Books like 'City Boy'
Readers who enjoyed City Boy by Herman Wouk also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century action / adventure historical-fiction humor classics coming-of-age children urban family
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The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe extraordinary story of Stefania Podgorska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII -- from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron.One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make.. -
![Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović]()
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... -
![Pather Panchali: Song of the Road by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay]()
Pather Panchali: Song of the Road by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPather Panchali deals with the life of the Roy family, consisting of Harihar, Sarbajaya, Apu and Durga, both in their ancestral village Nishchindipur in rural Bengal and later when they move to Varanasi in search of a better life, as well as the anguish and loss they face during their travels... -
![The Winds of War by Herman Wouk]()
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsLike no other masterpiece of historical fiction, Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II is the great novel of America's Greatest Generation.Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events, as well as all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II, as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom... -
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![They Burn Thistles by Yaşar Kemal]()
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:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book fiction -
![The Physician by Noah Gordon]()
The Physician by Noah Gordon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsIn the 11th century, Rob Cole left poor, disease-ridden London to make his way across the land, hustling, juggling, peddling cures to the sick—and discovering the mystical ways of healing. It was on his travels that he found his own very real gift for healing—a gift that urged him on to become a doctor...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality urban 20th-century -
![The Mersey Mothers by Sheila Riley]()
The Mersey Mothers by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLiverpool 1953January sees the dawn of the Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation year as the mothers of Reckoners Row unite in preparation for the celebration of the new Queen.Meanwhile Evie Kilgaren is dreaming of her summer wedding to Danny Harris, but trouble looms for Skinner & Sons with a new rival trying to put them out of business, but no-one knows why...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction religion spirituality urban 19th-century 20th-century -
![When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne]()
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThis is the first book of A.A. Milne's verses for children, with Ernest H. Shepard's line illustrations in colour...Categorized as:
children classics family humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals -
![Trinity by Leon Uris]()
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... -
![Abigail by Magda Szabó]()
Abigail by Magda Szabó
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAbigail, the story of a headstrong teenager growing up during World War II, is the most beloved of Magda Szabó’s books in her native Hungary. Gina is the only child of a general, a widower who has long been happy to spoil his bright and willful daughter...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality -
![A Wartime Wife by Lizzie Lane]()
A Wartime Wife by Lizzie Lane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStruggling to make ends meet, Mary Anne Randall is offered no help by her drunk and abusive husband. A pawnbroking business run from the wash house at the back of her home is the only way she can hope to keep her three kids fed and clothed...Categorized as:
family urban historical-fiction religion coming-of-age spirituality female-mc breakup -
![Of Windmills and War by Diane Moody]()
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 Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis]()
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 88 ratingsLibrarian note: An alternate cover for this edition can be found here: 2005.Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality -
![Hawaii by James A. Michener]()
Hawaii by James A. Michener
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAn alternate cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener brings Hawaii’s epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959... -
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![Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis]()
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... -
![The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright, Pamela Dillman]()
The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright, Pamela Dillman
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSYNOPSIS: Meet the Melendys! Mona, the eldest, is thirteen. She has decided to become an actress and can recite poetry at the drop of a hat. Rush is twelve and a bit mischievous. Miranda is ten and a half. She loves dancing and painting pictures. Oliver is the youngest. At six, he is a calm and thoughful person...Categorized as:
children classics family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Boy Who Granted Dreams by Luca Di Fulvio]()
The Boy Who Granted Dreams by Luca Di Fulvio
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings1909. Ellis Island. Arriving off one of the many transatlantic freighters are Cetta Luminita and her illegitimate baby boy Natale, fleeing the poverty and violence of their Southern Italian hometown. Having sacrificed everything, and endured every possible shame, Cetta has but one wish: that her baby should be an American, and grow up with the freedom to decide his own destiny...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction humor urban 20th-century abuse action-adventure -
![Unto a Good Land by Vilhelm Moberg]()
Unto a Good Land by Vilhelm Moberg
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsConsidered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg created the characters Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson to portray the joys and tragedies of daily life for early Swedish immigrants in America. His consistently faithful depiction of these humble people's lives is a major strength of the Emigrant Novels...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction urban 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook]()
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... -
![Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsLaura is almost fifteen. The long winter is over. With spring comes socials, dances, and "Literaries." There is also work to be done. Laura spends many hours each day sewing shirts to help send Mary to a college for the blind. But, in the evenings, Laura makes time for a new caller, Almazo Wilder... -
![Sophie's Choice by William Styron]()
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsIn this extraordinary novel, Stingo, an inexperienced twenty-two year old Southerner, takes us back to the summer of 1947 and a boarding house in a leafy Brooklyn suburb. There, he meets Nathan, a fiery Jewish intellectual; and Sophie, a beautiful and fragile Polish Catholic. Stingo is drawn into the heart of their passionate and destructive relationship as witness, confidant and supplicant...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality urban -
![Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright]()
Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWith Father in Washington and Cuffy, their housekeeper, away visiting a sick cousin, almost anything might happen to the Melendy kids left behind at the Four-Story Mistake. In the Melendy family, adventures are inevitable: Mr...Categorized as:
children classics family historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz]()
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... -
![Under the Midnight Sun by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse]()
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:
family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
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![The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham]()
The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsLarry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brillant characters - his fiancee Isabel, whose choice between love and wealth have lifelong repercussions, and Elliot Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction religion spirituality -
