prisoner introduces a new generation of American readers to the literary riches of Marcel Proust... -
![Barren Lives by Graciliano Ramos]()
Barren Lives by Graciliano Ramos
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA vivid chronicle of the solitary life of a peasant family in a harsh and unforgiving land, austerely told by a classic Brazilian writer... -
![The Truce by Mario Benedetti]()
The Truce by Mario Benedetti
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratings'Perhaps that moment had been exceptional, but still, I felt alive. That pressure on my chest means being alive.' Forty-nine, with a kind face, no serious ailments (apart from varicose veins on his ankles), a good salary, and three moody children, widowed accountant Martín Santomé is about to retire. He assumes he'll take up gardening, or the guitar, or whatever retired people generally do... -
![Welcome to Leo's by Rochelle Alers, Brenda Jackson]()
Welcome to Leo's by Rochelle Alers, Brenda Jackson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWelcome to Leo's--Where Anything Can Happen A proper lady lets loose on Open Mike Night--and opens her heart to a different kind of man... A Texas RAnger and a candy shop owner have a blind date--with a deliciously unexplected outcome... A widowed party planner meets a handsome doctor, but fears losing her heart for the second time.. -
![Letter from an Unknown Woman: The Fowler Snared by Stefan Zweig]()
Letter from an Unknown Woman: The Fowler Snared by Stefan Zweig
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThis story of distorted passion and behaviour reveals the unrequited love of a woman for a man who cares so little for her that he fails to recognize her as she obsessively pursues him. Also included is The Fowler Snared, sharing a similar theme, only it is the man whose passion is unrequited... -
![The Corsican Woman by Madge Swindells]()
The Corsican Woman by Madge Swindells
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSybilia turned as if sleepwalking and, trance-like, walked down the stone steps to the living room. She shuddered as she took the rifle from the peg on the wall, but after only a moment's hesitation, she loaded it and went outside. Sybilia Rocca is beautiful, gentle and intelligent... -
![Cattail Ridge by T.L. Haddix]()
Cattail Ridge by T.L. Haddix
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBook Four in the Firefly Hollow series. After a cutting betrayal by the father of her child, Emma Campbell swore off men. Convinced she'd never find the kind of love her parents had, Emma devoted her life to raising her daughter and building her business. Surrounded by a close-knit family who loved her, she ignored her loneliness. Until the day family friend Archer Gibson kissed her... -
![A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle]()
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAfter a tumultuous year in New York City, the Austins are spending the summer on the small island where their grandfather lives. He’s very sick, and watching his condition deteriorate as the summer passes is almost more than Vicky can bear. To complicate matters, she finds herself as the center of attention for three very different boys... -
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![Margot & Me by Juno Dawson]()
Margot & Me by Juno Dawson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes love has to cross all kinds of barriers . . .Fliss is on the way to visit her grandmother in Wales - the grandmother who she doesn't get on with - with her mother who is recuperating from chemotherapy... -
![Teresa Batista, Cansada de Guerra by Jorge Amado]()
Teresa Batista, Cansada de Guerra by Jorge Amado
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAt thirteen Tereza is sold by her aunt to a ranch owner who treats her like a piece of property, and sexually abuses her. When caught in bed with her lover she defends herself against the ranch owner’s violence with a knife and ends up in jail. Freed by a long-time admirer, she eventually ends up in a brothel... -
![Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman]()
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 77 ratingsA New York Times BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerA Los Angeles Times BestsellerA Vulture Book Club PickAn Instant Classic and One of the Great Love Stories of Our TimeAndré Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera... -
![The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren]()
The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFirst published in 1974, The Front Runner raced to international acclaim - the first novel about gay love to become popular with mainstream. In 1975, coach Harlan Brown is hiding from his past at an obscure New York college, after he was fired from Penn State University on suspicion of being gay. A tough, lonely ex-Marine of 39, Harlan has never allowed himself to love another man... -
![Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux]()
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt was her father's dying wish that Samantha Elliot search for her grandmother, who'd disappeared from Louisville when she was a baby. So here she was, in big, dirty New York City...her parents were dead, her divorce was final, and she was all alone.... Michael Taggert was Samantha's landlord, and he was easily the most beautiful man she'd ever seen... -
![If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson]()
If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBoth Elisha (Ellie) and Jeremiah (Miah) attend Percy Academy, a private school where neither quite fits in. Ellie is wrestling with family demons, and Miah is one of the few African American students. The two of them find each other, and fall in love -- but they are hesitant to share their newfound happiness with their friends and families, who will not understand... -
