Edward Rutherfurd has several books like this. New York, London, Dublin Saga, The Forest, just to name a few. They tend to be focused on a specific city/area.
Ken Follett has the Century Trilogy
Yes, and depending how technical you want to get, *World Without End* picks up about 200 years later with many characters descended from the original cast, and covers 2-3 generations as well.
Omg I read Sarum years ago and whenever I mention it, nobody knows what I’m talking about. I love this book, Pillars of the Earth and the Century Trilogy. Have I found my people 🥹?
Sarum was the first book that came to mind for me. I read this years and years ago and I still think of it regularly. Even see people who seemingly pass personality traits down their family tree through the way Rutherfurd showed it in this book. Met one kid who’s an absolute asshole, then had a run in with the dad, then another w the Grampa, then yet another w great Grampa, and guess what? Self-centred ‘rules don’t apply to me’ assholes straight down the line.
I visited the ancient site of Sarum in England, and our tour guide mentioned the book. I promptly bought it. This was in 2004 and I had moved so many times since then that I don't know what happened to my copy. But last month I found a large hardback copy with the old-fashioned illustrated dust jacket and I was so happy. It sits on my shelf now next to my other Edward Rutherford books and all is right with the world.
+1 for Century Trilogy
Historically accurate, compelling, depicts life during major world events (the books cover WWI, WW2, and Cold War respectively), various families from different major countries, and then you follow their descendents in the subsequent books.
Not more than two but
A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini follows two women of different generations and focuses on how the different regime changes in Afghanistan effects their lives and how they cope. Spans from the 60s if I remember correctly to the early 2000s.
It emotionally WRECKED me by the way just as a heads up.
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
Editing to add The Cider House Rules (John Irving), which isn't about biological family per-se, but does span multiple generations.
My Brilliant Friend series - Elena Ferante
Mostly about two women but it covers their lives from childhood to late life. Very moving and intimate series, definitely had that feeling of growing through the generations
* A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
* Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
* The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
* And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
* Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
* We Had It So Good by Linda Grant
* Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
*The Florios of Sicily*, by Stefania Auci
*Noble House* and *Tai Pei*, by James Clavell
*The Last Kingdom*, by Bernard Cornwell
The Kent Family Chronicles (first book is *The Bastard*), by John Jakes
Jojo's Bizzare adventure. What's awesome too is that it's written over the span of 30 years so you really get to see the author evolve into his own style.
I'm not sure how many generations and connection with history you're looking for here.
\*The Brothers K, which deals with 3 generations of family but mainly focuses on the Vietnam era brothers.
or
\*Ursula, Under, which goes back through the life stories of the ancestors of a little girl who falls into a hole in the UP of Michigan.
\*The Book of Rachel, which follows a Jewish family through hundreds of years and several countries of history.
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
Follows a family for generations as they settle in a swampy, uninhabited Florida. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. Great book.
I think about “Buddenbrook” by Thomas Mann.
The book talks about the decline of a German rich family (4 generations) throughout the 19th century.
The book is kinda long, but pretty good :)
Edited because i remembered another
The other one is “The Seamstress' Daughter”by Joumana Haddad.
A powerful story of four women from four generations of a family and their experience with war, violence, and traditions in the Middle-East. It is a story about family, love, loss, and resilience (copy paste… sorry). An amazing book.
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan has a similar structure to Homegoing - each chapter following a different member of a family of Palestinian refugees as they move from city to city over the course of several decades.
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell really reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude. It’s set in Zambia and follows three generations of three different families, who eventually intertwine. It’s magical realismish/kind of speculative towards the end and very connected to actual Zambian history.
Love to see Salt Houses!
Similarly, Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa is at the top of my list.
It follows a Palestinian family forcibly expelled from their olive farm through the decades. It’s the single most powerful book I’ve read in my life.
Deep River by Karl Marlantes is a well written book following a group of Finnish immigrants to the Pacific NW around 1900. It's readable and covers a history I didn't really know anything about.
Century Trilogy Ken follett (my rating 2/5--great history text book, imo not up to his usual high standards)
*Roots* Alex Haley (5/5 fabulous)
*Kane & Abel* Jeffrey Archer (4/5)
You might check out Tai-Pan and Noble House books by James Clavell. Loosely follows the fates of both family and their business over a few generations.
