Akhil Sharma is an Indian-American author known for his impactful, realistic fiction. His acclaimed novels include An Obedient Father and Family Life, offering readers insightful views into familial dynamics and personal struggle.
If you enjoy reading books by Akhil Sharma then you might also like the following authors:
Jhumpa Lahiri writes with elegance and insightful realism about the lives of immigrants transitioning between Indian and American identities. Her stories usually explore themes of belonging, family ties, and cultural differences.
Her distinctly calm yet deeply emotional style can be seen clearly in the novel The Namesake, which follows a Bengali family's experiences adjusting to life in America.
Yiyun Li's stories often center around characters confronting complicated personal histories. Her quiet prose and emotional clarity give depth to ordinary lives marked by loss, isolation, and hope.
Readers might enjoy The Vagrants, set in late-1970s China, which tells the story of a small town and how its residents navigate political turmoil and personal tragedy.
Ha Jin uses clear language and gentle humor to depict life under challenging circumstances. He often writes about the struggles of everyday people against larger social and political forces.
Waiting, one of his most-loved novels, follows a man torn between duty and personal desire through its portrayal of love and patience in modern China.
Kiran Desai blends rich prose and sharp humor to portray themes of displacement, globalization, and postcolonial identity. Her writing is marked by sensitivity toward characters who often struggle to find their place in a changing world.
One example of her skillful storytelling is The Inheritance of Loss, a novel that explores immigration, cultural conflicts, and personal upheavals across the Himalayas and New York City.
Sunjeev Sahota writes openly and compassionately about immigrant lives, identity challenges, and cultural clashes faced by working-class characters. With clear-eyed empathy, he reveals the experiences that shape ordinary people pushed to navigate two cultures.
His novel The Year of the Runaways portrays the struggles and hopes of Indian migrants in the United Kingdom, highlighting themes of survival, friendship, and resilience.
V. S. Naipaul writes insightful stories exploring identity, displacement, and the complexity of immigrant experiences. His writing is clear-eyed and sharp, often examining themes like colonialism and self-discovery.
Readers who appreciate Akhil Sharma’s thoughtful style might like Naipaul’s A House for Mr Biswas, which humorously yet poignantly portrays a Trinidadian man's lifelong struggle to find a sense of belonging and independence.
Rohinton Mistry creates richly woven narratives filled with memorable characters and emotional depth. Like Akhil Sharma, he writes honestly and sensitively about family dynamics, cultural tensions, and human resilience in difficult times.
His novel A Fine Balance tells the powerful story of four characters whose lives intertwine during India's Emergency era, revealing the strength and complexity of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances.
Chang-rae Lee’s stories focus on themes of identity, belonging, and cultural displacement. He writes in an elegant, quietly reflective style that resonates with readers of Akhil Sharma.
In his novel Native Speaker, Lee tells the story of Henry Park, a Korean-American spy who struggles with questions of personal and cultural identity as he navigates his double life.
Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese-American author whose writing blends poetic language with deeply personal narratives. Similar to Akhil Sharma, Vuong explores family bonds, immigration, trauma, and love with sincerity and a vivid emotional authenticity.
His novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, told in the form of a letter from a son to his mother, beautifully captures the complexities of immigrant experiences and generational struggles.
Mohsin Hamid's writing is clear, thought-provoking, and often explores the challenges of identity, migration, and global interconnectedness. His engaging style and careful exploration of personal and social tensions might appeal to fans of Akhil Sharma’s work.
One of Hamid's most notable books, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, thoughtfully examines the cultural unease and conflicted identity of a young Pakistani man's experiences in post-9/11 America.
Samrat Upadhyay writes thoughtful, engaging stories about contemporary Nepali life, family dynamics, and social change. His clear, honest style captures the emotional depth and complexity of ordinary people navigating big changes.
In Arresting God in Kathmandu, Upadhyay gives sensitive portrayals of characters dealing with dreams, frustrations, and the search for meaning against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving city.
Rishi Reddi explores Indian immigrant life in America with warmth, humor, and authenticity. Her writing style is gentle and insightful, capturing how families adapt and clash across different generations.
In Karma and Other Stories, she skillfully portrays characters grappling with identity, cultural expectations, and the meaning of home in their new lives.
Bharati Mukherjee's fiction explores immigration, identity, and cultural transitions. Her narratives often reflect the complexity and challenges immigrants face when adapting to new cultures, told in a direct, accessible style.
Her novel Jasmine vividly portrays the journey of a young Indian woman as she transforms herself and embraces new identities in pursuit of the American dream.
Neel Mukherjee is known for writing powerful, emotional novels focused on family histories, social tensions, and the struggles individuals face against broader historical changes. Rich and deeply insightful, his works offer sharp observations of Indian society.
In The Lives of Others, Mukherjee vividly captures a family's internal tensions and external pressures set against the political turmoil of Bengal during the 1960s and 1970s.
Amitav Ghosh blends history and compelling storytelling to explore cultural conflicts and interconnected lives across different eras and regions. His detailed yet accessible style creates vivid, multifaceted worlds.
In The Hungry Tide, he beautifully narrates the story of personal discovery, cultural collisions, and environmental challenges in the Sundarbans region of India.