Some Gritty Some Smooth -but mostly gritty

Explore a curated list of gritty and smooth books—mostly gritty—that will thrill and captivate. Find your next intense read with our handpicked selection.

Geek Love Cover
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Geek Love

by Katherine Dunn

National Book Award Finalist • Here is the unforgettable story of the Binewskis, a circus-geek family whose matriarch and patriarch have bred their own exhibit …
The Power of One Cover
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The Power of One

by Bryce Courtenay

“The Power of One has everything: suspense, the exotic, violence; mysticism, psychology and magic; schoolboy adventures, drama.” –The New York Times “Unabashedly uplifting . . …
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Cover
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic—both poignant and funny—about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor's dog and …
A Prayer for Owen Meany Cover
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A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving

A story of friendship through adversity, faith and destiny, and the search for God.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Cover
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

by Michael Chabon

This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. …
CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL Cover
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CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL

 

No summary available.
The Wasp Factory Cover
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The Wasp Factory

by Iain Banks

Powerful, perverse, and engrossing, this controversial novel offers a graphic portrait of a serial killer told in the first-person. "Read it if you dare!"--"The Daily …
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The Devil in the White City Cover
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The Devil in the White City

by Erik Larson

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile comes the …
Choke Cover
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Choke

by Chuck Palahniuk

Victor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious …
Set This House in Order Cover
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Set This House in Order

by Matt Ruff

Andy Gage was born in 1965 and murdered not long after by his stepfather. . . . It was no ordinary murder. Though the torture …
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Cover
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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • A "A beautifully ragged, laugh-out-loud funny and utterly unforgettable book" (San Francisco Chronicle) that redefines both family and …
Post office Cover
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Post office

 

No summary available.
Women Cover
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Women

by Charles Bukowski

Low-life writer and unrepentant alcoholic Henry Chinaski was born to survive. After decades of slacking off at low-paying dead-end jobs, blowing his cash on booze …
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ID: 0876859260
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Breakfast of Champions Cover
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Breakfast of Champions

by Kurt Vonnegut

“Marvelous . . . [Vonnegut] wheels out all the complaints about America and makes them seem fresh, funny, outrageous, hateful and lovable.”—The New York Times …
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ID: 0312150601
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ID: 0425101339
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Catch-22 Cover
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Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a …