Novels Men Will Enjoy

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6 books

It’s time to get more men back to reading good fiction and here are some novels that men will enjoy, as well as women.

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Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver, 2022

Demon is a blue-collar kid who is pretty much on his own as he goes from one hard place to another. The description of rural life and the many drug issues will have you rooting for our young hero as he falls in love, plays football, and struggles to survive.

James

Percival Everett, 2024

: James is a high concept in which the author (whose previous novel was turned into the movie American Fiction) retells the story of Huck Finn from Jim, the slave’s perspective. I especially like how the author juxtaposes Jim’s educated internal voice with that of his external voice when he must speak like a slave not to be found out as he and Huck are on the run.

GENIZAH.

WAYNE. KARLIN, 2024

This powerful novel is a reimagining of what might have become of the author’s family had they not escaped Poland in 1939. As we tromp through the woods of Eastern Europe, we meet horse traders, thieves, and scoundrels who turn on their own people. A beautifully written novel.

Rabbit, Run

John Updike, 1996

Rabbit was a high school football star who is now lost as he navigates his marriage, his wife’s family (who employs him), and his dim prospects. This is about as great as a novel can get in describing the interior struggles of a male protagonist who cannot figure out who he is or what he should do with his life. Lots of humor.

Remembrance of Things Past

Marcel Proust, 2006

Proust was arguably our greatest novelist as he observed French society and created humorous characters from those he saw. Since this novel is written by a man looking back over his life, this is best read by people over the age of fifty. Funny and highly perceptive of social behaviors.

Normal Family

Don Trowden, 2016

This is the first novel I wrote, a coming-of-age story covering one year of four outlandish family holidays as we see our young hero trying to understand why his family is so bizarre. Funny, sad, bittersweet and entirely set over Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Independence Day.