Book description
Alice Stein, a young graduate student living in a vivid and chaotic late-90s East Village, loses her father and grandmother in a single year. In the process of cleaning out her grandmother's Brooklyn apartment, she begins to unlock a family secret. Accompanied by her precocious downstairs neighbour, a twelve-year-old girl…
Why read it?
1 author picked A Joy to Be Hidden as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Freedman explores all the themes I love and write about in my own work: long-buried family secrets, inherited trauma, and the lasting effects of being displaced.
I related to the protagonist’s search for identity while uncovering her family secrets, something I only began doing in my late 40s. To my surprise, I discovered I was not alone. And that is why we read: to know we are not alone.
From Gina's list on Gina Roitman's favorite books about the immigrant experience and its aftermath.
If you love A Joy to Be Hidden...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like A Joy to Be Hidden?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 98 books like A Joy to Be Hidden.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
165
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like A Joy to Be Hidden, you might also like...
The Tao of Poison
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
Big Ideas... For Small Businesses
Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…
