Books like 'Small Things Like These'
Readers who enjoyed Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century action / adventure historical-fiction literary-fiction season-winter religion realistic family spirituality
-
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsFrom the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, a sweeping, heartfelt saga about the course of one man's life, beginning and ending in post-war IrelandCyril Avery is not a real Avery -- or at least, that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion sad social-commentary -
Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsDeath and the Dervish is an acclaimed novel by Bosnian writer Mesa Selimovic. It recounts the story of Sheikh Nuruddin, a dervish residing in an Islamic monastery in Sarajevo in the eighteenth century during the Ottoman Turk hegemony over the Balkans. When his brother is arrested, he must descend into the Kafkaesque world of the Ottoman authorities in his search to discover what happened to him... -
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsIt is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion spirituality 20th-century -
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsWith a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion sad social-commentary -
-
The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor fans of bestselling World War II fiction like Sarah’s Key and The Nightingale comes an illuminating tale of courage, sacrifice, and survival, about two couples whose lives are ravaged by Hitler’s mad war yet eventually redeemed through the fate of one little girl...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century historical war -
None Stood Taller: An inspirational WWII story to make your heart soar. (Historical fiction) by Peter Turnham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis book is a window into Britain's secret wartime past, step through it and this inspirational story of life and love will make your heart soar.It is March 1941, large swathes of the East End of London lie in ruins. Lily Heywood is just one more victim of the Blitz, lying beneath the rubble of her home. An unbreakable spirit, this is not the end for Lily, it is merely the beginning...Categorized as:
historical-fiction journey religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
They Burn Thistles by Yaşar Kemal
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis is the story of a bitter war between the poor Turkish peasants of the Taurus Mountains and the Aghas who covet their land. Ali Safa is determined to take possession of the village of Vayvay but its inhabitants will not sell. Then one villager weakens, prepared to part with his land in return for the Agha's best stallion...Categorized as:
historical-fiction journey literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book classics -
One Child in Berlin by A.W. Hartoin
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt’s been a year since Stella Bled Lawrence and her husband, Nicky, escaped Italy by the skin of their teeth and a lot has changed. Nicky joined the Royal Air Force and Stella spent the year training as a spy for His Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service. She has the languages and the tradecraft down pat, but she still has a way to go when the Earl of Bickford pulls her from her training early... -
To Live by Yu Hua, 余华
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the author of Brothers and China in Ten Words this celebrated contemporary classic of Chinese literature was also adapted for film by Zhang Yimou. This searing novel, originally banned in China but later named one of that nation's most influential books, portrays one man's transformation from the spoiled son of a landlord to a kindhearted peasant...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic sad 20th-century action-adventure -
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNow available in trade paper with an eye-catching new cover from the bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis: Megs Devonshire sets out to fulfill her younger brother George’s last wish by uncovering the truth behind his favorite story. The answer provides hope and healing and a magical journey for anyone whose life has ever been changed by a book... -
Karolina's Twins by Ronald H. Balson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the author of Once We Were Brothers comes a saga inspired by true events of a Holocaust survivor’s quest to fulfill a promise, return to Poland and find two sisters lost during World War II.Lena Woodward, an elderly woman, enlists the help of both lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart to appraise the story of her harrowing past in Nazi occupied Poland... -
Danzig Passage by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe net of Hitler's Third Reich begins to close around the Jews in prewar Europe, and millions are trapped in his sinister web. Kristal Nacht, the Night of Broken Glass, shatters the last illusions for thousands who hoped to escape the Nazi terror.As the synagogues of Berlin burn and Jewish homes are plundered, two families face the grim reality of life in New Germany...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
The Queen of Beauty by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPetra Durst-Benning’s captivating historical novel pays homage to the trailblazing women of the early twentieth century—like Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder—who shaped culture, shattered convention, and strived to make the world around them more beautiful...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn 1944, American naval officer Lt. Wyatt Paxton arrives in London to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. He works closely with Dorothy Fairfax, a "Wren" in the Women's Royal Naval Service. Dorothy pieces together reconnaissance photographs with thousands of holiday snapshots of France--including those of her own family's summer home--in order to create accurate maps of Normandy...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure animals -
-
The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 36 ratings"The Harafish begins with the tale of Ashur al-Nagi, a man who grows from humble beginnings to become a great leader, a legend among his people. Generation after generation, however, Ashur's descendants grow further from his legendary example...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