![Ask the Dust by John Fante]()
Ask the Dust by John Fante
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAsk the Dust is the story of Arturo Bandini, a young Italian-American writer in 1930s Los Angeles who falls hard for the elusive, mocking, unstable Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. Struggling to survive, he perseveres until, at last, his first novel is published. But the bright light of success is extinguished when Camilla has a nervous breakdown and disappears . . -
![The Butterfly Garden by Rachel Burton]()
The Butterfly Garden by Rachel Burton
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gripping and beautiful tale of love, loss and secrets. 1963: When Clara Samuels buys Butterfly Cottage, she knows the scandal she’ll cause. A single woman buying property is not the ‘done thing’, especially not in a village like Carybrook. But Clara has been in love with Butterfly Cottage, and its garden, since she used to play there before the War... -
![Los árboles mueren de pie by Alejandro Casona]()
Los árboles mueren de pie by Alejandro Casona
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAlejandro Casona plays with fantasy and reality in his plays. Here we are in play within the play, not in the Pirandellian way but as orchestrating elements of the vaudeville. This work offers a world of fantasy and characters who exemplify a moral idea. They intended to show the viewer the good, beautiful life in its most genuine, kind and wonderful expression... -
![Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden]()
Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 33 ratings"If you don't put that ring on this minute, I'm going to take it back," Annie whispered in my ear. She leaned back, looking at me, her hands still on my shoulders, her eyes shining softly at me and snow falling, melting, on her nose. "Buon Natale," she whispered, "amore mio.""Merry Christmas, my love," I answered... -
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![Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts]()
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsTalk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change... -
![One Boy's Shadow by Ross A. McCoubrey]()
One Boy's Shadow by Ross A. McCoubrey
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Fifteen-year-old Caleb Mackenzie doesn’t put up a fight when his father announces the family is moving to Stapeton, Nova Scotia. In fact, Caleb looks forward to a fresh start in the scenic little area. Their new home, Wakefield House, sports large rooms, a big barn where Caleb can work on cars, and acres of forested land for privacy. But it also has a troubling past... -
![Mel by Liz Berry]()
Mel by Liz Berry
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen her mother is hospitalized after suffering a mental breakdown, seventeen-year-old Mel redecorates the house, initiates a neighborhood clean-up, and becomes involved with a rock star... -
![Putting on the Ritz by Joe Keenan]()
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![One Good Man by Emma Scott]()
One Good Man by Emma Scott
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt’s spring, 1970. The Vietnam War has been raging for years with no end in sight. Janey Martin, a California college student and aspiring journalist is tired of writing puff pieces about her university men’s sports teams. She wants to be taken seriously as a journalist and as a woman...Categorized as:
coming-of-age 20th-century adult anthologies athlete contemporary fiction friends-to-lovers -
![Harold and Maude by Colin Higgins]()
Harold and Maude by Colin Higgins
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNineteen-year-old Harold Chasen is obsessed with death. He fakes suicides to shock his self-obsessed mother, drives a customized Jaguar hearse, and attends funerals of complete strangers. Seventy-nine-year-old Maude Chardin, on the other hand, adores life... -
![Betty Blue by Philippe Djian]()
Betty Blue by Philippe Djian
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis is a full-fledged lovers' tragedy between a drifter-turned-writer and the fatally flawed Betty, his muse and obsessive promoter... -
![The China Garden by Liz Berry]()
The China Garden by Liz Berry
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Clare moves with her mother from London to Ravensmere, an historic English estate, she can't shake the feeling that the residents already know her, especially Mark, a maddeningly attractive biker. Clare also feels compelled to take midnight walks in Ravensmere's abandoned China Garden. Then her mother reveals that their own past is tragically linked to the estate... -
![A Streetcar Named Desire and Other Plays by Tennessee Williams]()
A Streetcar Named Desire and Other Plays by Tennessee Williams
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTennessee Williams’s sensuous, atmospheric plays transformed the American stage with their passion, exoticism and vibrant characters who rage against their personal demons and the modern world... -
![São Bernardo by Graciliano Ramos]()
São Bernardo by Graciliano Ramos
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPaulo Honório is a sometime field hand who has kicked and clawed and schemed his way to prosperity, becoming master of the decrepit estate São Bernardo, where once upon a time he toiled. He is ruthless in his exploitation of his fellow man, but when he makes a match with a fine young woman, he is surprised to discover that this latest acquisition, as he sees it, may be somewhat harder to handle... -
