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Quick answer: If you loved Ethan Frome, read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, then Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, then Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. All are short, bleak classic novels.
Edith Wharton's 1911 novella Ethan Frome is about a New England farmer caught in a loveless marriage. These picks share its bleakness.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Adult | American classics |
| The Remains of the Day | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who like reflection |
| Madame Bovary | Gustave Flaubert | Adult | romantic disillusion |
| The Awakening | Kate Chopin | Adult | female independence |
| Sister Carrie | Theodore Dreiser | Adult | American realism |
| Tess of the d'Urbervilles | Thomas Hardy | Adult | fate and love |
| The Yellow Wallpaper | Charlotte Perkins Gilman | Adult | psychological horror |
| Cold Mountain | Charles Frazier | Adult | literary historical fiction |
| Sula | Toni Morrison | Adult | friendship and betrayal |
| Ordinary Grace | William Kent Krueger | Adult | small-town mystery |
| Olive Kitteridge | Elizabeth Strout | Adult | readers who like small-town stories |
| Plainsong | Kent Haruf | Adult | readers who like small-town stories |
| The Stranger | Albert Camus | Adult | readers who want philosophy in fiction |
| Of Mice and Men | John Steinbeck | Teen and adult | short classics |
| Wuthering Heights | Emily Brontë | Adult | readers who like tragic love |
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A mysterious millionaire throws grand parties for a lost love. Short and sharp on illusion and wealth.
Best for: American classics.
2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens, a butler, recalls his years of service and a missed chance at love. Restrained and heartbreaking.
Best for: readers who like reflection.
3. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
A doctor's wife seeks romance and falls into debt. Precise and unforgiving.
Best for: romantic disillusion.
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
A wife in Louisiana wants to live for herself. Short and scandalous in its day.
Best for: female independence.
5. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
A young woman rises in Chicago and New York. Blunt and powerful.
Best for: American realism.
6. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
A young woman's life is shaped by cruelty and fate. A heartbreaking Victorian tragedy.
Best for: fate and love.
7. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman confined to a room for her health becomes obsessed with the wallpaper. Short and chilling.
Best for: psychological horror.
8. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks home to his love. Slow, lyrical and rooted in landscape.
Best for: literary historical fiction.
9. Sula by Toni Morrison
Two women grow up together in a Black community in Ohio. Compact and profound.
Best for: friendship and betrayal.
10. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
A boy in 1961 Minnesota faces death and mystery over one summer. Gentle voice, serious themes.
Best for: small-town mystery.
11. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Linked stories about a retired schoolteacher in a Maine town. Won the Pulitzer Prize, and Olive is unforgettable.
Best for: readers who like small-town stories.
12. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Interconnected lives in small-town Colorado, from teachers to farmers to a pregnant teen. Gentle and deeply human.
Best for: readers who like small-town stories.
13. The Stranger by Albert Camus
Meursault, who seems indifferent to life, commits a murder. A short classic of absurdism.
Best for: readers who want philosophy in fiction.
14. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Two migrant workers dream of a farm. Short, sad and widely taught.
Best for: short classics.
15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Heathcliff and Catherine's destructive love on the Yorkshire moors. Wild and stormy.
Best for: readers who like tragic love.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Ethan Frome: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Ethan Frome. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For classics, read The Great Gatsby. For quiet tragedies, try The Remains of the Day. For Wharton's circle, pick Madame Bovary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Ethan Frome?
Edith Wharton, in 1911.
How long is it?
It is a short novella.
Is it cheerful?
No, it is bleak.
Which book here is best for readers who like tragic love?
Try Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, which suits readers looking for readers who like tragic love.
Which book here is best for short classics?
Try Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, which suits readers looking for short classics.
Which book here is best for readers who want philosophy in fiction?
Try The Stranger by Albert Camus, which suits readers looking for readers who want philosophy in fiction.
Which book here is best for readers who like small-town stories?
Try Plainsong by Kent Haruf, which suits readers looking for readers who like small-town stories.
Which book here is best for readers who like small-town stories?
Try Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, which suits readers looking for readers who like small-town stories.
Which book here is best for small-town mystery?
Try Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, which suits readers looking for small-town mystery.