We are eagerly awaiting the Netflix adaptation of the historical fiction favorite, “All the Light We Cannot See” on Nov. 2, and obviously we have some book recommendations that we think you’ll enjoy if you’re a fan!
If you like an epic that teaches you about another time period, read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
An “extraordinary epic” of four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family as they fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan.
If you like visiting a period of French history, read Les Misérable by Victor Hugo
This sweeping tale travels deep into the Parisian underworld, immersing readers in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose.
If you like historical fiction with a sense of adventure, read Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free.
If you like historical fiction focused on a forgotten part of WWII, read Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys
Four refugees in the middle of winter 1945 are each born of a different homeland; each one is hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies and war.
If you like examining complicated characters, read The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
If you like stories about survival against the odds, read How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
Two siblings are on the run during the twilight of the American gold rush, trying not just to survive but to find a home in a novel that explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong.
If you like writing that immerses you in a past world, read A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
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