Romantic books that aren't necessarily romance or chick lit?

April 21, 2008 12:56 AM

Recommend to me books with romantic relationships (not necessarily romance or chick lit) that I can sigh happily, wistfully over?

Chick lit has this as a staple, BUT. The endings I've come across recently don't leave me with the weeklong glow of "Ah, excellent!" Also, most chick lit I've come across strikes me as mostly about designer shopping, or retellings of Bridget Jones.

Please, not paperbacks from the Romance Novels section with Fabio & Friends on the cover. Not VC Andrews getting me all hot and bothered and feeling dirty. Fresh stuff that isn't Danielle Steele, Barbara McCartland, and Co. If it's a physics textbook, then hey, let me know the ISBN.

Help me immerse myself into romance by proxy. (I know, I know, I'm lame and should just go out and date, forget all this book stuff. But this is all post-breakup and I don't care for real men right now.)

Thanks all!

posted by Xere to grab bag (59 comments total)

THe Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery is perfect. It's nowhere close to silly or typical romance.

The first sentence is "If it had not rained on a certain May morning Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different."
posted by Pants! at 1:03 AM on April 21, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Call me a sap, but I loved the Time Traveler's Wife. For more gorgeously tragic love stories there's Wurthering Heights or Death in Venice. Frankly, post breakup I usually want to steer as far away from happy love stories as possible, so I'd go for something twisted and darkly hilarious like Lolita. Or anything about sociopathic serial killers.
posted by tula at 1:55 AM on April 21, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Time Traveler's Wife!
posted by blueshammer at 2:03 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Have you read the Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger? I enjoyed that book and I am not one jot into chick lit. It's pretty funny, there's an excellent part at a Violent Femmes gig, it has all this wistfulness stuff going for it, and there's time-travelling too!

Or how about Persuasion by Jane Austen, if you're looking for something a bit longer? It's a funny, observant kind of book, and there are two characters who are, y'know, meant to be together who get in lots of scrapes and comical misunderstandings.
posted by eponymouse at 2:05 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Heh, should have previewed. Yup, just one more bleating voice telling you about the Time Traveler's Wife...
posted by eponymouse at 2:12 AM on April 21, 2008

The Path of Honour by Lindsay Davis, who's better known for the Falcon books. Proper gorgeous.
posted by runincircles at 2:21 AM on April 21, 2008

Jesus, I also came in to say The Time Traveler's Wife.

It is one of the most perfect novels I've ever read. If you enjoy that, then see also Possession by A.S. Byatt and The Good Husband by Gail Godwin. Oh, and Cider House Rules by John Irving.

All four of those books are grouped together in my book case next to The Prince of Tides, which isn't really romance but evokes much of the same emotion in me. And for what it is worth, I think the romance between Fenchurch and Arthur Dent in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is really one of the most endearing love stories ever penned. But probably not what you're looking for :)
posted by DarlingBri at 3:03 AM on April 21, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

The Actual by Saul Bellow is beautiful, and beautifully written (although more of a long short story than a full-blown novel).
posted by bifter at 3:14 AM on April 21, 2008

This is so cliche, but I always read Pride & Prejudice when I want a romantic story without all the explicit sex action.
posted by Locative at 3:23 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Jane Austen. Take your pick.
posted by OmieWise at 3:56 AM on April 21, 2008

Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazer
posted by chickaboo at 4:42 AM on April 21, 2008

Captain Correli's Madolin by Louis de Bernierres.
[Looks up as eyes fill with tears, coughs, takes deep breath, strides away manfully, kicks small animal to reiterate heterosexuality.]
posted by Jofus at 4:59 AM on April 21, 2008

I'm a guy who has never actually sought out romance fiction. However, I have read every Jane Austen (some several times) as I enjoy her dialogue and wit.

A female friend at work with whom I have discussed Jane Austen recently put me on to Georgette Heyer. She lent me several of her novels and I have since also borrowed a couple from the library. Again, wonderful wit and dialogue. Unlike Austen she is writing about periods prior to when she lived but this is fun as she displays very good command of historical detail.
posted by Sitegeist at 5:12 AM on April 21, 2008

Just seen the comment above mine and I beg to differ on the de Bernierres recommendation. Very mediocre writing. There was a time when you couldn't avoid coming across a copy of Captain Correli and so I gave him a try. Only got about 40 pages before giving up. I put his success down to very good book cover design.
posted by Sitegeist at 5:17 AM on April 21, 2008

"Love Story" by Eric Segal
posted by Jahaza at 5:24 AM on April 21, 2008

These are some favorite love stories of mine. Dunno about the sigh stuff:

The Dying Animal by Philip Roth (my fave book)
Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper (that's two titles) by Scott Spencer
Sparrow Nights by David Gilmour

I'm also currently in the middle of:

