Books like City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

In Benjamin P. Gibson’s return to his community after a 10‑year imprisonment, the village of St. Michael’s faces the harsh reality of post‑war survivor “crisis,” as family and tradition vie for survival.

A sweeping coming‑of‑age story set on Nebraska’s prairie, following Jim Burden’s journey with his grandparents amid immigrant families, especially the Czech Shimerdas, and his complex love and friendship with Antonia.

In Edith Wharton’s classic, Lily Bart, a beautiful and intelligent young woman devoted to luxury, struggles to navigate New York’s strict social hierarchy and moral expectations, ultimately confronting the limits of her independence.

Thomas Hardy’s bleak final novel follows Jude Fawley, a stonemason from rural Wessex, whose search for faith, love and independence collides with society’s harsh conventions and leads to tragedy.

Joseph Roth's classic novel follows three generations of the Trotta family through the decline of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire, tracing the impact of a heroic act on life, honor, and destiny.

Natty Bumppo's first journey into frontier life and the challenges of defending his freedom against dangerous Indians and the corrupting influence of a ruthless new lawman, setting the stage for the larger story of The Last of the Mohicans.

Monsieur Perdu, a literary apothecary aboard a Seine barge, prescribes novels to heal broken hearts. When his own love remains a mystery, he journeys south of France to find closure and prove stories can mend souls.

In occupied Paris, architect Lucien Bernard designs covert shelters for Jews, risking death to protect them during World War II.

A concise historical exploration of Mary Boleyn, the lesser-known sister of Anne, set within the Tudor court of 1508–1543.

James Salter's 'All that is' is a captivating and sometimes devastating labyrinth of love and ambition. A deeply intimate portrait of the emotional and physical experiences of being alive. Set during the golden decades following World War II, the book captures Salter's lifelong obsession with capturing the intimate, ephemeral spaces that all of us hold and leave behind on paper. After serving as a young officer in Okinawa during the war, Philip Bowman returns home to a small publishing house in New York. The frenetic social scene of New York in the post-war era is a backdrop for the story, where Bowman feels at home. However, his enduring love seems to elude him. When he meets a woman who captivates him, Bowman embarks on a journey that he never intended to take. The book is celebrated for its lyrical evocation of a post-war world imaginatively rendered and beautifully written.

Jason Garrity, an Irish American, battles prejudice and greed as he opens a hotel that promises security, family, and civic respect, but family secrets threaten his ambitions and test his moral convictions.

In 1883 New York City, two women doctors from the Woman’s Medical School treat the city’s most vulnerable amid the era’s splendor and peril, confronting poverty, anti‑vice crusader Anthony Comstock, and the harsh demands of their pasts.

447 pages : 24 cm

A darkly humorous tale of a young Manhattan medical orderly whose drug addiction fuels a compulsive hunt for 1970s action figures, forcing him to confront adulthood, love, and redemption.

Charting New York City’s evolution through the lives of its countless immigrants, *City of Dreams* explores how the city’s diverse arrivals—from Caribbean, Italian, and Dominican origins—shaped American culture and history.