The World of Tomorrow
Brendan Mathews
2017 · 560 pages · Historical fiction
How it reads
The World of Tomorrow is historical fiction (historical family saga, specifically), and its dominant mood is melancholy. It's quietly sad, wistful and reflective. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in an international setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are family, love and loss and grief. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 560 pages it's a real commitment. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something melancholy
- you want something to chew on
- you like finding books before everyone else
Maybe not if…
- you need something funny or hopeful
- you want something you can finish this weekend
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- historical fiction
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- debut
- Setting: place
- international
- Setting: time
- historical
- Mood / feeling
- melancholy
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- long
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- hidden gem
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- family, love, loss and grief
- Ending style
- bittersweet
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- All the Light We Cannot SeeAnthony DoerrShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Lions of al-RassanGuy Gavriel KayShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
BabelR.F. KuangShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Book ThiefMarkus ZusakShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
Cry to HeavenAnne RiceShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, bittersweet ending
HamnetMaggie O'FarrellShares: historical fiction, melancholy mood, heavy and literary tone, bittersweet ending
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