The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins &
The City is a Rising Tide by Rebecca Lee

and so far they're both quite good.
posted by dobbs at 5:44 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B by JP Donleavy.
posted by Brocktoon at 5:48 AM on April 21, 2008

Something by Byron, perhaps.
posted by oxford blue at 5:58 AM on April 21, 2008

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
posted by Mimzy at 6:02 AM on April 21, 2008

After Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, I gave a little satisfied sigh. The love story is buried in the broader story. Jane Austen makes me very happy. A Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing was romantic and fun, and Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise left me filled with longing.
posted by jeanmari at 6:05 AM on April 21, 2008

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, a wonderful story of a young English girl visiting Florence, Italy, torn between upholding stuffy social respectability and living for love, full of wonderful characters, wit, and romance.
posted by Kirjava at 6:09 AM on April 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Love in the Time of Cholera
Paulo Coehlo - Eleven Minutes
Margaret Mitchell - Gone with the Wind
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Juliette Benzoni - Catherine series
Anne Golon - Angelique series
Boris Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago
all by Erich Segal
all by Jane Austen
all by Judith Krantz
posted by barrakuda at 6:36 AM on April 21, 2008

"High Fidelity" is a great novel with a very endearing relationship between two complex, well drawn characters. I still love it despite the movie version having almost none of the charm of the book, even with Cusack and Jack Black doing their best.
posted by littlerobothead at 7:01 AM on April 21, 2008

Everything by LM Montgomery, but I was going to suggest the entire Anne of Green Gables series. Moreso the later ones - oh, will that foolish Anne ever admit she loves Gilbert?
posted by GuyZero at 7:14 AM on April 21, 2008

Well, I've got a sci-fi recommendation, but the romance isn't the main plot point. The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. It's a four book series, with one hot scene in space, and one romantic year spent alone on an otherwise uninhabited planet. Both the series and the books have been nominated for, and won lots of awards, so it's not just some random series.
posted by philomathoholic at 7:23 AM on April 21, 2008

Lois McMaster Bujold's Shards of Honor
anything by Robin McKinley
Mary Stewart (dated, but still)
M. M. Kaye
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 7:46 AM on April 21, 2008

im with pride and prejudice. although you dont start sighing til the end, what great sighs they are then! so rewarding.

am also with georgette heyer for when you've read all jane austen and are starved for more of the same... i loved "cousin kate" and "beauvallet".
posted by beccyjoe at 7:47 AM on April 21, 2008

I'm going to second Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. It's a historical fiction that takes place in mid-1700's Scotland, and is oh-so-good. Here's the thing... each book is about 1,000 pages and there are 6 books so far. That said, I've forced a few people to read the series and EVERY SINGLE ONE loved it... even those who wanted to cry at the thought of 1,000 pages.
posted by veryhappyheidi at 8:05 AM on April 21, 2008

Mimzy beat me to it!!
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 8:07 AM on April 21, 2008

I have seen a lot of people who loathe the idea of pink covered romance recommend Outlander very highly.

Myself, I came in here to recommend the Time Traveller's Wife. I read it, my roommate read it, my roommate's lumberjack boyfriend read it, and then we all looked at each other with big limpid eyes and talked about how good it was.

I've also enjoyed this book called Politics, by Adam Thirwell, which is very funny and self-aware and about three british people who wind up in a clumsy overthought threesome. The narrator makes all of them seem very sweet and very real, but also confused and a bit bumbling. as the publisher's comments put it:

"It considers Milan Kundera, blow jobs, Chairman Mao's personal hygiene, Bollywood, Václav Havel, shopping, Hitler's sexual fetishes, selfishness, Osip Mandelstam, premature ejaculation, the late Queen Mother, thrush, Stalin on the phone, politeness, pink fluffy handcuffs, and Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony."

A lot of those things I had no prior relationship to before I read this book.
posted by redsparkler at 8:37 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers. It's part of the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series. They're smashing good mystery novels, but Gaudy Night in particular is terribly romantic, and will just make you flip for the main character. I read Gaudy Night first and then worked my way back and forwards through the rest of the series, but you could read in order as well, if you want. :)
posted by warble at 8:41 AM on April 21, 2008

I highly recommend Georgette Heyer's romances. They seem like stereotypical romances until you actually start reading them. Then you find yourself laughing out loud at every other page and the endings could not be more satisfying. Spirited heroines, dashing heros, but all done with this tongue-in-cheek style that seems to almost make fun of the genre. You'll thank me later.
posted by peacheater at 8:59 AM on April 21, 2008

Heartily seconding JANE EYRE. I just finished reading it last week and it was so excellent.
Also, Count of Monte Cristo.

I would stick with the "classics."
posted by Sassyfras at 9:15 AM on April 21, 2008

(I'm slightly ashamed to be admitting this, but..)

