6 Novels That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

Dystopian fiction may be popular right now, but in a time of seemingly increasing turbulence, many of us are looking for some hopeful escapism in our reading.

The books on this carefully curated list offer that and a whole lot more. Each of these titles explores the human condition unflinchingly, in its own unique way. Crucially, however, they are written with love and with faith that we can all be better to each other. From real-life transatlantic friendships to beautifully imagined worlds and philosophical robots, here are six reads to warm your heart this winter.

1. The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovannino Guareschi (1950)
2. Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson (1948)
3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012)
4. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021)
5. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (1970)
6. Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (2019)

The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovannino Guareschi (1950)

Hailing from the province of Parma, Italy, Giovannino Guareschi was a gifted writer born to share his humor with others.

Guareschi’s family endured bankruptcy in 1926, and, forced to abandon his university studies, Guareschi took a job writing for a local newspaper—the beginning of a literary career the high point of which would be the Don Camillo series of books, of which The Little World of Don Camillo is the first. 

Guareschi was able to draw upon his time in the army and his struggles against Italian fascists for this utterly charming comic tale, which gently subverts political struggles and pokes fun at strict ideologies through a very human lens.

The novel tells the tale of the titular Don Camillo, an unconventional Italian priest in a small village, and his rivalry with Peppone, the village’s communist mayor. Penned at a time when Italy desperately needed healing and unity, the beautiful message at the heart of this work very much rings true today.

Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson (1948)

Tove Jansson is regarded as a national treasure in her home country of Finland, and rightly so.

A wonderful illustrator and writer, Jansson, who wrote in Swedish, was born in Helsinki in 1914 to artistic parents. She is best known for her creation, the Moomins—a delightful family of hippopotamus-like anthropomorphic creatures—and a colorful cast of companions, including the nomadic Snufkin, the timid Sniff, and, of course, Moomintroll, the central protagonist.

The land which Moomintroll inhabits is strange and fantastic, yet oddly relatable. Ostensibly aimed at children, there is more than enough depth, nuance, and subtlety in the Moomintroll’s world to keep any adult reader entertained.

Finn Family Moomintroll (the Original Swedish title is Trollkarlens hatt - The Magician's Hat) is actually the third in Jansson’s series of books, but it’s the first to have been translated into English (in 1950). It relates the tale of Moomintroll’s discovery of a peculiar magic hat on a mountain top, and the unfortunate events which ensue. Truly, though, you don’t read these books for the plots, but to sink into the utterly charming world Jansson created.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012)

Swedish author and journalist Fredrik Backman became a sensation in his homeland when A Man Called Ove, his debut novel, became a No. 1 bestseller. It has since been translated into over 25 languages, with the English version reaching the New York Times Best Seller list in 2013. The book has also been adapted into two films, one in Swedish in 2015, and an American version starring Tom Hanks, titled A Man Called Otto, in 2022.

In the book, Ove is the neighbourhood curmudgeon, cranky and argumentative. He sticks to a rigid routine, is possessed of unbending principles, and has an extremely short fuse. When a bright young couple and their two chatty daughters move in next door, it’s the setup for an unexpected friendship which will crack Ove’s stony heart to reveal the story and sadness within.

Funny and moving, this is a novel which defines the word heartwarming.

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A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021)

American science fiction author Becky Chambers ranks amongst the new generation to light up the genre. She self-published her first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, in 2014 to critical acclaim, and it became the first self-published work to receive a nomination for a Kitschies prize.

Chambers was soon snapped up by Hodder & Stoughton and has since gone on to write numerous excellent novels.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built concerns topics that are of central importance to today's society: AI and robots. The story is set in the far future, on a moon called Panga, with the premise that, several hundred years ago, robots rebelled and abandoned their human masters, with the result that humans have reverted to small, sustainable communities.

This splendidly imaginative novel follows the unlikely pairing of gender non-binary monk, Dex, and a robot called Splendid Speckled Mosscap, on a journey of discovery, both literal and philosophical, on which they attempt to answer the question, “What is it that people really need to be happy?“

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (1970)

Philadelphia-born Helene Hanff was known as the quintessential New Yorker—a writer of great talent whose numerous works covered the field of theatre, television, and memoir.

84, Charing Cross Road falls into the latter category. It chronicles, through letters sent and received, the 20-year correspondence between Hanff and Frank Doel, a buyer for the London bookshop Marks & Co. Hanff first contacted Doel in 1949, responding to an advert for the shop posted in the Saturday Review of Literature. Doel quickly became Hanff’s conduit for obtaining obscure and British literature, and, over time, so much more.

Reading the exchanges between Hanff and Doel, and seeing their relationship develop in real time, is a delight. Hearts won’t fail to be warmed by this tale of friendship bound by a love of literature. The 1987 film adaptation, starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, is equally delightful.

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (2019)

Dutch writer Rutger Bregman was born in the village of Renesse. His father is a minister, his mother is a special needs teacher, and perhaps the best qualities of both of those professions have fuelled Bregman’s optimism. Humankind is a reminder that it’s all too easy to slip into a negative worldview. Good news rarely makes the headlines, and this work goes some way to redressing that imbalance.

An ambitious project by any standards, Bregman’s book takes in the fields of history, science, and philosophy to argue that, in fact, humans aren’t so horrible.

In a time when it’s easy to reach the opinion that the world is doomed, thanks mostly to our species, the major takeaway is that the majority of people are decent at heart.