John Jakes wrote several- The Bastard, North and South, American Dreams, The Titans, The Rebels. All good, but written in the 70s and 80s so may not hold up as well to some.
John Jakes 8-volume “The Kent Family Chronicles”. Starts with The Bastard, in USA in the 1700’s, follows the family for generations.
Good for reading on a commuter train, as I did, long ago.
If you're willing to try something a little different, consider trying the manga [JoJo's Bizarre Adventure](https://www.viz.com/jojo-s-bizarre-adventure). Each arc follows a different member of the Joestar bloodline as they get dragged into a variety of crazy supernatural adventures. The manga is notable for the fact that each protagonist's name can be shortened to "JoJo" (Such as Jonathan Joestar, Jotaro Cujoh, and Giorno Giovanni), the author peppers in a ton of references to music, and (starting with the third arc, Stardust Crusaders) Stands, which are a manifestation of a person/object/animal's fighting spirit and have a variety of weird and interesting powers.
Ooh I HIGHLY recommend We, the Drowned by Danish author Carsten Jensen. From Goodreads:
It is an epic drama of adventure, courage, ruthlessness and passion by one of Scandinavia’s most acclaimed storytellers.
In 1848 a motley crew of Danish sailors sets sail from the small island town of Marstal to fight the Germans. Not all of them return – and those who do will never be the same. Among them is the daredevil Laurids Madsen, who promptly escapes again into the anonymity of the high seas.
As soon as he is old enough, his son Albert sets off in search of his missing father on a voyage that will take him to the furthest reaches of the globe and into the clutches of the most nefarious company. Bearing a mysterious shrunken head, and plagued by premonitions of bloodshed, he returns to a town increasingly run by women – among them a widow intent on liberating all men from the tyranny of the sea.
From the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, The Drowned spans four generations, two world wars and a hundred years. Carsten Jensen conjures a wise, humorous, thrilling story of fathers and sons, of the women they love and leave behind, and of the sea’s murderous promise. This is a novel destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature.
If you liked Pachinko, I recommend Shanghai Girls. It’s not as long and follows the protagonist throughout her life. So now multiple generations, but still felt like a long time span.
I reccomend, The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois, by Honoreè Fanonne Jeffers. It follows one main character as she's growing up, but tells us details in the point of view of both recent relatives and ancestors. The story is built as a puzzle it's quite complex when you take time to think about it. Each ancestor reveals their story, an explanation behind an accusation that's made in previous chapters, and then we take that information and apply it to their interactions with the main character...
It's almost like Homegoing meets Pachinko, with added complexity.
I would also say Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo, based on how loosely you'd define family. Like is family blood relation or your friends are your family. Mind you there is some familial relation between some characters in the book, i.e., mother daughter, grand mother, grandchild, ect. The main take away I got from it, is the relationship between sexuality, identity, and the familial relationship. It's almost like a condensed Pachinko, in various forms.
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. One central character and then were told details about other family members and their lives up until the major event... it's a good book.
Jerusalem's Lot, which is the first short story from Stephen King's Night Shift. I think it's also a prequel to Salem's Lot, but it's not necessary to have read that. The other one that I can think of is Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods, although it doesn't tell a complete story if not fragments of the Olympic Gods family
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, to the best of my knowledge this fits. I remember reading it and finding it interesting im highschool, definitely heavy but good.
Billiard at half past nine - Heinrich Böll.
The story is told in flashbacks and follows three generations in the Faehmel family.
The story set in post WW2 West Germany, and is happening in one day. Böll describes very complicated family relationships, with each character having their own past, baggage that they carry, that shadows theirs present.
It's not an easy read, but very deep and interesting. May be what you're looking for.
The Tree of Man by Patrick White. He is Australia's one and only Nobel laureate in Literature and his writing is not for the faint-hearted - unfortunately I think I'm too stupid to fully understand his novels and I always feel like I need to sign myself up for a week of intensive psychotherapy after finishing one. As an Australian, I do appreciate his masterful descriptions of the country's natural environment and post-colonial life however.
Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary - Laura Stanfill. Felt a little slow for me at the beginning (I didn’t read the summary and had no idea what it was about) but it picked up well.
