18 must-read literary fiction books like Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Cover of Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Evil Eye

By: Etaf Rum

3.95

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man returns with a striking explor…

"(...) she shrugged to articulate her feelings, even to herself. Words diluted things, made them smaller."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

"(...) she shrugged to articulate her feelings, even to herself. Words diluted things, made them smaller."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

"Her family had always been told to classify themselves as white because of their Middle Eastern origins. But Yara had never considered herself white or been viewed as white by anyone else, and marking herself as such felt inaccurate, as though she were being simmered down, reduced until she were invisible."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

"Her family had always been told to classify themselves as white because of their Middle Eastern origins. But Yara had never considered herself white or been viewed as white by anyone else, and marking herself as such felt inaccurate, as though she were being simmered down, reduced until she were invisible."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

If you liked the literary fiction plot in Evil Eye by Etaf Rum , here is a list of 18 books like this:

Cover of The Berry Pickers by Amanda    Peters

1. The Berry Pickers

By: Amanda Peters

4.14

Format: 307 pages, Hardcover

A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mys… read more

Similar categories in Amanda Peters's The Berry Pickers book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Happiness Falls by Angie  Kim

2. Happiness Falls

By: Angie Kim

3.75

Format: 387 pages, Hardcover

When a father goes missing, his family's desperate search leads them to question everything they kn… read more

Similar categories in Angie Kim's Happiness Falls book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I lost a World - the other day! Has Anybody found? - Emily Dickinson, 1896"

-Angie Kim, Happiness Falls

Cover of Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

3. Bright Young Women

By: Jessica Knoll

4.02

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

An extraordinary novel inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America's first celebrity ser… read more

Similar categories in Jessica Knoll's Bright Young Women book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult
  • fiction
  • audiobook
"The truth is something people will go to great lengths to keep for themselves. It shouldn't feel like a gift when you get it, but it is."

-Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women

"Time does not heal all wounds. Grief is just like a sink full of dirty dishes or a pile of soiled laundry. Grief is a chore you have to do, and it's a messy one, at that."

-Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women

"There were men who cracked their knuckles while divulging to me what they would do to the defendant if they got the chance, thinking this was somehow reassuring for me to hear. But all it did was mak…"

-Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women

"Her lips are moving silently around words I recognize. 'I carry you like my own personal Time Machine, as I put on my lipstick, smile, and head out to the party.' It's a line by one of her favourite …"

-Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women

Cover of Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

4. 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 Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You must leap. You must do as your people did. You must sink in order to rise."

-Jesmyn Ward, Let Us Descend

Cover of Real Americans by Rachel Khong

5. Real Americans

By: Rachel Khong

4.04

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny?… read more

Similar categories in Rachel Khong's Real Americans book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"She wasn't normal and so I wasn't either. I resented that part the most."

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"It was a habit, with my parents: omitting information, not wanting to worry them unnecessarily. Though they’d raised me so American, I could never manage the sorts of American relationships my friend…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"With each other they spoke loudly: Their voices periodically rose to excited shouts, and they laughed raucously. In English they were milder mannered, polite. My mother had always spoken English to m…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

Cover of Family Family by Laurie Frankel

6. Family Family

By: Laurie Frankel

4.00

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

“Not all stories of adoption are stories of pain and regret. Not even most of them. Why don’t we ev… read more

Similar categories in Laurie Frankel's Family Family book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • realistic fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"When people thought of mothers, they smelled cookies baking and chocolate melting. But actual mothers got shit for giving their kids too much sugar. When people thought of mothers, they thought soft …"

-Laurie Frankel, Family Family

Cover of Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

7. Come and Get It

By: Kiley Reid

3.38

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

A fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a profe… read more

Similar categories in Kiley Reid's Come and Get It book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Kennedy hadn't considered it before, that to write something beautiful you just do it regular, and then you pull out a red pen."

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Washing her sheets was another thing she'd failed to do. She washed her clothes—every weekend—but when it came to the bedsheets, she'd get stressed out or she'd forget. And then there was too much ti…"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Okay, sometimes—just being honest— Millie can be . . . a little ghetto." On the word little, Tyler held two fingers an inch apart. "Nooo. Don't say that. Ah love Millie." "But I'm not saying it like …"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

Cover of The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

8. The Museum of Failures

By: Thrity Umrigar

4.13

Format: 358 pages, Hardcover

An immersive story about family secrets and the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of… read more

Similar categories in Thrity Umrigar's The Museum of Failures book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Because, ultimately everybody's story was written in scars."

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

"He had often thought of Bombay as the museum of failures, an exhibit hall filled with thwarted dreams and broken promises."

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

"Of course, there were unhappy people everywhere on earth, and if you catalogued all their griefs and disappointments, every place could be considered a museum of failures. One could argue that this w…"

-Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures

Cover of Wellness by Nathan  Hill

9. Wellness

By: Nathan Hill

4.00

Format: 611 pages, Hardcover

The New York Times best-selling author of The Nix is back with a poignant and witty novel about mar… read more

Similar categories in Nathan Hill's Wellness book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • audiobook
"It's an altogether manic and ceaseless conversation, a conversation that feels sometimes like falling down stairs, barely keeping upright, taken by gravity, skipping, grasping, and then somehow landi…"

-Nathan Hill, Wellness

"Behind curtains, this, he thinks, is what lovers do—they are alchemists and architects; pioneers and fabulists; they make one thing another; they invent the world around them. So he says, ‘Yes I beli…"

-Nathan Hill, Wellness

Cover of Interesting Facts about Space by Emily R. Austin

10. Interesting Facts about Space

By: Emily R. Austin

3.85

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

Enid is obsessed with space. She can tell you all about black holes and their ability to spaghettif… read more

Similar categories in Emily R. Austin's Interesting Facts about Space book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • literary fiction
  • mental health
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"It’s actually sort of soothing to think of how massive the universe is, and how I could be snuffed out at any minute. I guess I like tricking my brain into disarming things."

