Books like 'Learning to Lose: A Novel'
Readers who enjoyed Learning to Lose: A Novel by David Trueba also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary psychological drama urban literary-fiction
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Healed: Stone and Pepper by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt's Cliffside Bay and beyond in this heartwarming enemies-to-lovers romantic adventure from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson. Stone Hickman is the last of a dying breed. The former Marine believes in integrity, service to his country, a hard day's work, and taking care of his loved ones... -
Marred: Kyle and Violet by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKyle Hicks started with nothing. Now he's a self-made man. And as luck would have it, his latest project as a real estate developer lands him in Cliffside Bay with his very best friends, The Dogs. At the end of his grueling work days, Kyle's got just enough time left for his buddies and not much else... -
I Hid My Voice by Parinoush Saniee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis is the story, based on fact, of a boy who couldn’t speak until the age of seven. Now twenty, he describes the events of his life.Four-year-old Shahaab has not started talking. The family doctor believes there is no cause for concern; nevertheless, Shahaab is ridiculed by others who call him "dumb... -
The Grapes of Wrath/The Moon is Down/Cannery Row/East of Eden/Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Grapes of Wrath / The Moon Is Down / Cannery Row / East of Eden / Of Mice and... -
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The London Flat: Second Chances by Juliet Gauvin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWHAT READERS ARE SAYING: “YES! A spectacular sequel to The Irish Cottage…even better than the first book.” Elizabeth Lara has just finished her tour of Ireland. She’s moved on to London, but the dashing Connor Bannon isn’t far from her thoughts as she searches for Mags’ lost love...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction adult billionaire book contemporary fiction historical-fiction -
The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for the ISBN can be found here."Ned was beside me, his messages running easily through him, with space between each one, coming through him like water. He was the go-between, going between the animal kingdom and this one. I watched the waves as they rolled and crashed towards us, one after another, never stopping, always changing...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary family female-author -
Fear by Stefan Zweig
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFinding her comfortable bourgeois existence as wife and mother predictable after eight years of marriage, Irene Wagner brings a little excitement into it by starting an affair with a rising young pianist. Her lover’s former mistress begins blackmailing her, threatening to give her secret away to her husband. Irene is soon in the grip of agonizing fear... -
Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain... -
The Mustachioed Woman of Shanghai by Isham Cook
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWant to know what's really going on with relationships in China today? It is the Shanghai of courtesans and concubines, danger and decadence, updated to 2020. American expat author Isham Cook has disappeared... -
Hunger for Life by Andy Marr
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn the day of his graduation, James says goodbye to the future and moves back to his parents’ house in Myreton, the sleepy village of his childhood. He’s not happy, but the thought of continuing his life anywhere else seems unthinkable while his sister, Emma, continues to suffer with the illness that’s plagued her since she was a child...Categorized as:
literary-fiction drama romance fiction family contemporary mental-illness psychological -
Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsVincent Spinetti is an archetypal tortured artist ? a sensitive young writer who falls victim to alienation, parental neglect, poverty, depression, alcoholism, illness, nervous breakdowns, and unrequited love... -
The Shadow Between Us by Carol Mason
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat is it about the coast that attracts people running from their past? Maybe there’s something in a sea breeze that blows away your problems. Maybe when you look out at the ocean you can see the future; forget the secrets and pain holding you back. Or at least you can forget them for a time. When Olivia moves to Port Townsend, her marriage is floundering, and her life is in pieces... -
The House of Gazes by Daniele Mencarelli
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWinner of the 2019 John Fante First Novel Prize The critically acclaimed novel from the author of Everything Calls for Salvation , adapted into a Netflix Original series, is a powerful coming-of-age story about loss, identity, and rebirth Daniele is a young poet plagued by an unknown darkness, “an invisible disease of the heart, or of the mind...Categorized as:
literary-fiction drama fiction contemporary audiobook coming-of-age psychological book -
Saint Richard Parker by Merlin Franco
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHis search for love and enlightenment across India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia...Ace businessman, writer, and investigative journalist Richard Parker loses his job when he exposes the vegetarian CEO of his newspaper as a beef exporter. Accused of misconduct and forced to dissolve his company, he retreats to his wretched little village... -
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Invisible Love by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEric-Emmanuel Schmitt is the author of three luminous collections of short stories published by Europa Editions, including the bestselling Most Beautiful Book in the World, and one novel, Three Women in a Mirror... -
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... -
Drive Me Crazy by Eric Jerome Dickey
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe New York Times bestseller-now in trade paperback.Praised for his storytelling, New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey turns up the heat in his explosive new novel of the reckless desires that bind an irresistible woman to a desperate man-and the one wrong move that could destroy them both... -
Like Life by Lorrie Moore
