9 Best historical books like A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Cover of A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

By: Viet Thanh Nguyen

4.35

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, in A Man of Two Faces Viet Thanh Nguyen rewind…

If you liked the historical plot in A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen , here is a list of 9 books like this:

Cover of Prophet Song by Paul    Lynch

1. Prophet Song

By: Paul Lynch

4.10

Format: 259 pages, Kindle Edition

A fearless portrait of a society on the brink as a mother faces a terrible choice, from an internat… read more

Similar categories in Paul Lynch's Prophet Song book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • war
"people are entitled to some small moment of peace."

-Paul Lynch, Prophet Song

"the child absorbing the mother’s trauma and storing it in his body for later use,"

-Paul Lynch, Prophet Song

"... time is at once addition and subtraction, time adds one day to the next and always takes away from what's left..."

-Paul Lynch, Prophet Song

"...knowing how it is so that all boys grow up and pull away from home to unmake the world in the guise of making it, nature decrees it so."

-Paul Lynch, Prophet Song

Cover of Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

2. Let Us Descend

By: Jesmyn Ward

3.70

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

From Jesmyn Ward—the two-time National Book Award winner, youngest winner of the Library of Congres… read more

Similar categories in Jesmyn Ward's Let Us Descend book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
  • race
"You must leap. You must do as your people did. You must sink in order to rise."

-Jesmyn Ward, Let Us Descend

Cover of James by Percival Everett

3. James

By: Percival Everett

4.54

Format: 303 pages, Hardcover

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and f… read more

Similar categories in Percival Everett's James book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
  • race
Cover of Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

4. Roman Stories

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

3.80

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

Rome—metropolis and monument, suspended between past and future, multi-faceted and metaphysical—is … read more

Similar categories in Jhumpa Lahiri's Roman Stories book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

Cover of North Woods by Daniel       Mason

5. North Woods

By: Daniel Mason

4.15

Format: 372 pages, Hardcover

A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those … read more

Similar categories in Daniel Mason's North Woods book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
Cover of Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

6. Wandering Stars

By: Tommy Orange

3.89

Format: 315 pages, Hardcover

The eagerly awaited follow-up to Pulitzer Prize-finalist Tommy Orange’s breakout best seller There … read more

Similar categories in Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
"And in the year 1924 Indian citizenship will have been granted, even though they will mean to dissolve tribes by giving citizenship, dissolve being another word for disappearance, a kind of chemical …"

-Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars

Cover of Day by Michael Cunningham

7. Day

By: Michael Cunningham

3.57

Format: 273 pages, Hardcover

As the world changes around them, a family weathers the storms of growing up, growing older, fallin… read more

Similar categories in Michael Cunningham's Day book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

"Here, then, is the answer. A degree of cruelty is necessary because Garth, like most men, can only deposit his needs at her feet, can only declare his love—that romantic hallucination, which would be…"

-Michael Cunningham, Day

Cover of The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen

8. The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

By: Jonathan Rosen

4.07

Format: 576 pages, Hardcover

“Brave and nuanced…an act of tremendous compassion and a literary triumph.” — The New York Times … read more

Similar categories in Jonathan Rosen's The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • biography
  • memoir
"It's true I didn't love the job, but I did want the money. If I was too incompetent for ordinary work, I would have to do something extraordinary or face destruction."

-Jonathan Rosen, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

"Money had replaced community mental healthcare the way medication had replaced state hospitals. Medication did not go looking for those who resisted taking it, and money could not administer itself. …"

-Jonathan Rosen, The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

Cover of Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

9. Martyr!

By: Kaveh Akbar

4.24

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves… read more

Similar categories in Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

Cover of The Fraud by Zadie Smith

10. The Fraud

By: Zadie Smith

3.30

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

The extraordinary first historical novel from bestselling author of White Teeth Zadie Smith It i… read more

Similar categories in Zadie Smith's The Fraud book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
"Eliza had long understood her cousin to be beyond the reach of editorial intervention."

-Zadie Smith, The Fraud

"What possesses people? Unhappiness, always. Happiness is otherwise occupied. It has an object on which to focus. It has daisies, it has snowdrifts. Unhappiness opens up the void, which then requires …"

-Zadie Smith, The Fraud

"I know this country well. Well enough to understand that justice takes time, and that the freedoms of a minority are rarely self-evident to the majority. What is perfectly selfevident to God is – unf…"

-Zadie Smith, The Fraud

"God preserve me from novel-writing, thought Mrs Touchet. God preserve me from that tragic indulgence, that useless vanity, that blindness! In a cold dormitory, two hundred miles away, three heartbrok…"