My current romance by proxy bit has been the Twilight series. (But only the first and third book. The second book does a great deal of stomp on the romance stuff and makes me very, very sad.)
posted by sperose at 9:52 AM on April 21, 2008

The Oracle Glass

It's fairly well researched historical fiction by someone who previously wrote romance. Thus the elements of a romance are present, without choking the plot. Plus if you're post breakup, the heroine spends lots of time being feircely her own person, which is reassuring.

Also, the classic regencies by Georgette Heyer. No Fabio on the cover, but things like 'The Unknown Ajax' and 'Tollgate' are very charming.
posted by Phalene at 10:22 AM on April 21, 2008

The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken.
You might think, living alone so long, so seldom touched, I wouldn't know what to do. But I did. Alone in my bed, I'd sometimes test on myself. I ran a tentative hand along my collarbone; then a confident hand; then somewhere between. There wasn't an inch of skin I hadn't skimmed my fingers along, wondering would someone else like this?
posted by thebellafonte at 10:22 AM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thirding Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Highly recommended.

Nthing Time Traveler's Wife.
posted by johnvaljohn at 11:04 AM on April 21, 2008

Maybe Ahab's Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund. It's not a romance, at least not in the traditional sense. It is, however, a fantastic book with a lot of romantic elements.
posted by meghanmiller at 11:29 AM on April 21, 2008

seconding Mary Stewart, who is my go-to writer for delightfully dated romance coupled with a little bit of suspense and a lots of lovely writing. You probably don't want her Merlin trilogy books, but pretty much anything else she wrote is really perfect for sighing over. Try This Rough Magic or Airs Above the Ground.
posted by dizziest at 12:20 PM on April 21, 2008

I can second The Blue Castle, A Room with a View, Possession, and would further recommend a few old-school classics like Gene Stratton Porter's Freckles and A Girl of the Limberlost. Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle might also fit your needs. Do you read graphic novels? Craig Thompson's Blankets is almost insanely romantic, though a bit bittersweet. John Crowley also writes powerfully romantic books--you might try Little, Big or The Translator.

I would explicitly anti-recommend The Dying Animal for your purposes. Philip Roth is a problematic novelist for many women, and The Dying Animal is the last book I would want to read if I were in the market for a romantic novel to sigh over.
posted by Powerful Religious Baby at 12:35 PM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Time Travellers Wife. Ahab' Wife. (Never noticed that before-- these books are not related. Both are excellent.)

Georgette Heyer. I'm sorry, you'll have to go into the Romance section, but I promise NO FABIO, no fakey britishocity, no bullshit fawning over nobility unless critical to the plot (and the fawners always get their just desserts), just marvelously romantic stories with lots of humor and strong, independent heroines. My favorite, if I had to choose, is The Toll Booth.

And of course, Jane Austen.
posted by nax at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2008

You might enjoy the fairy-tale quality of Eva Ibbotson's books. They used to be hard to find, but some of her titles just got reissued: "The Morning Gift", "A Countess Below Stairs".

I think runincircles above meant "Course of Honour" by Lindsay Davis, and I strongly second that.

In addition to "Shards of Honor", Lois McMaster Bujold's "A Civil Campaign" is also quite romantic, though you might need "Komarr" for back story/buildup.
posted by of strange foe at 1:42 PM on April 21, 2008

Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series has some romance in it, the kind that makes you go "oh, yay!" when the people finally get together. Plus they're funny.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:17 PM on April 21, 2008

So, people have been recommending some good literature, but I'm going to go ahead and say Nicholas Sparks, The Loop. It's way better than The Horse Whisperer, the main character is intelligent, it's set in Montana but it's definitely not a cowboy fantasy thing. I used to read it every so often in high school when I was feeling the way you describe.
posted by Oobidaius at 3:02 PM on April 21, 2008

I couldn't stand the Outlander Series. Gah. Awful Scottish accents, awful sex scenes. But obviously YMMV given the number of people who adore the books.

Loved the Time Traveller's Wife, and I also love the Amelia Peabody series (the main character's marriage is so sweet). I love the romances in Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air, despite them being YA. And Moist Lipwig's romance in Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is cool. These are all books I love including the romances, and not specifically because of them, but they do make me sigh with happiness :-)
posted by miss cee at 4:44 PM on April 21, 2008

Almost anything by Sharon Shinn, but especially the new Twelve Houses series.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 5:33 PM on April 21, 2008

I'm a big fan of British chick lit: Katie Fforde & Trisha Ashley in particular are favorites of mine.

Georgette Heyer is great and highly recommended but only her Regency romances. I find her mysteries to be too stuffy.

I also really like Betty Neels, which are old-fashioned romance novels - no sex, barely a kiss, but quite romantic. I find them soothing.