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn Like Life's eight exquisite stories, Lorrie Moore's characters stumble through their daily existence. These men and women, unsettled and adrift and often frightened, can't quite understand how they arrived at their present situations. Harry has been reworking a play for years in his apartment near Times Square in New York. Jane is biding her time at a cheese shop in a Midwest mall...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook contemporary female-author -
The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life. It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light... -
The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLisa Genova meets 23andMe in this exploration of the genetic and emotional ties that bind, as debut author Julie Clark delivers a compelling read about a young boy desperate to find his place in this world, a mother coming to terms with her own past, and the healing power of forgiveness... -
The Waiting Room by Emily Bleeker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of When I’m Gone and Working Fire comes a gripping novel about a mother, her missing daughter, and the dark secrets that engulf them.Ever since her husband’s death collided with the birth of her daughter, postpartum depression has taken hold of Veronica Shelton. She can’t sleep, can’t work, and can’t bear to touch her beautiful baby girl... -
Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn unforgettable German bestseller about the European refugee crisis: “Erpenbeck will get under your skin” (Washington Post Book World) Go, Went, Gone is the masterful new novel by the acclaimed German writer Jenny Erpenbeck, “one of the most significant German-language novelists of her generation” (The Millions)... -
The Midnight Wife by L.G. Davis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsShe has a new life and a loving husband, but will her secrets ruin everything? Kelsey Bloom has been living a perfect lie, hiding in plain sight from the past that broke her.Everything is going according to plan. She has made herself at home in the small town of Sanlow, Montana, and her life seems perfect from the outside…… until she’s attacked by someone who claims to know her secrets... -
Among the Missing by Dan Chaon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this haunting, bracing new collection, Dan Chaon shares stories of men, women, and children who live far outside the American Dream, while wondering which decision, which path, or which accident brought them to this place. Chaon mines the psychological landscape of his characters to dazzling effect. Each story radiates with sharp humor, mystery, wonder, and startling compassion... -
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My Daughter's Secret by Nicole Trope
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy baby girl, I’ll never forget you – your smile, your laugh, the way your hair sparkles in the sun. I cannot comprehend this pain. I cannot breathe through it.In the middle of the night, Claire wakes up to discover that her beloved daughter, Julia, is dead – and life, as she knows it, is over... -
20 Minutes On The Tube by Daniel Hurst
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe first book in the bestselling 20 Minute Series... "Original and addictive, I read it in a day!" 20 Minutes. 20 People. 20 different reasons to be underground... Louise didn't plan on stealing until she realised she could get away with it. Anke gave her husband a second chance but now she wants revenge. Valentin has an urge to kill and is using his commute to find his first victim...Categorized as:
urban literary-fiction fiction suspense contemporary 21st-century personal-growth psychological -
Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings*Winner of the Romantic Novelists' Association Young Adult Novel of the Year 2018*"There are going to be so many things I wish I could’ve told you in person, Poppy. I won’t get the chance to do that, so perhaps this is my only way…"It’s Poppy Kinsey’s birthday... -
Sticky Fingers 2 by J.T. Lawrence
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDiverse, dark-humoured, and deliciously bite-sized, this compelling collection of 12 short stories by JT Lawrence include:GATSBY'S DOUBLEAn artist's Pomeranian has been replaced by an imposter.COURT, MARRY, KILLWhose body ends up being unzipped by fish on the ocean floor?ROCKABYE BABYA female-only cult has a very dark side... -
Fire & Water: A Suspense-filled Story of Art, Love, Passion, and Madness by Betsy Graziani Fasbinder
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFire & Water is a dark story of passion, family secrets, and the enduring power of friendship. Katherine Murphy, a pediatric surgeon in San Francisco's premier medical center, UCSF, is was raised in the ironic protection of her father's Irish pub by a patchwork family formed of misfits and orphans. She is book-brilliant, but unwise in the ways of love and life... -
Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThey told me I was an out-of-control train about to crash…Everything changed when the police officer knocked on the door to tell me – a 16-year-old – that my older sister Kristen had died of a brain aneurysm. Cue the start of my parents neglecting me and my whole life spiraling out of control.I decided now was the perfect time to skip town... -
Transit by Rachel Cusk
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe stunning new novel from the author of Outline, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and one of The New York Times Book Review’s Ten Best Books of the YearIn the wake of family collapse, a writer moves to London with her two young sons... -
Berta Isla by Javier Marías
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the award-winning, internationally best-selling Spanish writer, author of The Infatuations, comes a gripping new novel of intrigue and missed chances--at once a spy story and a profound examination of a marriage founded on secrets and lies... -
The Secrets Mothers Keep by Jacquie Underdown
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the enchanting landscapes of Tasmania, "The Secrets Mothers Keep" unravels a captivating tale of three generations bound by a shared purpose—to restore the family manor into a charming bed and breakfast. But beneath the surface lies a lifetime of concealed truths that threaten to tear them apart... -
The Woman with the Bouquet by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Alison Anderson
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn his new collection of stories, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, author of The Most Beautiful Book in the World, probes the paradox that the events that shape our lives are often the stuff of dreams, yet nonetheless true. Humor, tenderness, irony and exquisite writing have always been the hallmarks of Schmitt’s work. Here, he adds a pinch of philosophy... -
