Books like 'Old Babes in the Wood: Stories'
Readers who enjoyed Old Babes in the Wood: Stories by Margaret Atwood also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary sc-fi literary-fiction dystopia realistic family
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If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
16 ratingsIf I built a car, it'd be totally new!Here are a few of the things that I'd do. . . .Young Jack is giving an eye-opening tour of the car he'd like to build. There's a snack bar, a pool, and even a robot named Robert to act as chauffeur... -
Protect by R.D. Brady
6 ratingsSURVIVOR, MOTHER, LEADER ...HUMANITY'S LAST CHANCE The pulse-pounding, action-packed dystopian novel from Amazon best selling author, R.D. Brady.Deep within the remnants of the United States, Lyla Richards oversees a camp of two hundred survivors...Categorized as:
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I Am Not a Number by Lisa Heathfield
12 ratingsThe powerful and heart-wrenching new novel from Lisa Heathfield, award-winning author of Seed and Paper Butterflies. Perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan, Louise O'Neill and Lisa Williamson.The Traditionals have been voted to lead the country, winning people over with talks of healing a broken society, of stronger families and safer streets. They promised a happier future for everyone... -
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The Semplica-Girl Diaries (short story) by George Saunders
10 ratingsNovelette, Free online fiction.From newyorker.com“The Semplica-Girl Diaries” deals with a family in a not-too-distant future (or perhaps an alternate present or past?) that is struggling to keep up with the Joneses—which, in this society, means leasing some unusual garden ornaments... -
Flight 3430 by Jacqueline Druga
10 ratingsIn a small Montana town, it takes four minutes for every man, woman and child to die.It isn’t a virus or biological attack, but rather the beginning of a geological event that triggers a chain reaction across the globe with devastating effects.A repeat of an extinction event that occurred millions of years earlier.There is no stopping it. The only way to survive is to stay ahead of it... -
We of the Forsaken World... by Kiran Bhat
12 ratingsIn a distant corner of the globe, a man journeys to the birthplace of his mother, a tourist town destroyed by an industrial spill. In a nameless remote tribe, the chief’s second son is born, creating a scramble for succession as their jungles are being destroyed by loggers... -
Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel
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... -
Kalahari by Jessica Khoury
16 ratingsDeep in the Kalahari Desert, a Corpus lab protects a dangerous secret…But what happens when that secret takes on a life of its own? When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide... -
Of Mice and Mooshaber by Ladislav Fuks, Mark Corner
6 ratingsLadislav Fuks (1923-94) was an outstanding Czech writer whose work, consisting primarily of psychological fiction, explores themes of anxiety and life in totalitarian systems... -
Heading Home by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
6 ratingsWhat happens when the one thing you’ve been praying for turns out to be the one thing that will destroy you and everything you love? After two years of living and adjusting to life after the bomb, Sarah and her son, John, have discovered that happiness can trump grief and loss... -
Active Memory by Dan Wells
8 ratingsFrom Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence and the John Cleaver series, comes the third and final book in the dark, pulse-pounding, sci-fi neo-noir series that began with the acclaimed novel Bluescreen... -
Motorman by David Ohle
10 ratingsFiction. It is curious that a reprint could be heroic. It is more curious that a book this good could go out of print so quickly. And it is most curious that an introduction would even be required for a novel that, if you examine it carefully in the right kind oflight, might actually be seen to be steaming... -
The After Wife by Cass Hunter
12 ratings'Grab a box of tissues because this beautiful story will make you cry' Amazon reviewer, 5 starsWhen Rachel and Aidan fell in love, they thought it was forever.She was a brilliant, high-flying scientist. He was her loving and supportive husband.Now she's gone, and Aidan must carry on and raise their daughter alone... -
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The Marriage Act by John Marrs
14 ratingsWhat if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills — the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single... -
Memory Wall by Anthony Doerr
18 ratingsThis is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9781439182840.In the luminous and beautiful title story, winner of a 2010 National Magazine Award, a young boy in South Africa comes to possess an old woman's secret, a piece of the past with the power to redeem a life...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction realistic 20th-century 21st-century adult anthologies audiobook -
Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson, W Morgan Sheppard
24 ratingsIn six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and how the political shapes the personal. “Nirvana" portrays a programmer, whose wife has a rare disease, finding solace in a digital simulacrum of the president of the United States...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction realistic 21st-century adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
The High House by Jessie Greengrass
12 ratingsIn this powerful, highly anticipated novel from an award-winning author, four people attempt to make a home in the midst of environmental disaster.Perched on a sloping hill, set away from a small town by the sea, the High House has a tide pool and a mill, a vegetable garden, and, most importantly, a barn full of supplies... -
Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black
10 ratingsDeep beneath the city live five extraordinary kids: world-famous hacker Jack, gadget geek Charlie, free runner Slink, communications chief Obi, and decoy expert Wren. Orphans bonded over their shared sense of justice, the kids have formed the Urban Outlaws, a group dedicated to outsmarting criminals and handing out their stolen money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s)...Categorized as:
dystopia family realistic action-adventure book children children-books contemporary -
The Universe in Miniature in Miniature by Patrick Somerville
8 ratingsIn this genre-busting book from award-winning novelist Patrick Somerville characters, stories, and stray thoughts revolve around the "The Machine of Understanding Other People," the story of a Chicago man who is bequeathed a supernatural helmet that allows him to experience the inner worlds of those around him... -
Tenth of December by George Saunders
35 ratingsOne of the most important and blazingly original writers of his generation, George Saunders is an undisputed master of the short story, and Tenth of December is his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet... -
Betrayed: An Altered Saga Novella by Jennifer Rush
10 ratingsAfter leaving Anna, Sam, Cas, and Nick behind, Trev is on his own and under the watchful eye of the Branch once more. But where do Trev's loyalties really lie? Riley, Trev's overseer, is determined to find out. On Riley's command, Trev sets off on a mission to a small Wisconsin suburb. His order: locate and kill a seemingly innocent teen named Charlie... -
Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar
10 ratingsFor years Kitty Hawke has lived alone on Wolfe Island, witness to the island’s erosion and clinging to the ghosts of her past. Her work as a sculptor and her wolfdog Girl are enough. News of mainland turmoil is as distant as myth until refugees from that world arrive: her granddaughter Cat, and Luis and Alejandra, a brother and sister escaping persecution... -
Mothers & Other Monsters: Stories by Maureen F. McHugh
8 ratingsIn her debut collection, Maureen F. McHugh examines the impacts of social and technological shifts on families. Using deceptively simple prose, she illuminates the relationship between parents and children and the expected and unexpected chasms that open between generations...Categorized as:
dystopia family literary-fiction adult anthologies contemporary female-author fiction -
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Deadly Design by Debra Dockter
8 ratingsThough technically twins, Kyle and Connor McAdams couldn't be more different. Connor's the star of the track team, the valedictorian, a demigod living among the students at Rose Hill High School. But Kyle is more of a loner who's most comfortable playing video games in the basement. Also, these twins were born two years apart... -
Dance Dance Revolution by Cathy Park Hong
8 ratings"The Guide" is a former South Korean dissident and tour guide who speaks a fluid fabricated language; "the Historian" interviews the Guide and annotates the commentaries. Cathy Park Hong's passionate and artful poem sequence weaves an ultimately revitalizing dialogue on shared experience in a globalized world, using language as subversion and disguise... -
Neon Green by Margaret Wappler
8 ratingsIt's the summer of 1994 in suburban Chicago: Forrest Gump is still in theaters, teens are reeling from the recent death of Kurt Cobain, and you can enter a sweepstakes for a spaceship from Jupiter to land in your backyard. Welcome to Margaret Wappler's slightly altered alternative '90s. Everything's pretty much as you remember it, except for the aliens...Categorized as:
dystopia family literary-fiction adult alternate-history book contemporary female-author -
Dog Logic by Tom Strelich
