73 books like Silenced

By Ann Claycomb,

Here are 73 books that Silenced fans have personally recommended if you like Silenced. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Severance

Alli Vail Author Of Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here

From my list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work.

Why am I passionate about this?

Let’s face it—we spend a lot of time at work. Work is a big part of our lives, but sometimes it’s terrible and feels like there is no winning against institutionalized sexism and capitalism. And you really want to win! I love reading about women who are finding ways to overcome massive obstacles at work no matter what gets in their way, whether it’s by destroying an industry with a spreadsheet, breaking a curse, ditching a bad boss, or just finding a way to survive. Because sometimes that’s all you can do—survive it. Stories of women working feel endlessly relatable because we have so many shared experiences, and that’s why what happens at work shows up in my reading and my writing.

Alli's book list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work

Alli Vail Why did Alli love this book?

This book is dystopian and is really about the downfall of capitalism, but it starts in an office.

Candace Chen has her job and not much else. She goes to work and has little personal life outside of it. She barely even notices when a plague sweeps New York, and everyone leaves, and society crumbles. Her work keeps her busy, and she does it until the money she’s promised shows up in her bank account.

What caught my attention is how well the author communicates the idea that humans become completely adaptable to untenable systems at work, and we keep doing our jobs under nearly any circumstance. Even a plague.

This examination of the conditioning we get to put work first no matter what else is happening is a painful eye-opener. Better boundaries next time, I guess. 

By Ling Ma,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Severance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance.

"A stunning, audacious book with a fresh take on both office politics and what the apocalypse might bring." ―Michael Schaub, NPR.org

“A satirical spin on the end times-- kind of like The Office meets The Leftovers.” --Estelle Tang, Elle

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: NPR * The New Yorker ("Books We Loved") * Elle * Marie Claire * Amazon Editors * The Paris Review…


Book cover of Hench

Alli Vail Author Of Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here

From my list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work.

Why am I passionate about this?

Let’s face it—we spend a lot of time at work. Work is a big part of our lives, but sometimes it’s terrible and feels like there is no winning against institutionalized sexism and capitalism. And you really want to win! I love reading about women who are finding ways to overcome massive obstacles at work no matter what gets in their way, whether it’s by destroying an industry with a spreadsheet, breaking a curse, ditching a bad boss, or just finding a way to survive. Because sometimes that’s all you can do—survive it. Stories of women working feel endlessly relatable because we have so many shared experiences, and that’s why what happens at work shows up in my reading and my writing.

Alli's book list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work

Alli Vail Why did Alli love this book?

This novel caught my eye for one simple reason—the protagonist attempts to destroy her society with a spreadsheet. Although a fantasy in which the modern world (even office life) is divided between heroes and villains, this novel lands on some brutal truths—like the difference between good and evil is mostly marketing and that some people will do anything for the right job. 

It’s a hilarious book that pokes fun at the most absurd bosses, the things we do for work, and the real harm a toxic workplace or system causes everyone. The supervillain/hero context provides food for thought without slowing the story down or causing work-related cold sweats.

By Natalie Zina Walschots,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Hench as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." -Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author

The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower-for good or ill-is a properly executed spreadsheet.

Includes a bonus story for the paperback.

Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn't glamorous. But…


Book cover of Complicit

Alli Vail Author Of Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here

From my list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work.

Why am I passionate about this?

Let’s face it—we spend a lot of time at work. Work is a big part of our lives, but sometimes it’s terrible and feels like there is no winning against institutionalized sexism and capitalism. And you really want to win! I love reading about women who are finding ways to overcome massive obstacles at work no matter what gets in their way, whether it’s by destroying an industry with a spreadsheet, breaking a curse, ditching a bad boss, or just finding a way to survive. Because sometimes that’s all you can do—survive it. Stories of women working feel endlessly relatable because we have so many shared experiences, and that’s why what happens at work shows up in my reading and my writing.

Alli's book list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work

Alli Vail Why did Alli love this book?

I had to read this when it came out because it felt ripped from the headlines. Sarah Lai has left behind her Hollywood dreams of filmmaking for a quieter, simpler life. But a journalist reaches out and drags her past to the forefront by asking questions about Sarah’s experiences working with a celebrated producer. There have been… complaints. From women. A lot of women.

Sound familiar? This is a wholly fictional take on past events, but it also forces the reader to examine the ways in which we might be complicit in holding up systems, and what we can do to break bad patterns.

Engaging, timely, and I couldn’t put it down. Again, women find their voices and stand up for other women around them. That’s a narrative I can’t miss. 

By Winnie M. Li,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Complicit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Powerful' Harriet Tyce
'Brave' Liz Nugent
'Compulsive' John Marrs
'Dazzling' Chris Whitaker
'Fearless' Anna Mazzola
'Masterful' Araminta Hall
'Timely' TM Logan

You know what it's like.
A comment here, a closed door there, turning a blind eye to get ahead.

My name is Sarah Lai. You won't have heard of me. A decade ago I was on the cusp of being a big deal. But that was a long time ago.