-Emily R. Austin, Interesting Facts about Space

"I hate my voice. I hate the words I choose. I hate my instincts and the way I think. I hate that I am self-absorbed enough to hate myself in detail. I think I am a bad person. I feel self-loathing so…"

-Emily R. Austin, Interesting Facts about Space

"I doubt it's possible to have a baby and not imagine what you want for it. If I were to ever fall pregnant, I would wonder what the sex of the baby is. Celebrations that center expectations around ge…"

-Emily R. Austin, Interesting Facts about Space

"I wear the mask of a well mannered distant relative. A young lady who crosses her legs at the ankles and laughs at banal jokes. That is a new character for me however. I have not mastered her yet. I …"

-Emily R. Austin, Interesting Facts about Space

Cover of Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

11. Evil Eye

By: Etaf Rum

3.95

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man returns with a striking explor… read more

Similar categories in Etaf Rum's Evil Eye book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • feminism
  • realistic fiction
  • mental health
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"(...) she shrugged to articulate her feelings, even to herself. Words diluted things, made them smaller."

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

"Her family had always been told to classify themselves as white because of their Middle Eastern origins. But Yara had never considered herself white or been viewed as white by anyone else, and markin…"

-Etaf Rum, Evil Eye

Cover of The Storm We Made by Vanessa  Chan

12. The Storm We Made

By: Vanessa Chan

3.87

Format: 339 pages, Hardcover

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781668015148. A novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unl… read more

Similar categories in Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • literary fiction
  • adult
  • fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

13. Banyan Moon

By: Thao Thai

3.92

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

When Ann Tran gets the call that her fiercely beloved grandmother, Minh, has passed away, her life … read more

Similar categories in Thao Thai's Banyan Moon book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Through her, I understood that another mother's horror could touch us in the darkest of places, even a world away."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"Grief is a lake of perilously thin ice. You never know when you'll fall through it, or when you will fight your way back to the surface."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"My morning swims have centered me and calmed the storm inside my mind. In the water, my memories lose their sharp edges, like river stones forced smooth."

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

"I wonder if you can inherit evil.' 'Maybe. Or maybe it's not something you inherit, but something that runs through you, another person's trauma, their violence. It sits below the skin until you name…"

-Thao Thai, Banyan Moon

Cover of The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

14. The Leftover Woman

By: Jean Kwok

3.77

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two ver… read more

Similar categories in Jean Kwok's The Leftover Woman book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

15. Shark Heart

By: Emily Habeck

3.99

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their weddin… read more

Similar categories in Emily Habeck's Shark Heart book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"What if magic is just mislabeled peace?"

-Emily Habeck, Shark Heart

"What a privilege it was to mark time with the sun."

-Emily Habeck, Shark Heart

"Lewis, you've told me so much about Wren, sometimes I think I miss her, too."

-Emily Habeck, Shark Heart

"What a tragedy it is, being a woman. I would rather be a million other things."

-Emily Habeck, Shark Heart

Cover of Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

16. Mercury

By: Amy Jo Burns

3.83

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

A roofing family’s bonds of loyalty are tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart … read more

Similar categories in Amy Jo Burns's Mercury book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

17. The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing

By: Lara Love Hardin

4.46

Format: 319 pages, Kindle Edition

No one expects the police to knock on the million-dollar, two-story home of the perfect cul-de-sac … read more

Similar categories in Lara Love Hardin's The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

18. Behind You Is the Sea

By: Susan Muaddi Darraj

4.14

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American communi… read more

Similar categories in Susan Muaddi Darraj's Behind You Is the Sea book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González

19. Anita de Monte Laughs Last

By: Xóchitl González

3.82

Format: 342 pages, Hardcover

New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-gener… read more

Similar categories in Xóchitl González's Anita de Monte Laughs Last book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"we're all just here trying to get you to see your own light because it's strong enough to guide you."

-Xóchitl González, Anita de Monte Laughs Last

"You fall for someone, you get so into them your whole world shrinks, and suddenly barely have a life besides them."

-Xóchitl González, Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Cover of The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange

20. The Connellys of County Down

By: Tracey Lange

3.83

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she know… read more

Similar categories in Tracey Lange's The Connellys of County Down book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

21. The Lion Women of Tehran

By: Marjan Kamali

4.50

Format: 327 pages, Hardcover

From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stati… read more

Similar categories in Marjan Kamali's The Lion Women of Tehran book and Etaf Rum's Evil Eye

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • feminism
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"When I am surrounded by books, I feel most at peace."

-Marjan Kamali, The Lion Women of Tehran

"I wanted what Homa had. I wanted her family. Her living father, her kind mother. I wanted her fat, edible baby sister. I wanted the warmth and safety of her home."

-Marjan Kamali, The Lion Women of Tehran

20 Top fiction books like Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

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Amanda Peters

4.14

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Angie Kim

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Jessica Knoll

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Let Us Descend

Jesmyn Ward

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19 must-read fiction books like Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

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The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years

Shubnum Khan

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Percival Everett

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