If you liked
Books like Venus Envy
by Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown's Venus Envy turned a comic-revelation premise (woman told she has weeks to live writes the truth to everyone, then does not die) into one of the best comic novels of the late twentieth century. These five next.
The shortlist
What to read next
Rubyfruit Jungleby Rita Mae Brown
“Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown 1973 review. The landmark coming-of-age novel about Molly Bolt, a smart, queer Florida kid who refuses every social script she is handed.”
Alma Materby Rita Mae Brown
“Alma Mater by Rita Mae Brown 2001 review. A coming-of-age novel set at a small Virginia women’s college about a senior who falls in love with her best friend during her last spring semester.”
The Sand Castleby Rita Mae Brown
“The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown 2008 review. A multigenerational Maryland family rents a beach cottage on Chincoteague for one last summer day before the matriarch dies.”
Mourning Gloryby Warren Adler
“Mourning Glory by Warren Adler 1996 review. A broke single mother in Palm Beach starts trolling funerals for wealthy grieving widowers. Then she actually falls for one.”
The Hoursby Michael Cunningham
“The Hours by Michael Cunningham review. The 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that triangulates Virginia Woolf, a 1949 LA housewife, and a contemporary NYC editor. One of the great American literary novels of its decade.”
FAQ
Common questions about Venus Envy read-alikes
- Why are there three more Rita Mae Brown picks?
- Because if Venus Envy worked, the most likely next thing you will love is more Rita Mae Brown. Rubyfruit Jungle, Alma Mater, and The Sand Castle are her three strongest non-Venus standalones.
- Is Mourning Glory comic in the same way?
- Sort of. Adler's tone is colder and more morally complicated than Brown's, but the central conceit (a serial widow-hunter who actually falls for one of her marks) is in the same comic-revelation lineage.
- I want literary fiction in a similar register. What else?
- Anne Tyler's Saint Maybe, Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me, and Maria Semple's Where'd You Go Bernadette are the closest cousins outside our review catalog.
The original