Sue Kaufman was an American novelist known for exploring contemporary life with humor and insight. Her best-known work, Diary of a Mad Housewife, captures the dissatisfaction and struggles of suburban life, earning her significant acclaim in literary circles.
If you enjoy reading books by Sue Kaufman then you might also like the following authors:
If you like Sue Kaufman's insightful portrayal of women's inner lives, you'll also enjoy Rona Jaffe. Her novel The Best of Everything follows several young women working in New York publishing in the 1950s.
Jaffe writes openly and honestly about women's friendships, the pressures they face at work, and their search for love and independence in a complex modern world.
Sylvia Plath writes sharply and vividly about the turmoil beneath seemingly ordinary lives, especially women's experiences and expectations.
Her novel The Bell Jar focuses on Esther Greenwood, a young woman struggling with mental illness and identity, reflecting Plath’s skill in exploring emotional pain and societal pressures with honesty and intensity.
Joan Didion's clear-headed, precise approach to storytelling makes her ideal for readers who love Sue Kaufman's thoughtful observations of middle-class life and personal struggles.
In Play It as It Lays, Didion paints an eye-opening portrait of Maria, an actress navigating emptiness and isolation in Hollywood. Her writing gently but powerfully captures how isolation and frustration can simmer beneath polished surfaces.
Gail Parent uses humor, sharp wit, and relatable characters to highlight women's everyday struggles and contradictions.
In her novel Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, Parent introduces us to Sheila Levine, a single woman grappling with relationships, loneliness, and cultural expectations about love and marriage.
Readers who appreciate Kaufman's observant, engaging style will connect with Parent's humorous yet honest storytelling.
Paula Fox offers readers a clear-eyed, understated style with sharp observations about modern life and family dynamics.
Her novel Desperate Characters depicts Sophie and Otto Bentwood, a married Brooklyn couple dealing with quiet dissatisfaction and an unsettling sense of anxiety building below their ordered life.
Fans of Kaufman's smart insight into domestic tensions and emotional undercurrents will find Fox’s quiet poignancy deeply rewarding.
Marilyn French writes insightful novels about women's lives, identity struggles, and societal pressures. Her storytelling is honest and thoughtful, often exploring feminism and women's inner experiences.
In The Women's Room, French shows the reality of marriage and family expectations through the vivid journey of Mira Adams, a woman who redefines herself amid shifting cultural roles.
Laurie Colwin offers charming, funny looks at relationships and everyday life. Her characters, relatable and imperfect, navigate the ups and downs of love, friendship, and domesticity.
In Happy All the Time, Colwin warmly portrays two couples figuring out love, partnership, and commitment with humor, tenderness, and sincerity.
Mary McCarthy is known for sharp, witty prose that closely examines women's friendships, careers, and ambitions. She writes intelligently about personal relationships and critiques social conventions without restraint.
Her novel The Group follows the intertwined lives of eight female college friends in the 1930s, showing their ideals, struggles, and sometimes painful growth into adulthood.
Elaine Dundy writes clever, lively novels filled with humor, wit, and sophisticated plots. Her narratives often feature young women stepping out of their comfort zones to discover who they really are.
Dundy's book The Dud Avocado chronicles Sally Jay Gorce's comedic adventures in 1950s Paris, capturing an irreverent yet sincere look at youth, freedom, and self-discovery.
Dawn Powell captures urban life, ambition, and social satire with precision and humor. She portrays New York's bustling literary scene and the complexities of ambition, love, and personal relationships.
Her novel The Wicked Pavilion takes place around a New York café, where Powell lightly but sharply observes her characters' passions, pretensions, dreams, and disappointments.
Renata Adler often writes with sharp insight, wit, and a keen eye for social behavior. Her novels explore personal anxieties, relationships, and the struggles of modern life with precision and dark humor.
In her novel Speedboat, Adler captures the fragmented experiences and observations of a young woman working as a journalist in New York City. Readers who enjoy Sue Kaufman's sharp feminist wit and insightful commentary will appreciate Adler's equally perceptive voice.
Lois Gould writes about the complexities women face in navigating social expectations and personal identity. Her fiction often exposes the pressures women endure and subtly critiques gender roles and cultural norms.
In Such Good Friends, Gould portrays a woman whose seemingly ideal life begins to unravel. Fans of Sue Kaufman's smart, introspective heroines and their inner lives will find much to connect with here.
Jean Rhys explores themes of isolation, displacement, and emotional struggles through elegant and haunting prose. Her writing often features women who feel disconnected or marginalized, providing a deep look at their internal worlds.
Her novel Wide Sargasso Sea reimagines the backstory of the troubled Mrs. Rochester from Jane Eyre, giving voice and depth to her tragedy.
Readers who find resonance in Kaufman's psychological insights into women's lives may discover a connection with Rhys's sensitive character studies.
Iris Owens's novels are sharp, acerbic, and darkly comic, frequently highlighting women's anger and frustration in situations they feel trapped in. Her style is unapologetic and often provocative, exploring feminist perspectives and the dark corners of everyday life.
Her novel After Claude is a biting portrayal of a woman's tumultuous personal relationships and disillusionment in New York City. Owens’s blunt, evocative narrative would appeal to readers who find Kaufman's approach to women's emotional struggles engaging.
Elizabeth Hardwick thoughtfully examines relationships, family, and society, delivering penetrating insight with elegantly crafted prose. Her fiction often explores identity and the emotional costs of love and personal disappointment.
In her acclaimed work, Sleepless Nights, Hardwick presents an introspective story blending fiction and memoir as she reflects on friendships, loves, and losses.
Fans of Sue Kaufman's nuanced approach to women's interior experiences may find themselves drawn into Hardwick's literary world.