8 ratingsIf "Dr. Strangelove" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" got together and had a litter of puppies you'd get "Dog Logic", a duck-and-cover fable and love story. Funny, inflammatory, and weirdly propheticHertell Daggett is the divorced and damaged caretaker of a failing pet cemetery on the outskirts of Bakersfield, and he's just discovered a lost civilization... -
Low Flying Aircraft And Other Stories by J.G. Ballard
6 ratingsContents:The Ultimate CityLow-Flying AircraftThe Dead AstronautMy Dream of Flying to Wake IslandThe Life and Death of GodThe Greatest Television Show on EarthA Place and a Time to DieThe Comsat AngelsThe Beach...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook contemporary fiction -
Palestine +100: Stories from a Century after the Nakba by Basma Ghalayini, Mazen Maarouf
6 ratingsPalestine + 100 poses a question to twelve Palestinian writers: what might your country look like in the year 2048 – a century after the tragedies and trauma of what has come to be called the Nakba? How might this event – which, in 1948, saw the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs from their homes – reach across a century of occupation, oppression, and political isolation, to shape the...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction adult anthologies contemporary fiction poc-author politics -
My Chemical Mountain by Corina Vacco
6 ratingsRocked by his father's recent death and his mother's sudden compulsion to overeat, Jason lashes out by breaking into the abandoned mills and factories that plague his run-down town. Always by his side are his two best friends, Charlie, a fearless thrill junkie, and Cornpup, a geek inventor whose back is covered with cysts...Categorized as:
dystopia family realistic action-adventure book children-books coming-of-age contemporary -
And Yet They Were Happy by Helen Phillips
6 ratings"Brilliant miniatures. . . . Like the fables of Calvino, Millhauser, or W.S. Merwin. . . . Beautifully blends short story and prose poem. . . . Mermaids, subways, floods, cucumbers, magicians. . . .The book is a gallery of marvels...Categorized as:
family literary-fiction adult anthologies classics contemporary female-author female-mc -
Where the Sweet Bird Sings by Ella Joy Olsen
6 ratingsIn this provocative new novel, the author of Root, Petal, Thorn offers a powerful story of resilience, hope, and the secrets that, no matter how deeply hidden, can shape and ultimately unite a family. What connects us to one another? Is it shared history? Is it ancestry? Is it blood? Or is it love? People respond to tragedy in different ways. Some try to move on. Some don’t move at all... -
A Minor Apocalypse by Tadeusz Konwicki
14 ratingsAs in his novel The Polish Complex, Konwicki's A Minor Apocalypse stars a narrator and character named Konwicki, who has been asked to set himself on fire that evening in front of the Communist Party headquarters in Warsaw in an act of protest. He accepts the commission, but without any clear idea of whether he will actually go through with the self-immolation... -
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Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin
14 ratings"Like much of Mr. Bellatin’s work, Beauty Salon is pithy, allegorical and profoundly disturbing, with a plot that evokes The Plague by Camus or Blindness by José Saramago."--New York Times"Including a few details that may linger uncomfortably with the reader for a long time, this is contemporary naturalism as disturbing as it gets."--BooklistA strange plague appears in a large city... -
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In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster
24 ratingsIn a distant and unsettling future, Anna Blume is on a mission in an unnamed city of chaos and disaster. Its destitute inhabitants scavenge garbage for food and shelter, no industry exists, and an elusive government provides nothing but corruption. Anna wades through the filth to find her long-lost brother, a one-time journalist who may or may not be alive...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies apocalyptic contemporary epistolary -
Brown Morning by Franck Pavloff
12 ratingsYou are living a fine life. You read the newspaper and play cards with friends. Gradually—things start to change. You are told that brown is the only acceptable color: if you have a black dog, put it to sleep. Buy a brown one. Add "brown" at the end of each sentence. Books are being burned. But you don’t notice. People still go to cafes; you feel secure... -
The Shadow Club Rising by Neal Shusterman
10 ratingsThe Shadow Club doesn't exist anymore. The group of second-best kids used to play anonymous practical jokes on their rivals, until things spiraled out of control. Now Jared and the ex-Shadow Club members are having a hard time shaking their reputation. And when the new golden boy at school is the victim of a series of nasty pranks, everyone's convinced Jared is to blame... -