El Regreso a Sion: Cronicas III = Return to Zion-Zion Ch 03 by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe first two books in THE ZION CHRONICLES, The Gates of Zion and its sequel, A Daughter of Zion, graphically portrayed the courage and hope of the Jewish people streaming into Israel after the Holocaust. The drama of history and the heart-stopping life-and-death struggle of a nation are captured by bestselling author Bodie Thoene in the lives of the people who live on these pages...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
Trinity by Leon Uris
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLeon Uris’s beloved Irish classic, available in Avon mass market. From the acclaimed author who enthralled the world with Exodus, Battle Cry, QB VII, Topaz, and other beloved classics of twentieth-century fiction comes a sweeping and powerful epic adventure that captures the "terrible beauty" of Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom... -
When We Meet Again by Dean Hughes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Thomas family members face ongoing challenges in the dark years at the close of WW2. Alex's values are tested as he works to complete an intelligence assignment in Germany while wondering if he'll ever see his beloved Anna and their son again. Wally struggles to survive the torture he endures as a POW, and Bobbi has to make a difficult choice between the men in her life... -
The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBestselling author Kristy Cambron concludes the Lost Castle novels with this sweeping tale of art and secrets long buried in England. It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance... -
Of Windmills and War by Diane Moody
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe rumblings of war in distant countries mattered little to Danny McClain. Growing up in Chicago, his world revolved around after-school jobs, a rescued beagle, his pen pal in Holland, and the Cubs' chance to go to the World Series. Then, in December of 1941, news of the attack on Pearl Harbor hit much too close to home... -
The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThere on her forearm, next to a small brown birthmark, were six tattooed numbers. 'Do you remember me now?' he asked, trembling. She looked at him again, as if giving weight and bone to a ghost. 'Lenka, it's me,' he said. 'Josef. Your husband.' During the last moments of calm in prewar Prague, Lenka, a young art student, falls in love with Josef...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Rumors of War by Dean Hughes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe elders could see nothing but smoke until they turned the corner onto the street where the fire was. And then, both of them stopped. "The synagogue!" Elder Thomas said. It had never occurred to him that anyone - even the Nazis - would do such a thing.Elder Thomas got his camera out... -
Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat happened to Brigitte Berthold? That question has haunted Daniel Knight since he was thirteen, when he and eleven-year-old Brigitte escaped the Gestapo agents who arrested both their parents. They survived a harrowing journey from Germany to England, only to be separated upon their arrival...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe inhabitants of a Greek village, ruled by the Turks, plan to enact the life of Christ in a mystery play but are overwhelmed by their task. A group of refugees, fleeing from the ruins of their plundered homes, arrive asking for protection - and suddenly the drama of the Passion becomes reality... -
-
As Long As I Have You by Dean Hughes
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe war is over, and the Thomas family is slowly coming back together at home in Salt Lake City. But that doesn't mean all is well in Zion.In As Long As I Have You, the final volume of the Children of the Promise series, author Dean Hughes presents a moving picture of what life was like for an ordinary LDS family at the end of World War II... -
Children of the Promise, Vol. 3: Far From Home by Dean Hughes
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"All right. Let's go." Alex saw the terror in Howie's eyes as he took off before Alex could. Howie ran hard, angling back and forth only a little, mostly just getting as far away as fast as he could. Alex was a faster runner, and he could make a few more zings and zags in his path and still keep up. For a time it all seemed unnecessary... -
Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice by Tricia Goyer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTricia Goyer tells the little-known, but true story of the orchestra started by prisoners in Hitler's Mauthausen death camp. This courageous orchestra played the American national anthem as Allied troops arrived to liberate the camps...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsParis, 1941: As Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the German’s noses... -
Children of the Promise, Vol. 2: Since You Went Away by Dean Hughes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWally Thomas didn t know how many days and nights he had been marching up the coast of the Bataan Peninsula. He was almost too numb to think, too full of pain. He tried to keep a steady pace, but the guards pressured the prisoners to keep moving, forced them close together, and in their exhaustion the men stumbled and knocked each other off stride... -
Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe sensual and provocative second volume in the Cairo Trilogy, Palace Of Desire follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920's and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams and modern realities...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Under the Midnight Sun by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTayler Hale is ahead of her time as one of the first women naturalists. She has always loved adventure and the great outdoors, and her remote job location also helps keep her away from the clutches of the man to whom she once made a foolish promise. It seems she must keep running, however, and in secret, her boss from Yellowstone arranges for a new job . . . in Alaska...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
