There exists in literature a peculiar sort of magic—the kind that transforms a curmudgeon into a hero, a lonely soul into a beloved friend. If you have tumbled headlong into the gruff embrace of Ove and emerged with your heart thoroughly warmed, then you shall find yourself in excellent company here.
What follows is a collection of tales featuring characters who bristle at the world, who have built walls around their hearts, and who discover—quite despite their best efforts—that connection, purpose, and even joy have a way of climbing over those walls when one least expects it.
1. The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
If ever there was a character who refused to accept the limitations others placed upon her, it is Wendy Darling. Set in 1780s England, this reimagining of the Peter Pan tale follows an orphan girl who dreams of captaining her own ship—a notion the world considers quite impossible for someone of her gender. The entire world, as it turns out, has severely underestimated Miss Darling, but none so much as Captain Hook, the grumpy antagonist to our sunshine hero
What makes this novel so thoroughly charming is its wit. The narrative voice possesses that delightful quality of speaking directly to the reader, much as one might share a particularly good secret over tea. Wendy herself is wonderfully stubborn—clever, determined, and possessed of what reviewers have called “very expressive eyebrows.” She faces down Hook (reimagined here as a formidable adversary rather than a simple villain), encounters the mysterious Peter Pan and his crew of Everlost, and navigates a world that insists on dismissing her at every turn.
Readers have called it “better than the original” and “the best YA fiction I’ve read in years.” One delighted reader noted they “read it in less than 24 hours, and it was a joy every step of the way.” The complete Tales of the Wendy trilogy is now available, following Wendy’s adventures from England’s shores toward destinations unknown.
2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Harold Fry is sixty-five, recently retired, and living a life of quiet routine when a letter arrives from an old friend who is dying. He writes a reply and sets out to post it—and then, quite remarkably, he simply keeps walking. Six hundred miles, in his yachting shoes, with no phone or map, because he has convinced himself that as long as he walks, his friend will live.
Along the way, Harold encounters strangers who share their stories, and memories long buried begin to surface. This is a tale about regret, about the things left unsaid, and about the extraordinary distances we will travel to make amends. The ending, wherein Harold and his wife find their way back to each other, is as gentle and inevitable as the tide returning to shore.
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Tova Sullivan is seventy years old, a widow, and she spends her nights cleaning the local aquarium. Her son disappeared mysteriously thirty years ago, and she has learned to keep busy so as not to think too much. But then she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus with opinions about humanity and rather more intelligence than anyone suspects.
This is, quite genuinely, a story about friendship between a grieving woman and an octopus—and it works beautifully. Marcellus has deduced certain truths about Tova’s past, and he is determined to help her, even if humans are frustratingly difficult creatures. A most unusual and thoroughly heartwarming tale.
4. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant would like you to know that she is completely fine, thank you very much. She has her routines: the same frozen pizza, the same vodka, the same solitary weekends during which she speaks to no one at all. Social skills are not her strong suit. She says exactly what she thinks, which tends to alarm people.
Then she meets Raymond from IT—bumbling, kind, and entirely unalarmed by her peculiarities—and together they save an elderly man who has collapsed in the street. What follows is a slow, tender unfolding as Eleanor discovers that perhaps she is not fine at all, and that friendship can arrive in the most unexpected packages.
5. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal to spend the rest of his life under house arrest in Moscow’s Hotel Metropol. A lesser man might despair. The Count, however, is not a lesser man.
Over thirty-two years within those walls, he befriends a spirited young girl named Nina, becomes an unlikely parent, forms deep bonds with the hotel staff, and discovers that a life of wit, friendship, and purpose can flourish even within the smallest of circumstances. This is a novel about making the very best of what one is given—and finding that the very best can be quite extraordinary indeed.
6. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Major Ernest Pettigrew is sixty-eight, retired, and perfectly content to maintain the traditions of proper English village life. Then he strikes up a friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper, and discovers that tradition and love do not always keep the same company.
What begins as a shared appreciation for literature and loss blossoms into something that sets the village gossips thoroughly aflutter. A gentle comedy of manners with a generous heart, this novel reminds us that it is never too late to surprise oneself.
7. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A.J. Fikry owns a bookstore on a small island. His wife has died, his rare first edition has been stolen, and he has become the sort of curmudgeon who frightens away customers and sales representatives alike. He would very much like to be left alone.
Then a most unexpected package arrives at his store, and everything changes. This is a love letter to books, to bookstores, and to the way stories can transform even the most hardened hearts. One cannot read it without wanting to press a favourite book into someone else’s hands.
8. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
Arthur Pepper is sixty-nine, widowed, and living by an exacting routine: the same time to rise, the same mustard sweater vest, the same careful attention to his houseplant, Frederica. Then, on the first anniversary of his wife’s death, he discovers a charm bracelet he has never seen before—and each charm leads to a secret chapter of her life he never knew existed.
What follows is an odyssey from London to Paris to India, as Arthur tracks down the stories behind each charm and discovers that his wife, like so many of us, contained multitudes. An adventure of love and self-discovery for the most unlikely of heroes.
9. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Renée is the concierge of a Parisian apartment building—short, plump, and invisible to the wealthy residents who pass her daily. What they do not know is that behind her humble exterior lies a mind that devours philosophy, art, and Japanese cinema with ferocious appetite.
Paloma is twelve, lives on the fifth floor, and has decided that life is meaningless. Then a wealthy Japanese gentleman moves into the building and sees both of them clearly for the first time. A philosophical treasure about hidden depths and unexpected connections.
10. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
On the day of his hundredth birthday, Allan Karlsson decides he would rather not attend his party. So he climbs out the window of his nursing home and disappears—still in his slippers.
What follows is a madcap adventure involving a suitcase full of cash, some very unpleasant criminals, and an elephant, interspersed with flashbacks revealing that Allan has somehow managed to be present at nearly every major event of the twentieth century. If you require a tale of absurdist adventure and improbable circumstance, this Swedish sensation shall deliver in abundance.
11. How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper
Andrew works for the council, tracking down the next of kin for people who die alone. The irony is not lost on him, for Andrew has invented an entire fictional family—wife, children, the lot—to avoid the pity of his coworkers.
Then Peggy arrives, kind and funny and altogether too observant, and Andrew must choose between maintaining his elaborate lie and risking the possibility of genuine connection. A novel about loneliness, deception, and the terrifying hope of being truly known.
There you have it—eleven tales of grumpy, lonely, overlooked souls who discover that life has rather more to offer than they had supposed. Each one proves what Ove himself came to understand: that the walls we build to protect ourselves are often the very things keeping joy at bay.
Happy reading, dear friend. May you find exactly the companion you need between these pages.
