Reading Guide · Lisanne Swart
Authors Like Sally Rooney
You come to Sally Rooney for a very specific kind of writing. Here are ten authors who scratch a similar itch — some closer in style, some closer in subject, all worth the detour.
Where to start
If you loved Sally Rooney, then…
Naoise Dolan — often called Rooney’s closest literary peer, sharing her Irish millennial register
If you loved Sally Rooney, then…
Raven Leilani — the same clear-eyed, unsentimental look at messy modern intimacy
If you loved Sally Rooney, then…
Ottessa Moshfegh — a bleaker, funnier cousin to Rooney’s emotional detachment
If you loved Sally Rooney, then…
Elif Batuman — the same overthinking, underexpressing college-age interiority
10 authors like Sally Rooney
Naoise Dolan
Exciting Times shares Rooney’s flat, precise prose and interest in class and power in relationships.
Raven Leilani
Luster shares Rooney’s interest in power imbalance and emotional numbness inside relationships.
Ottessa Moshfegh
My Year of Rest and Relaxation shares Rooney’s flat affect, though with darker, more alienated characters.
Elif Batuman
The Idiot shares Rooney’s interest in young, hyper-articulate characters who struggle to say what they mean.
Rachel Cusk
The Outline trilogy shares Rooney’s interest in dialogue and relationships stripped of sentimentality.
Meg Wolitzer
The Interestings shares Rooney’s interest in long-running friendships shaped by class and ambition.
Brandon Taylor
Real Life shares Rooney’s precise, controlled prose and interest in power within intimacy.
Marian Keyes
A very different, warmer register, but essential Irish fiction that Rooney’s work is often placed alongside.
Jenny Offill
Dept. of Speculation shares Rooney’s spare, fragmentary approach to intimacy.
Emma Cline
The Girls shares Rooney’s interest in young women drawn into relationships shaped by power.
Every list here is a door, not a destination.
— Lisanne Swart
Frequently asked questions
Who should I read if I like Sally Rooney?
The authors below share Sally Rooney’s core preoccupations — tone, subject matter, or structural approach — even where their style differs. Start with whichever description sounds closest to what drew you to Sally Rooney in the first place.
Is there one author most similar to Sally Rooney?
Naoise Dolan is usually the closest match on this list, though ‘closest’ depends on whether you’re drawn to Sally Rooney for voice, subject, or structure.