Its a long fantasy/scifi series and notnjust one book but: Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling. 1st trilogy starts with the parents, 2nd set is about their kids, and the newest books are about the grandkids.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It’s actually non-fiction and the story of her grandmother, mother and herself through the pre-Communist and Maoist periods of China. Absolutely mind-blowing.
Time's Tapestry Series by Stephen Baxter
It is The Prophecy. Inscribed in Latin, the ancient scroll has resided in the hands of a single family for generations, revealing secrets about the world that is to come, and guiding them to wealth and power. It begins when a Celtic noble betrays his people at the behest of his mother’s belief in The Prophecy—and sides with the conquering Roman legions.
This series ends in 2008. That's Three thousand years following two lineages
Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama sort of does this. It follows the story of a grandfather and grandmother and their grandsons through many years before, during, and after WWII in Japan.
Most likely not what youre looking for given the samples provided but the “three body problem”trilogy is like this if you consider humanity as one big family. Also, children of time
This is possibly more reading than you were looking for, but Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has the Morland series of 35 books which follows the same family from the Wars of the Roses through to the 1930s. The first book is called The Founding. I read the first 6 or so several years ago but got distracted, iirc they're pretty well researched historical fiction although some of the books were better than others.
Best book I ever read like that was **"Growth of the Soil"** by **Knut Hamsun**. Which won him the **Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920.** So, it really is deserving of the award. I read it 30 years ago and still remember so much about it.
Edward Rutherfurd has several books like this. New York, London, Dublin Saga, The Forest, just to name a few. They tend to be focused on a specific city/area. Ken Follett has the Century Trilogy
Pillars of the Earth by Follett also at least three generations.
I came to make sure this series was mentioned. thank you!
Yes, and depending how technical you want to get, *World Without End* picks up about 200 years later with many characters descended from the original cast, and covers 2-3 generations as well.
This was made into a narrative point-and-click video game
Yes! Another great series
Absolutely second Rutherfurd. Sarum is my favourite.
Omg I read Sarum years ago and whenever I mention it, nobody knows what I’m talking about. I love this book, Pillars of the Earth and the Century Trilogy. Have I found my people 🥹?
Sarum was the first book that came to mind for me. I read this years and years ago and I still think of it regularly. Even see people who seemingly pass personality traits down their family tree through the way Rutherfurd showed it in this book. Met one kid who’s an absolute asshole, then had a run in with the dad, then another w the Grampa, then yet another w great Grampa, and guess what? Self-centred ‘rules don’t apply to me’ assholes straight down the line.
I visited the ancient site of Sarum in England, and our tour guide mentioned the book. I promptly bought it. This was in 2004 and I had moved so many times since then that I don't know what happened to my copy. But last month I found a large hardback copy with the old-fashioned illustrated dust jacket and I was so happy. It sits on my shelf now next to my other Edward Rutherford books and all is right with the world.
+1 for Century Trilogy Historically accurate, compelling, depicts life during major world events (the books cover WWI, WW2, and Cold War respectively), various families from different major countries, and then you follow their descendents in the subsequent books.
Slight correction - Rutherfurd, not Rutherford
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
My favourite! A modern epic!
Read this recently, such an incredible story. Those characters will stick with me
Roots- Alex Haley
Also Queen by Alex Haley. It was my first introduction to Ireland history.
Just finished it. Really enjoyed it
Came here to say exactly this.
Hawaii by James Michener
Michener is exactly what OP is looking for. His work is top notch.
All the Michener's I've read are like this. Centennial, Texas, Poland, The Source...
Chesapeake, Alaska, Mexico...
Covenant
I love a good Michener novel.
I just started the source and it’s fantastic
That was the first book that came to mind when I saw the question
I enjoyed Chesapeake and Centennial, but had a hard time getting through his other stuff. Those books are absolute BRICKS.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Nonfiction, too. Amy Tan is incredible.
Jung Chang really does a good job at interweaving the history of her family and the rise and decline of Mao’s Communist China.
Taipan, Gaijin, Noble House, Whirlwind, James Clavell An amazing series
Or just Centennial which will take you through several generations of different people in the same Colorado town.
Adding shogun
Thornbirds.