Now, instead of working in Hollywood, I teach students about it.

And these are the two most important lessons you need to know about the film industry:

1) Those…


Book cover of NSFW

Alli Vail Author Of Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here

From my list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work.

Why am I passionate about this?

Let’s face it—we spend a lot of time at work. Work is a big part of our lives, but sometimes it’s terrible and feels like there is no winning against institutionalized sexism and capitalism. And you really want to win! I love reading about women who are finding ways to overcome massive obstacles at work no matter what gets in their way, whether it’s by destroying an industry with a spreadsheet, breaking a curse, ditching a bad boss, or just finding a way to survive. Because sometimes that’s all you can do—survive it. Stories of women working feel endlessly relatable because we have so many shared experiences, and that’s why what happens at work shows up in my reading and my writing.

Alli's book list on The best novels where women fight the patriarchy at work

Alli Vail Why did Alli love this book?

This book is full of petty rivalries and hierarchies that seem high stakes in the moment but, with time and distance, seem absurd. Competition between employees at the LA television station where the novel takes place is cutthroat. There’s no trust, no downtime, and something as simple as taking a day off with the flu can destroy your standing.

This book is chaotic and challenging and somehow perfectly captures the feel of an office in a fast-paced office that takes itself too seriously. I’ve been there, and I felt every moment of this book. Kaplan finds ways to point out how ridiculous our workplaces are while still honouring the experiences of the women who work there. It is highly relatable and wrenching. 

By Isabel Kaplan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked NSFW as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The compulsively readable novel about a young woman trying to succeed in Hollywood without selling her soul - perfect for fans of Sweetbitter, My Dark Vanessa and Exciting Times


'Deliciously sharp, ridiculously funny, and surprisingly heartfelt' COCO MELLORS
'A blistering look at the hidden side of Hollywood' GLAMOUR
'Frank, funny and unputdownable' CLAIRE MESSUD
'Glittering. A funny, spiky, compulsive story about toxic workplaces' EVENING STANDARD
'A frank account of leaning in and its inherent filthiness' RAVEN LEILANI
________

You knew Hollywood would be difficult.

So when you land a job in television, you're ready for anything: pulling all-nighters, leaning on…


Book cover of In the Dream House: A Memoir

N. S. Nuseibeh Author Of Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman

From my list on nonfiction about lots of things at once.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I’m an academic by training, I secretly struggle with heavy nonfiction tomes (think: massive histories of long-ago countries). I start reading these with the best intentions but quickly get sleepy, bored, or both, setting them aside and instead picking up a novel, which I’ll immediately devour. That’s why I love memoiristic, hybrid work so much: writing that pairs the intimacy of fiction with the information buffet of nonfiction, where you learn without realizing you’re learning. These books feel like a conversation with a close friend who is intelligent, thought-provoking, and passionate about various subjects—what could be better than that?

N.'s book list on nonfiction about lots of things at once

N. S. Nuseibeh Why did N. love this book?

Although this book is about so, so much more, the premise itself pulled me in—I mean, a memoir about an abusive lesbian relationship? Yes, please.

But of course, Carmen Maria Machado, with her incredibly lyrical prose and frighteningly sharp intellect, takes the memoir form and turns it into something unique and surprising, a reflection on her relationship that somehow involves cultural history, film, fairy-tales and even—I kid you not—Disney’s The Little Mermaid. I was so moved and learned so much that I read it twice within a month.

By Carmen Maria Machado,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked In the Dream House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Ravishingly beautiful' Observer
'Excruciatingly honest and yet vibrantly creative' Irish Times
'Provocative and rich' Economist
'Daring, chilling, and unlike anything else you've ever read' Esquire
'An absolute must-read' Stylist

WINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021

In the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado's engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing experience with a charismatic but volatile woman, this is a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse.

Each chapter views the relationship through a different lens, as Machado holds events up to the light and…


Book cover of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

Eddy Boudel Tan Author Of After Elias

From my list on books set on atmospheric islands.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write strange, emotional novels from my book-filled apartment in Vancouver, a short walk from the ocean. This may be why I’m obsessed with islands. Or perhaps it’s because they evoke the feeling of being apart from the world, adrift, of protecting something rare. Whatever the reason, my novel takes place on an uncanny island off the coast of Mexico, where the locals drink tea in the afternoon and pray to skeletons hidden in caves. The story that unfolds on this island could not have taken place on the mainland, and I believe the same goes for the books on my list. 

Eddy's book list on books set on atmospheric islands

Eddy Boudel Tan Why did Eddy love this book?

I loved this book because it transported me to the sun-soaked island of Barbados—but not only the glossy image from travel magazines, which I’ve visited before like many other tourists.

It offers an unflinching peek at the authentic, sometimes tragic, side of paradise where the locals live and work. Following the intertwined lives of a grieving young mother, her violent husband, a wealthy widow, and a conflicted gigolo, this novel reveals the darkness that festers within the places we call home.

