The Uk is Ok: British Books that Tend Toward the Serious
Explore a curated list of serious British books that delve into profound themes. Discover UK literature that challenges, inspires, and reflects the depth of British thought.
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The Autograph Man
by Zadie Smith
From the New York Times bestselling author of Swing Time and one of the most revered writers of her generation comes an "intelligent ... exquisitely clever [novel] about fame, mortality, and the triumph of image over reality” (The Boston Globe). Alex-Li Tandem sells autographs. His business is to hunt for names on paper, collect them, sell them, and occasionally fake them—all to give the people what they want: a little piece of Fame. But what does Alex want? Only the return of his father, the end of religion, something for his headache, three different girls, infinite grace, and the rare autograph of forties movie actress Kitty Alexander. With fries. The Autograph Man is a deeply funny existential tour around the hollow trappings of modernity: celebrity, cinema, and the ugly triumph of symbol over experience. It offers further proof that Zadie Smith is one of the most staggeringly talented writers of her generation.
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On Beauty
by Zadie Smith
Struggling with a stale marriage and the misguided passions of his three adult children, long-suffering art professor Howard Belsey finds his family life thrown into turmoil by his son's engagement to the socially prominent daughter of a right-wing icon. By the author of White Teeth. 200,000 first printing.
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What Was She Thinking?
by Zoë Heller
When her new friend and co-worker, Sheba Hart, begins a passionate affair with a male student, schoolteacher Barbara Covett decides to defend Sheba and unknowingly reveals secrets they both hide.
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Trainspotting
by Irvine Welsh
"The best book ever written by man or woman...deserves to sell more copies than the Bible."--Rebel, Inc.
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How to Be Good
by Nick Hornby
A wise and hilarious novel morality and what it means to be a "goof person" from the bestselling author of Dickens and Prince, Just Like you, Funny Girl and High Fidelity. A brutally truthful, compassionate novel about the heart, mind, and soul of a woman who, confronted by her husband’s sudden and extreme spiritual conversion, is forced to learn “how to be good”—whatever that means, and for better or worse… Katie Carr is a good person…sort of. For years her husband’s been selfish, sarcastic, and underemployed. But now David’s changed. He’s become a good person, too—really good. He’s found a spiritual leader. He has become kind, soft-spoken, and earnest. Katie isn’t sure if this is deeply felt conversion, a brain tumor—or David’s most brilliantly vicious manipulation yet. Because she’s finding it more and more difficult to live with David—and with herself.
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After You'd Gone
by Maggie O'Farrell
When a young woman named Alice Raikes slips into a coma following an accident that could have been a suicide attempt, her family gathers at her bedside to wait and to recall her life and loves. A first novel.