Fairy tales do not stop being useful when you grow up. They get stranger and sadder, and more honest. These five books feel like stories told by a fire, written for adults.
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)
Technically a children's book, in practice a book about love, loss and what matters. It reads differently at every age.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (1988)
A shepherd boy travels in search of treasure and learns something about listening to himself. It is simple and fable-like.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
A reluctant hero, a dragon and a long way home. Warm, funny and full of tea.
Circe, Madeline Miller (2018)
A minor figure from Greek myth tells her own story, and the old tale becomes new.
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (2020)
A man lives in an endless house of statues and tides, and slowly learns where he is. It is a modern fairy tale of the strangest kind.
Why they work
A fairy tale lets a feeling walk around in costume. Read one at the end of the day when real life feels too complicated, and let the story carry you.
