Books like 'Broken Piano for President'
Readers who enjoyed Broken Piano for President by Patrick Wensink also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Complete Saki by Saki
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHector Hugh Munro is perhaps the most graceful spokesman for England's "golden afternoon''--those slow and peaceful years prior to the outbreak of World War I. The good wit of bad manners, elegantly spiced with irony and deftly controlled malice, has made Saki stories small, perfect gems of the English language... -
![Holymoly by Heide Goody, Iain Grant]()
Holymoly by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStephen and his friends spent their teenage years immersed in the fantasy gaming worlds of wizards and warriors, undertaking quests to fight evil occultists, vanquish terrible monsters and rescue damsels in distress. Now, twenty-something years later, there is a real-life quest. Life as a monk has hardly prepared Brother Stephen for the mission ahead... -
![Autumn Bleeds Into Winter by Jeff Strand]()
Autumn Bleeds Into Winter by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings1979. Somebody has been abducting children in Fairbanks, Alaska. One of the victims was fourteen-year-old Curtis Black's best friend Todd.Curtis saw it happen. He knows exactly who did it. But he can't prove that it was his neighbor Gerald Martin. The authorities find no evidence of the crime. There's nothing they can do.So he's going to confront Mr. Martin himself... -
![The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by Nikolai Gogol]()
The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by Nikolai Gogol
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFour works by great 19th-century Russian author - "The Nose," a savage satire of Russia's incompetent bureaucrats; "Old-Fashioned Farmers," a pleasant depiction of an elderly couple living in rustic seclusion; "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarrelled with Ivan Nikiforovich," one of Gogol's most famous comic stories; and "The Overcoat," widely considered a masterpiece of form... -
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![Who's a Good Boy? by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor]()
Who's a Good Boy? by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFrom the authors of the New York Times bestselling novels It Devours! and Welcome to Night Vale and the creators of the #1 international podcast of the same name, comes a collection of episodes from Season Four of their hit podcast, featuring an introduction by the authors, a foreword by Jonny Sun, behind-the-scenes commentary, and original illustrations... -
![Hooflandia by Heide Goody, Iain Grant]()
Hooflandia by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Jeremy Clovenhoof decides to set himself up as President for Life of his own breakaway country, he knows he'll need money, lots and lots of money. That might be a bit difficult, particularly since the Inland Revenue have just presented him with an enormous tax bill and Heaven and Hell have sent Joan of Arc and Rutspud of the Sixth Circle to bring him under control... -
![Critters from the Poo Lagoon : A 24/7 Demon Mart Creature Feature (24/7 Demon Mart Stories Book 2) by D.M. Guay]()
Critters from the Poo Lagoon : A 24/7 Demon Mart Creature Feature (24/7 Demon Mart Stories Book 2) by D.M. Guay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne loser, one talking cockroach, and one karate-chopping bombshell stand between YOU and the creatures who just crawled out of the toilet at Jennifer Wallace's charity luau. Wait, what? Back up.It's Friday night, and the Wallace family is hosting a charity pool party at Caroline Ford Vanderbilt's super snooty Country Club... -
![The Garbage Times/White Ibis: Two Novellas by Sam Pink, Tom Fria]()
The Garbage Times/White Ibis: Two Novellas by Sam Pink, Tom Fria
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the freezing alleys of Chicago to the dew-blanketed bayou of Florida. From bouncing drunks and cleaning up puke to biking through the swamp laughing at peacocks. Freeze to thaw. Filth and broken glass and black water backed up in showers; lizards and Girl Scouts and themed birthday parties... -
![Lone Wolf by L.T. Vargus, E.M. Smith]()
Lone Wolf by L.T. Vargus, E.M. Smith
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe package arrives first class. A manila envelope bulging with bubble wrap. With the top slit open, what lies within can just faintly be seen: A swath of human flesh sealed in plastic.When a popular podcaster receives a disturbing package in the mail, FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to Denver to investigate. The grisly contents of the bubble mailer are unlike anything he’s seen... -
![The Unhappy Medium 2: Tom Fool: A Supernatural Comedy by T.J. Brown]()
The Unhappy Medium 2: Tom Fool: A Supernatural Comedy by T.J. Brown
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDr Newton Barlow and the Purgatorians are back. Now that the fight between good and evil has become routine, one-time sceptical physicist and unhappy medium, Dr Newton Barlow, is badly in need of a challenge. It arrives in the shape of a crime so cunning in its planning, so dastardly in its execution, that even the hyper-logical Dr Barlow will struggle to prevent it... -
![Out of Hours by Heide Goody, Iain Grant]()
Out of Hours by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEveryone is out of time… Morag Murry is about to give birth to the Venislarn anti-Christ and her baby is eager to be born. Very eager. With only Steve the Destroyer to help her through her labours, she knows that when this child is born, the earth will face its final day... -
![Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Space Team Universe just got a whole lot darker. In an alien city torn apart by crooked cops and ruthless criminals, private detective, Dan Deadman, specializes in cases unusual and bizarre... -
![Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong, Jason Pargin]()
Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong, Jason Pargin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author David Wong's Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is the latest—and arguably greatest–sci-fi thriller in the Zoey Ashe Series.In the futuristic city of Tabula Ra$a, Zoey Ashe is like a fish so far out of water that it has achieved orbit... -
![The Buying of Lot 37 by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor]()
The Buying of Lot 37 by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the authors of the New York Times bestselling novels It Devours! and Welcome to Night Vale and the creators of the #1 international podcast of the same name, comes a collection of episodes from Season Three of their hit podcast, featuring an introduction by the authors, a foreword by Dessa, behind-the-scenes commentary, and original illustrations... -
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![Beelzebub: A Memoir by Mark Cain]()
Beelzebub: A Memoir by Mark Cain
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Do you know me? I am Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies, Prince of Hell, second only to Satan himself in the infernal hierarchy. The Devil, you say? Yes, I’m one of those as well.”Here in one laugh-out-loud volume is the life of Beezy, Satan’s BFF, and one of the most popular characters in the CIRCLES IN HELL universe... -
![The Ice Cream Man and Other Stories by Sam Pink]()
The Ice Cream Man and Other Stories by Sam Pink
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Pink is a keen observer of the culture of minimum-wage jobs and low-rent studio apartments that is the reality of life for all those who don't find a cog space in today's hyper-capitalist economy." —The GuardianIt was maybe the first job I'd ever had where people were happy to see me. An odd feeling indeed, to wield this kind of power. To be this kind of force... -
![The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories by Saki]()
The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories by Saki
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe whimsical, macabre tales of British writer H. H. Munro—better known as Saki—deftly, mercilessly, and hilariously skewer the banality and hypocrisy of polite upper-class English society between the end of Queen Victoria’s reign and the beginning of World War I... -
![ClownFellas: Tales of the Bozo Family by Carlton Mellick, III]()
ClownFellas: Tales of the Bozo Family by Carlton Mellick, III
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Carlton Mellick III goes past silly, through weird, detours around dumb, blasts through bizarre, and gets to a place where the normal physics of narrative no longer apply. You will never be the same... -
![John and Dave and the Temple of X'al'naa'thuthuthu by David Wong, Jason Pargin]()
John and Dave and the Temple of X'al'naa'thuthuthu by David Wong, Jason Pargin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe below tale of wonder and horror was written a couple of years ago as a "sequel" to my horror novel John Dies at the End. This unfinished adventure is not included in the print edition of JDatE that is coming out this fall, and right now is an online exclusive.This was part of an early draft of David Wong's totally rad novel This Book Is Full Of Spiders... -
![The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson]()
The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe complexity and range of Robert Louis Stevenson's short fiction reveals his genius perhaps more than any other medium. Here, leading Stevenson scholar Barry Menikoff arranges and introduces the complete selection of Stevenson's brilliant stories, including the famed masterpiece Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr... -
![Baby of the Family by Tina McElroy Ansa]()
Baby of the Family by Tina McElroy Ansa
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn evocative, delicately comic story of a girl’s coming of age. From the moment of her birth in a rural black hospital in Georgia, Lena McPherson is recognized as a special child, with the power to see ghosts and predict the future. Named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times... -
![Maldoror and Poems by Comte de Lautréamont]()
Maldoror and Poems by Comte de Lautréamont
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsInsolent and defiant, the Chants de Maldoror, by the self-styled Comte de Lautréamont (1846-70), depicts a sinister and sadistic world of unrestrained savagery and brutality... -
![Oddjobs by Heide Goody, Iain Grant]()
Oddjobs by Heide Goody, Iain Grant
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt’s the end of the world as we know it, but someone still needs to do the paperwork. Incomprehensible horrors from beyond are going to devour our world but that’s no excuse to get all emotional about it. Morag Murray works for the secret government organisation responsible for making sure the apocalypse goes as smoothly and as quietly as possible... -
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![The Odds by Jeff Strand]()
The Odds by Jeff Strand