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![Către frumusețe by David Foenkinos, Daniel Nicolescu]()
Către frumusețe by David Foenkinos, Daniel Nicolescu
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings„Dacă nu ar părea tocit de atâta folosire, aș fi ales drept motto al romanului meu acest adagiu al lui Dostoievski: «Frumusețea va salva lumea»“, mărturisea David Foenkinos într-un interviu... -
![Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim]()
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAt the age of eight Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he cannot remember an entire five–hour period of time... -
![Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown]()
Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOn a rainy Southern night, Jade Sperry endured a young woman's worst nightmare at the hands of three local hell-raisers. Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family... -
![Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson]()
Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWritten on the Body is a secret code only visible in certain lights: the accumulation of a lifetime gather there. In places the palimpsest is so heavily worked that the letters feel like braille. I like to keep my body rolled away from prying eyes, never unfold too much, tell the whole story. I didn't know that Louise would have reading hands. She has translated me into her own book... -
![Heaven by V.C. Andrews]()
Heaven by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOf all the folks in the mountain shacks, the Casteels were the lowest the scum of the hills.Heaven Leigh Casteel was the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, despite her ragged clothes and dirty face...despite a father meaner than ten vipers...despite her weary stepmother, who worked her like a mule. For her brother Tom and the little ones, Heaven clung to her pride and her hopes... -
![The Pact by Jodi Picoult]()
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsFor eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty—they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more... -
![The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks]()
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 88 ratingsA man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever... -
![Evening Class by Maeve Binchy]()
Evening Class by Maeve Binchy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAmong the many evening classes starting all over Dublin is an 'Introduction to Italian'. On the surface it could be just one of hundreds in which some students will succeed and some will fall along the way. the hopes and dreams of so many people are tied up in the twice weekly lessons... -
![Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx]()
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAnnie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many readers and reviewers, "Brokeback Mountain" is her masterpiece. Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line... -
![Tin Man by Sarah Winman]()
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA novel celebrating love in all of its forms and the little moments that make up the life of an autoworker in a small working-class town.This is almost a love story. But it's not as simple as that... -
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![The Promise by Danielle Steel]()
The Promise by Danielle Steel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYoung architect Micheal Hillyard and artist Nancy McAllister are determined to get married despite his wealthy mother's disapproval. Then minutes before their wedding, a terrifying accident and a cruel deception separate Micheal and Nancy--perhaps forever. Each pursues a new life--Nancy in California, Micheal in New York... -
![Doctors by Erich Segal]()
Doctors by Erich Segal
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWriting with all the passion of "Love Story" and power of "The Class," Erich Segal sweeps us into the lives of the Harvard Medical School's class of 1962. His stunning novel reveals the making of doctors--what makes them tick, scheme, hurt . . . and love... -
![Closer (Methuen Modern Plays) by Patrick Marber]()
Closer (Methuen Modern Plays) by Patrick Marber
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Closer, Patrick Marber has created a brilliant exploration into the brutal anatomy of modern romance, where a quartet of strangers meet, fall in love, and become caught up in a web of sexual desire and betrayal... -
![To the Wedding by John Berger]()
To the Wedding by John Berger
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWith the sensuous eye and profound sense of history that have made him one of the most acclaimed living novelists, John Berger, author of G., tells the story of a wedding that takes place in a Europe that is approaching the end of the century, a place where everything has changed - and not even the certainties of love are exempt... -
![A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill]()
A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEugene O’Neill’s last completed play, A Moon for the Misbegotten is a sequel to his autobiographical Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Moon picks up eleven years after the events described in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, as Jim Tyrone (based on O’Neill’s older brother Jamie) grasps at a last chance at love under the full moonlight... -
![Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan]()
Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsComplete and Unabridged...
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