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard
10 ratingsThis complex and haunting exploration of life on the edge and what it takes to triumph over adversity is a story about the indomitable nature of hope. Two young boys, an old tramp, a beautiful teenage dancer, and the girl's baby-ragtag survivors of a sudden war-form a fragile family, hiding out in the ruins of an amusement park... -
Extinction Journals by Jeremy Robert Johnson
10 ratingsYou can survive a nuclear blast. All you need is some luck, and maybe a customized business suit coated in cockroaches. It could work. At least that's what Dean believed before the bombs actually dropped and his suit led him to murder a Very Important Man at the foot of a blackened obelisk. Now D.C. is looking awfully empty. Life on Earth is pretty much coming to an end...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction action-adventure adult apocalyptic book contemporary fiction -
The World Goes On by László Krasznahorkai
10 ratingsA Hungarian interpreter obsessed with waterfalls, at the edge of the abyss in his own mind, wanders the chaotic streets of Shanghai. A traveller, reeling from the sights and sounds of Varanasi, encounters a giant of a man on the banks of the Ganges ranting on the nature of a single drop of water... -
Vicarious by Paula Stokes
8 ratingsWinter Kim and her sister, Rose, work as high-tech stunt girls for Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Gideon, engaging in dangerous and enticing activities while recording their neural impulses for his Vicarious Sensory Experiences, or ViSEs. Whether it’s bungee jumping, shark diving, or grinding up against celebrities at the city’s hottest dance clubs, Gideon can make it happen for you—for a price... -
The Glad Shout by Alice Robinson
8 ratingsAfter a catastrophic storm destroys Melbourne, Isobel flees to higher ground with her husband and young daughter. Food and supplies run low, panic sets in and still no help arrives. To protect her daughter, Isobel must take drastic action. The Glad Shout is an extraordinary novel of rare depth and texture...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction adult alternate-history book contemporary disaster epidemy -
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Blame by Simon Mayo
8 ratingsWhat happens when society wants you banged up in prison for a crime your parents committed?That’s the situation in which Ant finds herself – together with her little brother Mattie and their foster-parents, she’s locked up in a new kind of family prison. None of the inmates are themselves criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished ‘heritage’ crimes of their parents...Categorized as:
dystopia family action-adventure book children-books contemporary crime domestic-drama -
Meet Us by the Roaring Sea by Akil Kumarasamy
8 ratingsIn the near future, a young woman finds her mother's body starfished on the kitchen floor in Queens and sets on a journey through language, archives, artificial intelligence, and TV for a way back into herself...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction fiction sci-fi contemporary lgbtq historical-fiction magical-realism -
Escape from Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix
16 ratingsWhile playing around with hypnotism at a party, Kira remembers fleeing a war-torn country with her mother, speaking a language she can't identify. A few days later her mother disappears, and a woman who calls herself Kira's aunt Memory takes Kira to Crythe, a country that doesn't officially exist, in order to rescue her – or so she says...Categorized as:
dystopia family realistic action-adventure alternate-history book children-books contemporary -
They Know Not What They Do by Jussi Valtonen
16 ratingsA young man's decision to put career before family leads to chilling consequences.Joe Chayefski has got what he always wanted: a reputation as one of America's top neuroscientists, a beautiful wife and two perfect daughters. But when his lab is attacked by animal rights activists, Joe is forced to face the past and reconnect with the son he abandoned twenty years earlier... -
The Last Man Standing by Davide Longo
6 ratingsDavide Longo's Last Man Standing is a vivid description of one man's struggle in a post-apocalyptic world to protect his loved ones even as societal norms give way to barbarism and cruelty.GQ (Italy) called Davide Longo, "the most talented and intense Italian novelist of his generation... -
Vertigo: A Novella by Amanda Lohrey, Jane Nolan
6 ratingsLuke and Anna, thirty-something and restless, decide on a sea change. Worn down by city life and wounded by a loss neither can talk about, they flee to a sleepy village by the coast. There, surrounded by nature, they begin to feel rejuvenated. But when bushfire threatens their new home, they must confront what they have tried to put behind them...
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