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The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhat if you gave birth to someone else’s child? An emotional family drama about two couples, one baby, and an unimaginable choice. Inspired by a real-life case of an IVF laboratory mix-up.Grace and Dan Arden are in their forties and have been on the IVF treadmill since the day they got married. Six attempts have yielded no results, and with each failure a little piece of their hope dies... -
The Tenants of Moonbloom by Edward Lewis Wallant
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNorman Moonbloom is a loser, a drop-out who can't even make it as a deadbeat. His brother, a slumlord, hires him to collect rent in the buildings he owns in Manhattan... -
Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman by Stefan Zweig
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe dramatic disappearance of the wife of a wealthy businessman from a small hotel on the French Riviera prompts a distinguished English widow to recount her fleeting encounter with a young aristocrat many years before in Monte Carlo...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook classics contemporary -
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA GRIPPING NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF INHERITANCEOne Night. One Fateful Choice. A Constellation of Lives Changed Forever.SIGNAL FIRES opens on a summer night in 1985. Three teenagers have been drinking. One of them gets behind the wheel of a car, and, in an instant, everything on Division Street changes...Categorized as:
literary-fiction drama fiction historical-fiction audiobook contemporary mystery family -
Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsJonathan Tropper’s novel The Book of Joe dazzled critics and readers alike with its heartfelt blend of humor and pathos. Now Tropper brings all that—and more—to an irresistible new novel. In Everything Changes , Tropper delivers a touching, wickedly funny new tale about love, loss, and the perils of a well-planned life. To all appearances, Zachary King is a man with luck on his side... -
De Gales Hus by Karin Fossum
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHajna is a very young and miserable woman. She runs through a window, wishing to kill herself but she fails and survives. After the incident she is forced to stay at a place/house called Varden, a home for people who for some reason doesn't feel like they belong to the society... -
A Dark Stranger by Julien Gracq
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo lovers arrive at a seaside hotel in 1920's Brittany. The other guests soon become obsessed with the man, the equivocal unsettling Allan. One by one they realise who he is-that Death has come to spend the summer with them... -
Her Last Affair by John Searles
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Help for the Haunted and Strange but True, a new novel of character-driven psychological suspense that intertwines three people hoping to rediscover love and reconnect with their past, to deadly effect.Every marriage has its secrets....Skyla lives alone in the shadow of the defunct drive-in movie theater that she and her husband ran for nearly fifty years... -
The Sound of Us by Sarah Willis
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlice Marlowe accepts her life the way it is. She's single, in her late forties. She lives with a cat named Sampson, and has imaginary conversations with her dead twin brother. As a sign-language interpreter for the deaf, she is used to standing between people, facilitating their conversations with each other... -
All the Little Animals by Walker Hamilton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA beguiling, unsettling and ultimately moving modern fable set on the byways of rural Cornwall; a story about running away, the search for acceptance and burying road-kill.Bobby is a 31 year old man with the mind of a small, frightened boy. He has run away from his privileged but abusive London home to rural Cornwall...Categorized as:
drama literary-fiction action-adventure adult book coming-of-age contemporary fiction -
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The Allegations by Mark Lawson
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn the morning after he has celebrated his 60th birthday party at a celebrity-filled party, Ned Marriott is in bed with his partner, Emma, when there's a knock on the door. Detectives from the London police force's 'Operation Millpond' have come to arrest him over an allegation of sexual assault... -
Museums & Women and Other Stories by John Updike
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is John Updike’s largest and most various collection of short stories. Some, such as the title story, have the tone and personality of essays; others objectify the chimeras of middle-class existence; a number of vignettes reflect the face of America in the fictional microcosm of Tarbox; the longest story, a hallucinatory trip up the Nile, allegorizes our foreign policy... -
Pieces of You by Mary Campisi
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsQuinn Burnes's mother disappeared when he was only fifteen leaving him with a despondent father, a little sister who suffers panic attacks, and eight notebooks containing the truth about his mother. He guards this secret for eighteen years, until on an otherwise normal day, his mother re-enters his life, pleading for his help... -
Spadework for a Palace by László Krasznahorkai
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSpadework for a Palace bears the subtitle “Entering the Madness of Others” and offers an epigraph: “Reality is no obstacle.” Indeed...Categorized as:
literary-fiction urban fiction contemporary humor philosophy existentialism psychological -
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn Amazon Editors’ Best Book of December 2018 “Art will wake you up. Art will break your heart. There will be glorious days. If you want eternity you must be fearless.” —from The Museum of Modern Love Arky Levin has reached a dead end. Unexpectedly separated from his wife, he suddenly has the space he needs to work composing film scores—but none of the peace of mind he needs to create... -
Contempt by Alberto Moravia, Tim Parks
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsContempt is a brilliant and unsettling work by one of the revolutionary masters of modern European literature. All the qualities for which Alberto Moravia is justly famous ~~ his cool clarity of expression, his exacting attention to psychological complexity and social pretension, his still-striking openness about sex—are evident in this story of a failing marriage...
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