Books like The lost weekend by Charles Jackson

A nonfiction novel chronicling the adventures of a group of friends on their cross-country journey of discovery, featuring characters like Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty as real-life friends Neal Casady.

The Bell Jar is the sole novel by Sylvia Plath, a psychologically intense and autobiographical look at a young woman’s decline into mental illness.

In early 1980s Los Angeles, a privileged youth returns home for Christmas, confronting a generation steeped in excess, drugs, and nihilism as he navigates love, friendship, and moral decay.

Dan Simmons’ historical thriller follows Charles Dickens after a train accident in 1865, reexamining his life, London society, and the unresolved mystery of his final unfinished novel.

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.

E. L. Doctorow’s novel follows the Collyer brothers—one blind, one battle‑scarred—as they hoard New York City’s streets in their Fifth Avenue mansion, while the world’s tumultuous events, from war to jazz, filter through their secluded lives.

A darkly humorous account of addiction and self-discovery.

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk traces a remarkable woman's life through mid‑century New York, from the Jazz Age and Great Depression to the rise of hip‑hop and the early AIDS crisis.

A moving portrait of Billy Lynch, whose life was haunted by alcoholism yet celebrated by family and friends, who gather in his Bronx hometown to remember him and honor his widow Maeve's resilience after his death.

An historical novel that combines compelling storytelling with thought-provoking moral themes.

When Judge Joseph Crater vanishes on a hot summer night in New York, his wife Stella, a showgirl partner Ritzi, and housekeeper Maria uncover a web of corruption, secrets, and disappearances that challenge every truth they believed in.

In 1970s New York, a wealthy family's split inheritance, a rising punk scene, an obsessive magazine reporter and a Central Park shooting collide during the infamous 1977 blackout—each character’s fate changes forever.

Mary Beth Keane’s *Fever* brings the true story of Typhoid Mary to life, exploring her role as a covert public health threat in early 20th‑century America.