![Samarkand by Amin Maalouf]()
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... -
![Extinction by Thomas Bernhard]()
Extinction by Thomas Bernhard
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe last work of fiction by one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Extinction is widely considered Thomas Bernhard’s magnum opus. Franz-Josef Murau—the intellectual black sheep of a powerful Austrian land-owning family—lives in Rome in self-imposed exile, surrounded by a coterie of artistic and intellectual friends...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Enchanted Barn by Grace Livingston Hill]()
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:
children classics family historical-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder]()
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house... -
![Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World by Richard Scarry]()
Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World by Richard Scarry
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings33 lively stories about everyday life around the world... -
![Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute]()
Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA novel tells the story of a man who leads an ordinary, uneventful life, until overnight he becomes the trustee of his 10-year-old niece, and involved in the search for some missing money...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Cavalerii florii de cireș by Constantin Chiriță]()
Cavalerii florii de cireș by Constantin Chiriță
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNiciun roman pentru copii și tineret nu se poate compara, la noi, ca audiență și ca forță de fascinație, cu Cireșarii. Cireșarii sunt personajebine alese și atent construite de către părintele lor. Se știe, de altfel, că Victor, Lucia și Tic au fost creați prin asemănare cu cei trei copii ai autorului...Categorized as:
children classics historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure book children-books -
![Laddie: A True Blue Story: By Gene Stratton-Porter - Illustrated by Gene Stratton-Porter]()
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]()
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...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality urban 20th-century -
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![The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain by Mark Twain]()
The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFor deft plotting, riotous inventiveness, unforgettable characters, and language that brilliantly captures the lively rhythms of American speech, no American writer comes close to Mark Twain. This sparkling anthology covers the entire span of Twain’s inimitable yarn-spinning, from his early broad comedy to the biting satire of his later years...Categorized as:
children classics historical-fiction humor literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár]()
The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe war between two groups of Hungarian boys living in Budapest. One with Hungarian national colours (red, white, green) is defending the square from redshirts (from Garibaldi's redshirts), who want to occupy the square... -
![Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf]()
Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"I, Hasan the son of Muhammad the weigh-master, I, Jean-Leon de Medici, circumcised at the hand of a barber and baptized at the hand of a pope, I am now called the African, but I am not from Africa, nor from Europe, nor from Arabia. I am also called the Granadan, the Fassi, the Zayyati, but I come from no country, from no city, no tribe... -
![Selected Stories by O. Henry]()
Selected Stories by O. Henry
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"Selected Stories of O. Henry," by O. Henry, is part of the "Barnes & Noble Classics"" "series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure anthologies comedy -
![Just David by Eleanor H. Porter]()
Just David by Eleanor H. Porter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEleanor Porter wrote this wonderful novel two years after the runaway success of her book Pollyanna. Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916. We felt a story this good shouldn’t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year. Now it’s in a longer-lasting hardcover... -
![The Fields by Conrad Richter]()
The Fields by Conrad Richter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsConrad Richter's trilogy of novels The Trees (1940), The Fields (1946), and The Town (1950) trace the transformation of Ohio from wilderness to farmland to the site of modern industrial civilization, all in the lifetime of one character. The Fields continues the saga of the Luckett family that began in The Trees...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure book epic -
![The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder]()
The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobin was always wandering off (her mother's words) to get away from the confusion she felt inside her. It was not until Robin's father found a permanent job at the McCurdy ranch, after three years as a migrant worker, that Robin had a place to wander to... -
![Strumpet City by James Plunkett]()
Strumpet City by James Plunkett
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis new edition of the epic Strumpet City marks the centenary of the 1913 Lockout. It has been chosen as Dublin City Libraries' One City, One Book for 2013. First published in 1969, it has repeatedly been described as one of the greatest Irish novels of all time.Centring on the seminal lockout of 20,000 workers in Dublin in 1913, Strumpet City encompasses a wide sweep of city life...Categorized as:
historical-fiction classics literary-fiction religion spirituality europe british-isles ireland -
![Manalive by G.K. Chesterton]()
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPerhaps the most light-hearted of all Chesterton's "serious" works, Manalive pits a group of disillusioned young people against Mr. Innocent Smith, a bubbly, high-spirited gentleman who literally falls into their midst. Later accused of murder and denounced for philandering everywhere he goes, Smith prompts his newfound acquaintances to recognize an important idea in most unexpected ways... -
![This Is Happiness by Niall Williams, Shashi Martynova]()
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...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction humor literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
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![My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad, Azar Nafisi]()
My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad, Azar Nafisi
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA teenage boy makes the mistake of falling in love with the much-protected daughter of his uncle, mischievously nicknamed after his hero Napoleon Bonaparte, the curmudgeonly self-appointed patriarch of a large and extended Iranian family in 1940s Tehran... -
![A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich]()
A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Place: Nebraska.The time: the 1870's, when every day on the prairie brought its threat -of hostile Indians, of prairie fires, of blizzards, and the overwhelming threat of accident or illness to the little homesteading family, Will and Abbie Deal and their babies... -
![The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg]()
The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsConsidered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg created Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson to portray the joys and tragedies of daily life for early Swedish pioneers in America. His consistently faithful depiction of these humble people's lives is a major strength of the Emigrant Novels...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Third Daughter by Talia Carner]()
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... -
![The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller]()
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...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction humor family fiction historical audiobook action-adventure -
![The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson, Paul Howard]()
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson, Paul Howard
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPlop is a baby Barn Owl.He is the same as every baby Barn Owl there has ever been - except for one thing ...- He is afraid of the dark...
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