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAfter a disastrous evening playing slot machines, Ethan Caustin wonders how he's going to explain his massive loss to his wife and kids. As he tries to find his way out of the casino, sick to his stomach and filled with self-loathing, he's approached by a stranger who offers a solution to his problem. It's a simple game. A 99% chance for him to win ten thousand dollars... -
![Strawberries by Casey Bartsch]()
Strawberries by Casey Bartsch
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStrawberries is the name he has been given. When they let him out, they had no way of knowing what he was. A psychopath. A killer. The body count is at twenty already, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Agent Harry Bland can’t see one anyway. He doesn’t have a single clue to go on. It doesn’t help that his mind won’t focus. His heart just isn’t in it anymore... -
![Osbert the Avenger by Christopher William Hill, Chris Riddell]()
Osbert the Avenger by Christopher William Hill, Chris Riddell
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe first book in the gruesomely funny Tales from Schwartzgarten series. Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers. His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge. The villains are vicious. The settings are sinister. And good does NOT always prevail...If you prefer cleavers to kittens and fiends to fairies.. -
![Rose's Run by Dawn Dumont, Daniel Grenier]()
Rose's Run by Dawn Dumont, Daniel Grenier
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRose Okanese, a single mother with two kids, has been pushed into a corner by Rez citizens to claim some self-respect, and decides that the fastest way to do that is to run the reserve’s annual marathon. Though Rose hasn’t run in twenty years, smokes, and initially has little motivation, she announces her intention to run the race... -
![Black Gum by J. David Osborne]()
Black Gum by J. David Osborne
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAfter his life spirals out of control, a young man navigates a world of juggalos, transients, and petty criminals with Shane, an enigmatic small-time drug dealer with a penchant for body modification... -
![The After Days by Amy Ginsburg]()
The After Days by Amy Ginsburg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a world without power, you need the power of friendship and love to survive."This is far and away the most compelling read I’ve experienced in a long time. No lie. This is seriously good. It’s fresh, entertaining, and thought-provoking...Categorized as:
literary-fiction humor dystopia fiction post-apocalyptic sci-fi apocalyptic female-mc -
![Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki]()
Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsShort excerpt: I wish you would turn me into a wolf Mr. Bilsiter said his hostess at luncheon the day after his arrival... -
![I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin]()
I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.But there are rules:He cannot look inside the box.He cannot ask questions... -
![Graverobbers Wanted: No Experience Necessary by Jeff Strand]()
Graverobbers Wanted: No Experience Necessary by Jeff Strand
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen you're desperate for money, searching for a little adventure, and aren't the most responsible person in the world, you can end up doing some outrageous things. Which is how Andrew Mayhem, an extremely married father of two, ends up accepting $20,000 to find a key ... a key buried with a body in a shallow grave... -
![Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby, Julia Whelan]()
Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby, Julia Whelan
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMargaret Atwood meets Buffy in these funny, warm, and furious stories of women at their breaking points, from Hellenic times to today.Cassandra may have seen the future, but it doesn't mean she's resigned to telling the Trojans everything she knows... -
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![Soul Kitchen by Poppy Z. Brite]()
Soul Kitchen by Poppy Z. Brite
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIf you can't stand the heat...Get the hell out of New Orleans!Liquor has become one of the hottest restaurants in town, thanks in part to chefs Rickey and G-man’s wildly creative, booze-laced food... -
![Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl]()
Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsIn Switch Bitch four tales of seduction and suspense are told by the grand master of the short story, Roald Dahl.Topping and tailing this collection are The Visitor and Bitch, stories featuring Dahl's notorious hedonist Oswald Hendryks Cornelius (or plain old Uncle Oswald) whose exploits are frequently as extraordinary as they are scandalous... -
![The Nose by Catherine Cowan, Nikolai Gogol]()
The Nose by Catherine Cowan, Nikolai Gogol
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAfter disappearing from the Deputy Inspector's face, his nose shows up around town before returning to its proper place... -
![Fangs a Lot: Final Notes from a Totally Lame Vampire by Tim Collins]()
Fangs a Lot: Final Notes from a Totally Lame Vampire by Tim Collins
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsNigel Mullet (vampire, diarist, not-so-heroic hero) puts his leadership—and romantic—skills to the test in this fun, funny, and not-at-all-lame conclusion to the Totally Lame Vampire series.Nigel Mullet finds himself in charge of a vampire coven on a remote Scottish island... -