By Cherie Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, a brilliant Caribbean writer delivers a powerful story about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called "paradise."

In Baxter’s Beach, Barbados, Lala’s grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed sister. It’s a cautionary tale, about what happens to girls who disobey their mothers and go into the Baxter’s Tunnels. When she’s grown, Lala lives on the beach with her husband, Adan, a petty criminal with endless charisma whose thwarted burglary of one of the beach mansions sets off a chain of events with terrible…


Book cover of Compelled to Crime: The Gender Entrapment of Battered, Black Women

Leigh Goodmark Author Of Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism

From my list on anger inducing non fiction women legal system.

Why am I passionate about this?

People experiencing intimate partner and other forms of violence have been taught that police, prosecutors, and courts are there to respond when they are harmed and to keep them safe. But in my practice representing survivors of gender-based violence, I have both heard about and witnessed first-hand the many ways that the criminal system punishes the survivors that it promised to protect. Survivors are harassed, harmed, and arrested by police. Their experiences of trauma are minimized and denied by prosecutors and judges. They are held criminally responsible for acting in self-defense and for the actions of the people who abuse them. 

Leigh's book list on anger inducing non fiction women legal system

Leigh Goodmark Why did Leigh love this book?

Coming out of law school in 1994, around the time of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, I firmly believed that criminalization was the way to address intimate partner violence. As a new legal services lawyer, I encouraged my clients to turn to the criminal legal system because I believed it would keep them safe. 

This book introduced me to the reality that that system was punishing survivors and showed me how Black survivors of violence were uniquely vulnerable to criminalization. I owe a massive debt to Beth Richie’s work.

By Beth Richie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Compelled to Crime as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.


Book cover of When It Rains

K.B. Andrews Author Of Shattered

From my list on beautiful romances that bloomed from trauma or grief.

Why am I passionate about this?

So many people want perfection. There are so many books out there where boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married, and have a happily ever after. But the books on my list show you that not everything is perfect. Life isn’t perfect. Things aren’t always good or happy. I like when something beautiful is born from something ugly, and every book on this list is exactly that. Perfect with imperfections.

K.B.'s book list on beautiful romances that bloomed from trauma or grief

K.B. Andrews Why did K.B. love this book?

I loved this very emotional read. I loved the characters, the writing, and the story. The romance is steamy yet tasteful—extremely beautiful.

This is another book that gave me all the feels, but another story that left me feeling happy with the ending rather than feeling like I was left wanting more.

By Lisa De Jong,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When It Rains as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One night changed my life forever. Beau Bennett has been my best friend since I can remember. He was my first crush before everything came crashing down, and now he wants more, but it's more than I can give him. Things are different now. I wish I could tell him why, but I can't. I haven’t told anyone. I never knew how much I really needed him until the day he left for college, and I was completely alone. Then one day, Asher Hunt rides into town with his dark, captivating eyes and cocky grin. He doesn't care who I…


Book cover of All Our Trials: Prisons, Policing, and the Feminist Fight to End Violence

Leigh Goodmark Author Of Imperfect Victims: Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism

From my list on anger inducing non fiction women legal system.

Why am I passionate about this?

People experiencing intimate partner and other forms of violence have been taught that police, prosecutors, and courts are there to respond when they are harmed and to keep them safe. But in my practice representing survivors of gender-based violence, I have both heard about and witnessed first-hand the many ways that the criminal system punishes the survivors that it promised to protect. Survivors are harassed, harmed, and arrested by police. Their experiences of trauma are minimized and denied by prosecutors and judges. They are held criminally responsible for acting in self-defense and for the actions of the people who abuse them. 

Leigh's book list on anger inducing non fiction women legal system

Leigh Goodmark Why did Leigh love this book?

Until I read this book, I didn’t realize that my work with criminalized survivors had a rich historical context. One example: I didn’t know about Joan Little, who stabbed the correctional officer who sexually assaulted her with an ice pick, or about the grassroots survivor defense campaign that sprang up around her.

I could not have situated that specific campaign in the broader context of a non-carceral anti-violence movement that opposed the build-up of the criminal response to intimate partner violence (a battle they ultimately lost). Emily Thuma gave me that historical context—and a lot more to be angry about.

By Emily L Thuma,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Our Trials as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During the 1970s, grassroots women activists in and outside of prisons forged a radical politics against gender violence and incarceration. Emily L. Thuma traces the making of this anticarceral feminism at the intersections of struggles for racial and economic justice, prisoners' and psychiatric patients' rights, and gender and sexual liberation.

All Our Trials explores the organizing, ideas, and influence of those who placed criminalized and marginalized women at the heart of their antiviolence mobilizations. This activism confronted a "tough on crime" political agenda and clashed with the mainstream women's movement's strategy of resorting to the criminal legal system as a…


Book cover of Severance
Book cover of Hench
Book cover of Complicit

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in revenge, magic-supernatural, and presidential biography?

Revenge 129 books
Magic-Supernatural 660 books