I loved the Outlander books (at least the first 5 or so), all of Jane Austin and Time Traveler's Wife just to give you an idea of my taste.
posted by daneflute at 6:39 PM on April 21, 2008

The Far Pavilions by M M Kaye is a historical adventure novel with a major romantic subplot. Set in British India, it is the story of Ashton/Ashok, an English boy orphaned by a cholera epidemic and brought up as an Indian by his nurse. After rejoining the British, he falls in love with an Indian princess whom he is escorting to her wedding. This is complicated enough, but the characters are also swept up in the turmoil of their times (British and Russian maneuvering over Afghanistan drives a lot of the events in the novel). The characters are wonderfully depicted, the panorama of India is colorfully alluring, and the romance is one of many subplots that keep the story moving (for over 1000 pages!) but it never bogs down in sappy stuff. It's not altogether happy but there's a wistfully romantic ending that made me sigh contentedly.

Somewhat harsher but still a fine read with some good romantic subplots is another historical adventure novel I've plugged many times before: Ironfire: An Epic Novel of Love and War by David Ball. Set in Malta before and during the Siege of 1565, it also features wonderful characters, sweeping historical events, culture clashes, and nearly-doomed romances. I fell in love with one of the characters myself and was immensely pleased to see him sail away with his sweetheart. Again, the ending is not 100% happy but considering what the characters had to survive to get there, it's worth a contented sigh or two.
posted by Quietgal at 7:11 PM on April 21, 2008

Oh, speaking of Ffordes: Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair has some romance, and is another good, funny book.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:41 PM on April 21, 2008

In addition to the other suggestions here, you may enjoy some of Nancy Mitford's novels. These are from the 1940s (Britain pre- and post-war) - try The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate.
You might also like Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene, or The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark. These are all from the same sort of era and all deal with the nostalgia of lost love, if you are into that - as distinct from happy endings.
posted by sgmax at 7:57 PM on April 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Based on your requirements, and back ground, you should like this one. Kate Chopin has a nice little short story that gets your blood and heart moving- and it happens very fast. It is one of those stories you don't put down until the end. It is called "The Storm". The story was written back in 1898 but was not published until 1969. It is moving and very vivid. I am not what you would call the most romantic guy around but this one hit a chord with me. Hope you like it.
posted by bkeene12 at 8:24 PM on April 21, 2008

I gotta mention the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. Kushiel's Justice (fifth in the series) has one of my favorite romances ever. You really gotta read the first four first, but there's enough interesting romance in the first three books as well, heh.

I also like This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (yes, teen book, I don't care), which is an interesting take on romance when you're the disillusioned kid of a much-married romance writer. Wild Roses by Deb Caletti is similar.

On a more fun note, but satisfying, there's Jennifer Crusie. Yes, romance/chick lit, but interesting and definitely not of the "all about shoes" variety. I recommend Welcome to Temptation (my favorite), Faking It, Bet Me, and (short but sweet) Anyone But You for "aww" with fun factor.

Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation books have fun "aww" couples combined with Pimpernel-esque adventures.

I like the understated sweetness of Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn.

On the sci-fi side, the Liaden books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller usually feature sweet emotional pairings. and I like a lot of the pairings in Kelley Armstrong's "Women of the Underworld" series.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:39 PM on April 21, 2008

Check out Ava by Carole Maso. Maybe check out the Amazon reviews though. The book mostly went over my head but other people say it's amazing.
posted by philad at 9:47 PM on April 21, 2008

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Oscar And Lucinda by Peter Carey, one of the greatest literary romances ever.

I'd also suggest Air And Fire by Rupert Thomson and The Cryptographer by Tobias Hill.
posted by ninebelow at 5:35 AM on April 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sherman Alexie's short story collection "The Toughest Indian in the World" has a couple of great romantic stories "Saint Junior," "Dear John Wayne," "Assimilation," especially. Some of the stories are a bit surreal, some disturbing, but the ones I've mentioned, especially "Saint Junior," are both rich and romantic.
posted by Septimus at 4:33 AM on April 25, 2008

Nights at the The Circus by Angela Carter - it's has beautiful takes on different kinds of love with a fantastic female protagonist.

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters - hilarious, with a brilliant, raunchy love story to boot.
posted by freya_lamb at 8:01 AM on April 25, 2008

Two books to recommend, both by Anya Seton:
Katherine
Green Darkness
Check out the Amazon reviews.
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 12:41 AM on April 26, 2008

pushing paper and bottoming chairs, I completely forgot about Anya Seton. Yes! ALL of Anya Seton.
posted by nax at 2:19 PM on April 27, 2008

Seconding jenfullmoon's recommendation for the Liad series (especially Local Custom and Scout's Progress). Also, Bujold's new fantasy series, The Sharing Knife; and some of her later Miles books - try the omnibus Miles in Love.
posted by timepiece at 3:14 PM on April 27, 2008