![Every Time We Meet at the Dairy Queen, Your Whole Fucking Face Explodes by Carlton Mellick III]()
Every Time We Meet at the Dairy Queen, Your Whole Fucking Face Explodes by Carlton Mellick III
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsKnown for his cute, disturbing, and utterly absurd novels, cult author Carlton Mellick III returns with a tale of childhood love and spontaneous face explosions.Ethan is in love with the weird girl in school. The one with the twitchy eyes and spiders in her hair. The one who can't sit still for even a minute and speaks in an odd squeaky voice. The one they call Spiderweb... -
![Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey, محمد غفوری]()
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey, محمد غفوری
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOnce the Orme family’s magnificent ancestral estate, Observatory Mansions is now a crumbling apartment complex, home to an eccentric group of misfits. One of them is Francis Orme, who earns his livelihood as a living statue. When not practicing “inner and outer stillness,” Francis steals the cherished possessions of others to add to his private museum... -
![The Cabal of Thotash by J. Zachary Pike]()
The Cabal of Thotash by J. Zachary Pike
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Cabal of Thotash has languished for years within their poorly-ventilated Manhattan lair. All of their rituals to summon an ancient malice and help it unmake reality have accomplished little beyond annoying the upstairs neighbor... -
![How Best to Avoid Dying by Owen Egerton]()
How Best to Avoid Dying by Owen Egerton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratings[i]Lazarus Dying[/i]: the man Jesus raised from the dead is alive and living in New York City. [i]The Fecalist[/i]: an author whose best selling work is his latest poop. [i]Christmas[/i]: she loves you, you love her, she has a gun in your mouth. Welcome to the award-winning short fiction of Owen Egerton... -
![Grundish and Askew by Lance Carbuncle]()
Grundish and Askew by Lance Carbuncle
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStrap on your athletic cup and grab a barf bag. The Dr... -
![Negrophobia by Darius James]()
Negrophobia by Darius James
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEvery racial stereotype is brought to life in this wry and raucous debut by James, a cutting-edge African American writer with an already established underground reputation. "By far the best novel to emerge from New York's Lower East Side literary scene".--Kirkus... -
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![The Wine Club by Laurie Lisa]()
The Wine Club by Laurie Lisa
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBe ready to get hooked, with The Wine Club.Most people can’t tell a good wine from a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck.At least that’s what best friends Reggie and Audrey decide one night while celebrating their daughters’ election to the elite Mohave High Tigerette Pom Squad. But cheerleading in Scottsdale Arizona doesn’t come cheap, and both women are strapped for cash and going through a rough patch... -
![The Scarecrow by Ronald Hugh Morrieson]()
The Scarecrow by Ronald Hugh Morrieson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratings'The same week our fowls were stolen, Daphne Moran had her throat cut.' The greatest opening line in New Zealand literature opens this hilarious Gothic melodrama. Klynham is a sleepy little New Zealand town in which not a lot happens. But then one moonlit night the Scarecrow arrives, swilling brandies and looking for victims. Something sordid and even macrabre lies ahead... -
![Fireproof by Gerard Brennan]()
Fireproof by Gerard Brennan
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsEqual parts crime fiction, dark urban fantasy and black comedy.Hell hath no fury for Mike Rocks. He's fireproof; an anomaly caused by a slip-up in afterlife bureaucracy. Lucifer bundles him off as an embarrassing problem with a mission to introduce Satanism to Northern Ireland. And while he's at it, Mike can exact revenge on the men who took his life... -
![The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin]()
The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSet in a crumbling Soviet Black Sea resort, The Life of Insects with its motley cast of characters who exist simultaneously as human beings (racketeers, mystics, drug addicts and prostitutes) and as insects, extended the surreal comic range for which Pelevin's first novel Omon Ra was acclaimed by critics... -
![Triggered by Harrison Phillips]()
Triggered by Harrison Phillips
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis book contains scenes of explicit violence and gore.Rick Richardson was a writer. He was good, too, despite what the reviews might've said. They said his writing was bad, but Rick knew that wasn't true. He knew the real reason they didn't like his books was because of the content. You see, Rick wrote "splatterpunk" .. -
![The Zombie Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead by Roger Ma]()
The Zombie Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead by Roger Ma
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsStatistics reveal that during a zombie outbreak, most individuals will have to destroy their undead opponent without the aid of a firearm. To prepare you for the inevitability of hand-to-hand combat with the living dead, The Zombie Combat Manual demonstrates how anyone, from the seasoned fighter to the untrained citizen, can become an effective warrior against the undead...
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