Books Like The Great Believers

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If you loved The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, these books share similar qualities — same genre, comparable themes, and the kind of reader ratings that signal something special. Whether you read on Kindle, in print, or on audio, these recommendations deliver the same kind of experience.

10 books for fans of The Great Believers

  1. 1
    The Great Alone cover

    The Great Alone

    by Kristin Hannah

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    Thirteen-year-old Leni watches her father's PTSD tear their family apart in 1970s Alaska, where the wilderness is less dangerous than the man who brought them there.

    4.46 Goodreads (1.2M ratings)
  2. 2
    Demon Copperhead cover

    Demon Copperhead

    by Barbara Kingsolver

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    Kingsolver transposes David Copperfield to modern Appalachia, following Demon through foster care, addiction, and systemic poverty. A Pulitzer-winning portrait of America's forgotten communities.

    4.46 Goodreads (824.6K ratings)
  3. 3
    Arch of Triumph cover

    Arch of Triumph

    by Erich Maria Remarque

    4.43 Goodreads (32.8K ratings)
  4. 4
    The Godfather cover

    The Godfather

    The Godfather • Book 1

    by Mario Puzo

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    Puzo's saga follows the Corleone family through decades of power struggles, betrayals, and violence that defined American organized crime. The novel explores how loyalty and brutality intertwine when family business means life and death.

    4.40 Goodreads (468.0K ratings)
  5. 5
    The Darkest Child cover

    The Darkest Child

    by Delores Phillips

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    Tangy Mae, the brightest but darkest-skinned of ten children, battles her abusive mother's colorism and violence in 1958 Georgia while desperately seeking education and freedom.

    4.38 Goodreads (17.8K ratings)
  6. 6
    The Other Side cover

    The Other Side

    by Kim Holden

    4.38 Goodreads (4.0K ratings)
  7. 7
    Small Great Things cover

    Small Great Things

    Ruth Jefferson • Book 1

    by Jodi Picoult

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    After twenty years as a labor nurse, Ruth Jefferson faces her most impossible case: a newborn whose parents refuse her care because she's Black.

    4.36 Goodreads (444.3K ratings)
  8. 8
    The House of the Spirits cover

    The House of the Spirits

    Trilogía Involuntaria • Book 3

    by Isabel Allende, Magda Bogin

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    Patriarch Esteban Trueba's political ambitions and wild desires shape three generations of his family against the backdrop of Latin American political turmoil. Allende blends magical realism with political history, following women who possess otherworldly gifts and the men who both love and oppress them.

    4.30 Goodreads (325.3K ratings)
  9. 9
    The Storyteller cover

    The Storyteller

    by Jodi Picoult

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    A grief-stricken baker befriends an elderly man who reveals himself as a former Nazi guard seeking redemption through death. Picoult weaves together multiple generations affected by Holocaust trauma, examining forgiveness, justice, and the weight of inherited guilt.

    4.30 Goodreads (278.1K ratings)
  10. 10
    The River cover

    The River

    by Wally Lamb

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    New father Corby's secret addiction and devastating mistake land him in prison, where he witnesses both human cruelty and unexpected kindness.

    4.30 Goodreads (155.0K ratings)