-Zadie Smith, The Fraud

Cover of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall

11. A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy

By: Nathan Thrall

4.35

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover

WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION Named a Best Book of the Year by The N… read more

Similar categories in Nathan Thrall's A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • war
  • nonfiction
Cover of Blackouts by Justin Torres

12. Blackouts

By: Justin Torres

3.77

Format: 306 pages, Hardcover

From the bestselling author of We the Animals, Blackouts mines lost histories--personal and collect… read more

Similar categories in Justin Torres's Blackouts book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
Cover of The Liberators by E.J. Koh

13. The Liberators

By: E.J. Koh

3.46

Format: 240 pages, Hardcover

At the height of the military dictatorship in South Korea, Insuk and Sungho are arranged to be marr… read more

Similar categories in E.J. Koh's The Liberators book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • asian literature
  • historical
  • asia
Cover of How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

14. How to Say Babylon

By: Safiya Sinclair

4.47

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s … read more

Similar categories in Safiya Sinclair's How to Say Babylon book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • biography
  • memoir
"As I grew older, I knew I would never be his perfect Rasta daughter. I was too headstrong, too curious. Too much of myself, and not enough of him."

-Safiya Sinclair, How to Say Babylon

Cover of Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park

15. Same Bed Different Dreams

By: Ed Park

3.77

Format: 528 pages, Hardcover

A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves … read more

Similar categories in Ed Park's Same Bed Different Dreams book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • historical
  • asia
Cover of There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

16. There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

By: Hanif Abdurraqib

4.40

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

A poignant, personal reflection on basketball, talent and allegiance, and of course, LeBron James—f… read more

Similar categories in Hanif Abdurraqib's There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • race
  • biography
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
"Heartbreak itself is a primary color. Stagnant without a series of secondary colors to activate it. Longing is an activator."

-Hanif Abdurraqib, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

"With enough repetition, anything can become a religion. It doesn’t matter if it works or not, it simply matters if a person returns."

-Hanif Abdurraqib, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

"It is a strange miracle to be able to trace your own aging, your own mortality through someone who's living alongside you, someone who has survived eras at the same time as you have in some of the sa…"

-Hanif Abdurraqib, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

Cover of The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

17. The Manicurist's Daughter

By: Susan Lieu

3.96

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who … read more

Similar categories in Susan Lieu's The Manicurist's Daughter book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • race
  • biography
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • asian literature
Cover of Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe

18. Ordinary Notes

By: Christina Sharpe

4.55

Format: 392 pages, Hardcover

A singular achievement, Ordinary Notes explores profound questions about loss and the shapes of Bla… read more

Similar categories in Christina Sharpe's Ordinary Notes book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • race
  • history
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
Cover of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer

19. Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis

By: Jonathan Blitzer

4.49

Format: 544 pages, Hardcover

An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the so… read more

Similar categories in Jonathan Blitzer's Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • nonfiction
  • race
  • history
Cover of A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

20. A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

By: Viet Thanh Nguyen

4.35

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, in A Man of Two Faces Viet Thanh Nguyen rewind… read more

Similar categories in Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • race
  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • historical
  • asia
  • war
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • asian literature
Cover of Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes by Anthony Veasna So

21. Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes

By: Anthony Veasna So

4.11

Format: 240 pages, Hardcover

A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 from: LA Times * Boston Globe * The Millions * LitHub By the New… read more

Similar categories in Anthony Veasna So's Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes book and Viet Thanh Nguyen's A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial

  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • memoir
"We're minorities within minorities, I'd often repeat to my friend, in an attempt to subdue his frustration with the compounding obstacles of his life."

-Anthony Veasna So, Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes

"You can only keep up the precarious act of sustaining this fantasy of a better world for so long when not much has actually changed in our favor. But as long as there's something new in our queue, af…"

-Anthony Veasna So, Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes

"But—please, hear me out—don't you think difference breathes in the expanses that lie amid your monotonous thoughts? Even as you see in the future only suicide, your mind fosters so many novel meaning…"

-Anthony Veasna So, Songs on Endless Repeat: Essays and Outtakes

9 best-selling nonfiction books like A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Transform Your Habits

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

Jonathan Rosen

4.07

Transform Your Habits

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy

Nathan Thrall

4.35

Transform Your Habits

How to Say Babylon

Safiya Sinclair

4.47

Transform Your Habits

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

Hanif Abdurraqib

4.40

View all the books

21 must-read fiction books like Day by Michael Cunningham

Transform Your Habits

After Annie

Anna Quindlen

4.03

Transform Your Habits

The Wren, the Wren

Anne Enright

3.55

Transform Your Habits

James

Percival Everett

4.54

Transform Your Habits

Leaving

Roxana Robinson

3.87

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