9 Most Popular Fiction Books Based On 9/11 Attacks

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1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer's emotional novel follows Oskar Schell, a young boy searching for answers after his father’s death in the World Trade Center. Foer explores themes of grief, trauma, and healing through Oskar’s journey.

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2. The Submission

A provocative novel by Amy Waldman about a Muslim-American architect who wins a competition to design a 9/11 memorial. The book explores the tensions and complexities surrounding identity, prejudice, and public memory in a post-9/11 world.

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3. Falling Man

Don DeLillo’s haunting novel focuses on Keith Neudecker, a survivor of the Twin Towers. The story delves into the psychological aftermath of the attacks, examining how trauma reshapes lives, relationships, and society.

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4. Windows on the World

This fictional retelling by Frédéric Beigbeder centres on a father and his two sons trapped in a restaurant atop the North Tower. Written as a reflection on death, family, and time, the novel imagines the final moments of those inside the tower.

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5. Netherland

In the aftermath of 9/11, Hans van den Broek, a Dutch immigrant in New York, finds solace in cricket and an unlikely friendship with a Trinidadian businessman. Joseph O'Neill uses the novel to explore themes of identity, alienation, and post-9/11 dislocation.

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6. Saturday

Though not directly about 9/11, Ian McEwan’s novel is set in a world still reeling from the attacks. The story follows a neurosurgeon in London dealing with personal and societal anxieties in the wake of global terror and uncertainty.

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7. The Emperor’s Children

Set in New York during 2001, Claire Messud's novel with an introduction by Neel Mukherjee follows a group of privileged friends whose lives are disrupted by the attacks. It offers a critique of the cultural and social dynamics in the city before and after 9/11.

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8. The Good Life

Jay McInerney’s novel focuses on two Manhattanites, Luke and Corrine, whose lives intersect in the wake of the attacks. It’s a story of romance, loss, and the emotional turmoil experienced by New Yorkers after 9/11.

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9. Burnt Shadows

Kamila Shamsie’s novel spans multiple continents and decades, ending with the events of 9/11. Through the lives of its diverse characters, the book reflects on how war, displacement, and identity have been shaped by the attacks.

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