Decode your taste →

Books like De aanslag

De aanslag by Harry Mulisch reads as reflective, somber. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

The Reader cover
The Reader
Bernhard Schlink · 1995
Another road into guilt, taken at steady pacing.
The Diary of Anne Frank cover
The Diary of Anne Frank
Frances Goodrich · 1956
A tender, claustrophobic drama of adolescence and hope set against the certainty of historical tragedy, drawn from Anne's own voice and diary.
Chasing the king of hearts cover
Chasing the king of hearts
Hanna Krall · 2013
Runs the same human current through a different story, at unhurried, immersive pacing.
The Return of the Soldier cover
The Return of the Soldier
Rebecca West · 1918
A slim, emotionally exacting novel of a soldier's amnesia stripping away comfortable illusions, forcing two women to reckon with love, class, and the cost of memory.
complete storydeep cut
When the emperor was divine cover
When the emperor was divine
Julie Otsuka · 2002
Same poignant, reflective register, circling identity and memory from its own angle.
Native Guard cover
Native Guard
Natasha Trethewey · 2007
Reads reflective in the same way — and goes just as deep on memory and identity.
The English Patient cover
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje · 1992
Four damaged lives circle each other in a ruined villa as memory and desire surface in lyrical, non-linear flashes.
complete storydeep cut
On the Bus with Rosa Parks cover
On the Bus with Rosa Parks
Rita Dove · 1999
A close historical relative — matched on how it reads, with unhurried, immersive pacing.
War by Candlelight cover
War by Candlelight
Daniel Alarcón · 2005
Reads poignant in the same way — and goes just as deep on war and memory.
Life cover
Life
Mal Peet · 2011
Another road into memory and war, taken at steady pacing.
The Sagan Diary cover
The Sagan Diary
John Scalzi · 2007
A deeply introspective companion piece in which a soldier engineered for combat wrestles with memory, identity, and what it means to exist as a consciousness designed for war.
deep cut
Anatomy of a soldier cover
Anatomy of a soldier
Harry Parker · 2016
Reads poignant in the same way — and goes just as deep on war and trauma.

Find your next read by its genome

Tell Novelome one book you love — get recommendations tuned to your taste, including the ones other sites never surface.

Start free →
More readalikes: Books like THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE · Books like THE LET THEM THEORY · Books like EXTREME OWNERSHIP · Books like WINGS OF STARLIGHT · Books like DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK, EXPANDED EDITION · Books like I WILL TEACH YOU TO BE RICH, SECOND EDITION · Books like FAKE SKATING · Books like THE CREATIVE ACT