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Quick answer: If you loved Euphoria, try Writers & Lovers, State of Wonder, The Signature of All Things, The Lost City of Z, The English Patient and Out of Africa. Each one offers intelligent historical fiction, scientists or explorers far from home, and a love story under pressure.
Lily King's 2014 novel is set in 1933 New Guinea, where three young anthropologists meet: the brilliant Nell Stone, her jealous husband Fen and the lonely Englishman Andrew Bankson. As they study a local tribe together, their work and their feelings become dangerously tangled. Inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, it is short, sensual and sharp. Readers love its ideas, its tension and its tragic arc. These books share its explorers, its scientists and its love triangles.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Setting | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writers & Lovers | Lily King | Modern Boston | readers who want more Lily King |
| State of Wonder | Ann Patchett | Amazon jungle | readers who want scientists in the wild |
| The Signature of All Things | Elizabeth Gilbert | 19th-century world | readers who love a woman scientist |
| The Lost City of Z | David Grann | Amazon | readers who want true explorers |
| The English Patient | Michael Ondaatje | Italy and Egypt | readers who like lyrical love triangles |
| Out of Africa | Isak Dinesen | Kenya | readers who want a classic memoir |
| The Snow Leopard | Peter Matthiessen | Nepal | readers who want true expedition writing |
| Lab Girl | Hope Jahren | Modern labs | readers who want a scientist's real life |
| Coming of Age in Samoa | Margaret Mead | Samoa | readers who want the real Mead |
| Circling the Sun | Paula McLain | Kenya | readers who like bold women |
| The Sheltering Sky | Paul Bowles | Sahara | readers who like doomed travelers |
| Heart of Darkness | Joseph Conrad | Congo River | readers who want the classic |
| The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet | David Mitchell | Japan | readers who like outsiders in a closed world |
| Possession | A.S. Byatt | England | readers who like scholars in love |
| Bel Canto | Ann Patchett | South America | readers who like love in a strange place |
1. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
A grieving waitress and aspiring writer juggles two very different men.
Best for: readers who want more Lily King.
2. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
A pharmacologist travels to the Amazon to find a missing colleague.
Best for: readers who want scientists in the wild.
3. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
A botanist's long life spans continents and discoveries.
Best for: readers who love a woman scientist.
4. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
A British explorer vanishes in the Amazon while seeking a lost city.
Best for: readers who want true explorers.
5. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Four damaged people share an Italian villa at the end of the war.
Best for: readers who like lyrical love triangles.
6. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
A Danish woman recalls her years on a farm in Kenya.
Best for: readers who want a classic memoir.
7. The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen
A naturalist treks the Himalayas in search of a rare cat.
Best for: readers who want true expedition writing.
8. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
A scientist tells her life story alongside the lives of plants.
Best for: readers who want a scientist's real life.
9. Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead
Mead's famous study of adolescence in Samoa.
Best for: readers who want the real Mead.
10. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
The aviator Beryl Markham grows up in colonial Kenya.
Best for: readers who like bold women.
11. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
An American couple drifts deeper into North Africa.
Best for: readers who like doomed travelers.
12. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A sailor travels upriver to find a man gone mad with power.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
13. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
A Dutch clerk arrives at a trading post in 1799 Japan.
Best for: readers who like outsiders in a closed world.
14. Possession by A.S. Byatt
Two scholars uncover a secret Victorian love affair.
Best for: readers who like scholars in love.
15. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Hostages and captors form surprising bonds.
Best for: readers who like love in a strange place.
How to Choose
Read Writers & Lovers for more of Lily King's voice, though it is set in the present day. For scientists in remote places, State of Wonder is the closest match in plot and mood. If you were fascinated by the real story, Coming of Age in Samoa is Mead's own famous work. Readers who loved the doomed love triangle should try The English Patient or The Sheltering Sky. The Signature of All Things is a good long read if you want a brilliant woman scientist at the center.
Related: The Lost City of Z by David Grann: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Euphoria about?
Three anthropologists in 1930s New Guinea become caught in a tense love triangle while studying local tribes.
Is Euphoria based on a true story?
It is inspired by Margaret Mead's time in New Guinea with her husband Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson.
How long is Euphoria?
It is short, at around 260 pages.
Did Euphoria win any awards?
It won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction in 2014.
Is Euphoria related to the TV show?
No. The novel has nothing to do with the HBO series.