The end of the summer is the traditional coming of age time, when people are leaving education of various levels and stepping out into the world, and into adulthood.
Today we’re marking this special time by compiling a list of Bildungsroman, coming of all novels we can all relate to! Bildungsroman, or coming of age novels are a discovery of learning. They ofter overlap with other genres and show a person’s formative years and how it is forming them for adulthood.
There are thousands of coming of age novels on the market and today we’re picking just a few of these to bring you a recommendations list.
It – Stephen King
It’s sold as a horror story about a creepy monster who takes the form of a clown, but really it’s a coming of age story about friendship, growing up, grief and the loss of innocence.
White Teeth – Zadie Smith
A story spanning generations, a story of immigration, a story of post-war London with its racial and cultural changes. But most of all, a story of coming of age in a place you don’t quite feel is yours.
Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
An alternate reality where some people are more expendable than others. A coming of age story that will truly break your heart.
Tipping the Velvet – Sarah Waters
A delicious debut novel from Sarah Waters explores coming of age, innocence, and the realisation of sexuality, all set in the seedy days of music halls and the over sexualisation of young women.
Sing Unburied Sing – Jesmyn Ward
The novel begins on Jojo’s 13th birthday, the day he finds out his father is being released from prison, starting a road trip that is haunted by memory and present, teaching Jojo about his own myths and those of his family.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
There are plenty of coming of age stories to be found in classic literature, and James Joyce’s recollections of youth are well worth adding to the list.
A Separate Peace – John Knowles
Set in a boarding school at the onset of World War II, A Separate Peace is the ultimate novel on growing up, the loss of innocence and the fear of adulthood.
Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
Various of Morrison’s novels come under the Bildungsroman category but it’s Song of Solomon that shows the break into adulthood as Milkman Dead tried to find his way within his community, and within the world.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn’t just a coming of age story, it’s a coming of all for all American literature. Man versus the world, literature versus censorship, either way it’s the ultimate coming of age tale.
The House on Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a latina girl growing up on the streets of Chicago and reinventing herself with every step.
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Young orphan finds love and gets married. It’s the traditional old coming of age story, minus the crazy wife in the attic, the horrible husband, and a terrible fire!
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
Some of us reach adulthood without too many problems, for Plath it’s a more difficult journey. Possibly one of the most honest accounts of a descent into poor mental health I have ever read.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
The classic American comign of age story. Set in the early 1900s as Francie Nolan and her Irish immigrant parents settle in Brooklyn, with all the troubles that follow.
The Catcher in the Rye – J. D Salinger
Growing up is hard, especially when everyone is such a phony! Salinger’s classic and sometimes controversial novel is loved and hated in equal measure.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The one where Scout learns that what is fair and right isn’t always what happens! A growing up tale, the loss of innocence, and an essay on justness that should be read by everyone.
Geek Love – Katherine Dunn
The unforgettable story of the Binewskis, a circus-geek family whose matriarch and patriarch have bred their own exhibit of human oddities. A story about why it’s fine not to fit in!
We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – Jeanette Winterson
A coming out and coming of age novel as the narrator comes to terms with her preference for her own sex, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household crumbles
We hope you find some good suggestions there and we’ll be back with more recommendations lists soon. If you want to ensure you never miss any of these, subscribe now.
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