The Rebel by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe watches helplessly as the man she loves leaves to fight with the Allies overseas. He promises her he will return to her alive and well. Will he be able to keep his promise, or will he be yet another lost soldier in a war against tyranny?After four years at a university, Delphia Barnes returns home to Emerson Pass as America prepares to join the war...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family christian spirituality romance fiction audiobook historical -
The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLuke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, D.C. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
A History of Loneliness by John Boyne
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPropelled into the priesthood by a family tragedy, Odran Yates is full of hope and ambition. When he arrives at Clonliffe Seminary in the 1970s, it is a time in Ireland when priests are highly respected, and Odran believes that he is pledging his life to "the good."Forty years later, Odran's devotion is caught in revelations that shatter the Irish people's faith in the Catholic Church...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion social-commentary -
-
Samarkand by Amin Maalouf
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAccused of mocking the inviolate codes of Islam, the Persian poet and sage Omar Khayyam fortuitously finds sympathy with the very man who is to judge his alleged crimes. Recognising genuis, the judge decides to spare him and gives him instead a small, blank book, encouraging him to confine his thoughts to it alone. Thus begins the seamless blend of fact and fiction that is Samarkand... -
The Enchanted Barn by Grace Livingston Hill
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Hollisters, a bright, spirited, wholesome family, are compelled to move into the country. After many efforts to secure a home, Shirley, eldest of the Hollisters, contrives a way out by renting a magnificent old stone barn at a ridiculously low price, transforming it into a house...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsHer name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood—the world of the red tent...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion spirituality -
Laddie: A True Blue Story: By Gene Stratton-Porter - Illustrated by Gene Stratton-Porter
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings1913. Stratton-Porter was an American feminist, environmentalist, photographer and one of Indiana's most famous female authors. Many of her writings were moralistic and romantic novels. Laddie is a wonderful child's book and is thought to be based on her brother Leander who drowned in the Wabash River. Due to the age and scarcity of the original we reproduced, some pages may be spotty or faded... -
The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, Elina Klersy Imberciadori
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMade into a movie starring Patrick Swayze, this is the inspiring story of an American doctor who experienced a spiritual rebirth in an impoverished section of Calcutta... -
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See... -
Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDeep in a New England forest, an ancient tree stands at the center of a tale passed down through the generations. So much so, that the residents of Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine, no longer know what is truth and what is fable. A woman fleeing in the night, rumors of treason, revolution, retribution . . -
Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBook 3 of Love Comes Softly. Clark and Marty's daughter, ready to start her own life, must rely on faith in the face of homesickness and mounting hardships...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHailed as a masterpiece by critics worldwide, The Last Temptation of Christ is a monumental reinterpretation of the Gospels that brilliantly fleshes out Christ’s Passion. This literary rendering of the life of Jesus Christ has courted controversy since its publication by depicting a Christ far more human than the one seen in the Bible... -
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsVikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: Lata and her mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra, are both trying to find—through love or through exacting maternal appraisal—a suitable boy for Lata to marry...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion spirituality 20th-century -
-
This Is Happiness by Niall Williams, Shashi Martynova
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAbout This Is HappinessThe most enchanting novel you'll read this year, from the acclaimed author of Man Booker-longlisted History of the RainChange is coming to Faha, a small Irish parish that hasn't changed in a thousand years.For one thing, the rain is stopping. Nobody remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard is a condition of living... -
The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNnu Ego is a woman who gives all her energy, money and everything she has to raising her children - leaving her little time to make friends... -
The Third Daughter by Talia Carner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of Jerusalem Maiden comes a remarkable story, inspired by little-known true events, about the thousands of young Jewish women who were trafficked into prostitution at the turn of the 20th century, and whose subjugation helped build Buenos Aires.The turn of the 20th century finds fourteen-year-old Batya in the Russian countryside, fleeing with her family endless pogroms... -
China by Edward Rutherfurd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe internationally bestselling author of Paris and New York takes on an exhilarating new world with his trademark epic style in China: The Novel Edward Rutherfurd has enthralled millions of readers with his grand, sweeping historical sagas that tell the history of a famous place over multiple generations... -
The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this "briskly entertaining" (New York Times Book Review), "transporting and wholly original" (People Magazine) novel, one man banishes himself to a solitary life in the Arctic Circle, and is saved by good friends, a loyal dog, and a surprise visit that changes everything... -
The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSix-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction journey literary-fiction realistic religion spirituality
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.