IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK, YOU’LL LIKE

Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Miss Brill.” Mansfield’s protagonist is a loner who imagines her life made up of a world of strangers. Similarly, Lillian lives in a painting. The injuries done to both women seem unfair and rather cruel. James Barnes

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton for its common threads of family dynamics, dysfunction and jealousy, along with mystery and artistry. Plus, it transports the reader to a 17th-century Amsterdam household — the provenance of the Pieter de Hooch painting that makes a memorable appearance in The Birthday Lunch! Lara Maynard

Digging to America (or A Spool of Blue Thread) by Anne Tyler If you like plots built around family stories, the dramas that unfold everyday in the homes of neighbours and acquaintances, you’ll like Digging to America. Tyler’s book depicts the same type of daily family drama found in Birthday Lunch. Both titles are populated by strongly drawn, quirky characters — real people. Also, Clark’s clear prose is very similar to Tyler’s writing style. Kitty Prophet

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. It’s also a book about life and death and in particular strong character development, which is the great strength of The Birthday Lunch. Kendra Marion

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It is a heart-rending story of how a family deals with the death of a young daughter who was murdered. Diana Wong

Similar yet entirely different, The Dinner by Herman Koch comes first to mind. A family struggling to make sense of tragedy and the answers they seek are not always the ones they expect. Teresa Salvatore