Comments on: Name popular fiction not focused on love

Question: Name popular fiction not focused on love

traderjoefan — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:13:28 -0800

Popular fiction books NOT focused on romantic love relationships?

What are some good books that do not focus on love and romantic relationships (falling in love, marriage, breaking up, lost loves) etc yet are in the popular fiction/bestseller category?

One example would be Poisonwood Bible which has some of the characters getting married but not really focused on it.

Even nonconventional books like Wicked have a steamy relationship between Elphaba and Fiero.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:19:47 -0800

The Harry Potter series.

By: amtho

amtho — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:25:10 -0800

"The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:33:56 -0800

Lonesome Dove. there's love in there, but it's not the point or the main thrust of the story. Grisham, Tom Clancy, Ruth Rendell and the guy who wrote Jurassic Park don't veer off into love and romance.

By: amtho

amtho — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:34:59 -0800

Sherlock Holmes books (I forget who the author is)

By: spasm

spasm — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:35:03 -0800

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith.

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:36:18 -0800

The Lord of the Rings hardly even has any women in it, despite what the films suggest. The Da Vinci Code has a historical relationship in it, but not an active one. Why do you ask?

By: bent back tulips

bent back tulips — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:40:22 -0800

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Wonderful book.

By: LoriFLA

LoriFLA — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:50:23 -0800

The Kite Runner, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Angela's Ashes.

By: holgate

holgate — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:51:39 -0800

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels.

By: spacesbetween

spacesbetween — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:19:21 -0800

The kite runner does have a love story. I would agree with the curious incident of a dog in night time. Life of Pi was also pretty good

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:33:57 -0800

The Plot Against America, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, most of Kurt Vonnegut's books.

By: synapse

synapse — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:37:46 -0800

Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down? It's probably not a bestseller, but it's prominently featured in airport bookstores.

By: luriete

luriete — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:38:18 -0800

The Curious Tale of the Dog in the Night Time, as Spasm suggests, is great.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami Haruki

The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

the Adventures of Kavalier and Clay has two love stories within it but they are hardly the focus of this (great) novel

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Saturday by Ian McEwan

Paul Auster's Brooklyn Follies is good, as is Timbuktu

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

almost anything by Pynchon has relationships at its heart (certainly V is built on several) but his books are so big and sprawling and detailed that you can't really say they have anything more than a thematic center ... with the exception of V, I don't think any of them have a romantic relationship as their primary theme, although Mason & Dixon certainly invests quite a bit into one particular relationship.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:49:40 -0800

Death Benefits by Thomas Perry

There's a relationship in it, but it's far from being the focus of the story.

Pursuit, also by Perry

By: ambrosia

ambrosia — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:03:56 -0800

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

By: randomination

randomination — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:24:23 -0800

Perfume by Patrick Suskind

By: allan

allan — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:34:52 -0800

Is there a particular aspect you are trying to avoid? I.e. don't want to antagonize the lovelorn or Avoiding sexual content? Or is it a general distaste for romantic plotlines?

Clavell's asian yarns may not be the most accurate, but are great romance-free stories: I like Shogun in particular.

By: wuzandfuzz

wuzandfuzz — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:38:47 -0800

Robert B. Parker books make reference to relationships, but usually focus on the tough guy stuff.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 10:47:14 -0800

The Da Vinci Code, no?

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:30:10 -0800

From the OQ: What are some good books . . .

Skip any Dan Brown things.

By: alms

alms — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 12:00:01 -0800

The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood.

By: divabat

divabat — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 13:12:41 -0800

The Harry Potter series, while not focused on the romance per se, did become more "romantic" around Book 6 - a large chunk of the story was dedicated to Harry&co's relationships.

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:04:20 -0800

It's such a bizarrely open question it's hard to answer.

What does "popular" mean? Dan Brown is popular in the sense that he's sold millions, but he's universally derided. Sherlock Holmes stories don't focus on romance, because they're genre fiction, like a lot of the other stuff being suggested.

Assuming you mean good literary, non-genre fiction (I don't think the Da Vinci Code is going to satisfy someone who likes Kingsolver) how about Amy Tan? She does of course write about love and relationships, but only in broader contexts.

By: zoinks

zoinks — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:42:31 -0800

Yeah, perhaps a bit more context to this question would be useful, but -
Seconding Life Of Pi - Yan Martell (Jan?)
Seconding Pynchon.
Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes stuff.
Just finished Name Of The Rose, by Umberto Eco. There is a minor relationship storyline, but not the main focus.
I guess William Faulkner may be a bit too relationship-oriented? But his stuff, like Pynchon's, is often huge and sprawling enough that there's far far more to it. And it's great writing. (Just rediscovered him for the first time since high school.)
Lots of sci-fi stuff might work.

By: The Great Big Mulp

The Great Big Mulp — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:50:41 -0800

I don't know from popular, but most Vonnegut books are love-free.

By: jb

jb — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:15:50 -0800

I would have thought most mysteries, thrillers, crime drama (which do hit best seller lists) did not focus heavily on relationships, though they might have a minor love interest. I read science-fiction myself, which sometimes does, sometimes doesn't.

Terry Pratchett is a best seller in Britain, and rarely does romance.

By: Jilder

Jilder — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:09:37 -0800

I'm adding my vote to:

Life of Pi
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (which will keep you occupied for a while)
Anything by Terry Pratchett, especially Night Watch,
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I'd like to add:
Nero in Exile by Tom Holt
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

I guess it comes down to how you define 'popular fiction'.