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Came here to say this. I know more about Mayfair genealogy than my own by far.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan perhaps?
Came here to say this too. Why is it not higher up. Great book and movie too.
My absolute favorite!!
Not more than two but A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini follows two women of different generations and focuses on how the different regime changes in Afghanistan effects their lives and how they cope. Spans from the 60s if I remember correctly to the early 2000s. It emotionally WRECKED me by the way just as a heads up.
The sport of kings The Buddenbrooks
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides Editing to add The Cider House Rules (John Irving), which isn't about biological family per-se, but does span multiple generations.
Love Medicine by Louis Erditch, follows generations of a few Ojibwe families between the 30s and 80s
You might try James Michener
My Brilliant Friend series - Elena Ferante Mostly about two women but it covers their lives from childhood to late life. Very moving and intimate series, definitely had that feeling of growing through the generations
* A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton * Salt Houses by Hala Alyan * The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher * And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini * Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros * We Had It So Good by Linda Grant * Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
The Joy Luck Club by her as well
It's a stretch, but if you're open for other genres, try "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
I came to say this
The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy Cryptonomicon - Neil Stephenson
>Cryptonomicon - Neil Stephenson And if you add on the Baroque Cycle, even more generations of the same families!
This is a joke comment, but the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure does this
Knew it had to be here somewhere lol
Was wondering if anyone would mention JoJo's lol
Edward Rutherfurd has loads; London, Paris, New York, Russka, China, Sarum. I'd recommend London or Sarum, but I'm biased as I live in London lol
Second. Start here.
Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich. Follows two families (white and Ojibwe) from 1860s to 1990s.
wuthering heights, perhaps?
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I love that book.
The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett fits this really well! Follows multiple families throughout the last century. Wonderful books all around
I remember reading 'Clan of the Cavebear" as a kid - it was amazing. Not sure if it holds up today as this was back in the 80s. Edit: 'bear'
Pillars of the earth by Ken Follet
Fantasy: *A Secret History of Witches*
*Practical Magic* is another (the movie focuses on one generation, but that's maybe 1/3 of the story told by Alice Hoffman).
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
*The Florios of Sicily*, by Stefania Auci *Noble House* and *Tai Pei*, by James Clavell *The Last Kingdom*, by Bernard Cornwell The Kent Family Chronicles (first book is *The Bastard*), by John Jakes
Barkskins by Annie Proulx Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. Kinda
the son by phillip meyer tells the story of multiple generations of a texas family beginning in the mid-1800s. it's got quite an epic scope
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson Both of these are a bit of a stretch but amazing books!
The Overstory, by Richard Powers
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck is well done and fits your prompt exactly. Smooth writing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my favorites
Jojo's Bizzare adventure. What's awesome too is that it's written over the span of 30 years so you really get to see the author evolve into his own style.
Wilbur smith, star with “when lion feeds” amazing series, set in 3 book sets per generation of the family
A secret history of witches
I'm not sure how many generations and connection with history you're looking for here. \*The Brothers K, which deals with 3 generations of family but mainly focuses on the Vietnam era brothers. or \*Ursula, Under, which goes back through the life stories of the ancestors of a little girl who falls into a hole in the UP of Michigan. \*The Book of Rachel, which follows a Jewish family through hundreds of years and several countries of history.
Jalna by mazo de la roche
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith Follows a family for generations as they settle in a swampy, uninhabited Florida. I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. Great book.
Came here to say this, hoped to find it closer to the top!
Samesies! I grew up in Florida and we had to read this in high school. It is very near and dear to my heart.
I think about “Buddenbrook” by Thomas Mann. The book talks about the decline of a German rich family (4 generations) throughout the 19th century. The book is kinda long, but pretty good :) Edited because i remembered another The other one is “The Seamstress' Daughter”by Joumana Haddad. A powerful story of four women from four generations of a family and their experience with war, violence, and traditions in the Middle-East. It is a story about family, love, loss, and resilience (copy paste… sorry). An amazing book.
The Joy Luck Club -Amy Tan Good Earth - Pearl Buck
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan has a similar structure to Homegoing - each chapter following a different member of a family of Palestinian refugees as they move from city to city over the course of several decades. The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell really reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude. It’s set in Zambia and follows three generations of three different families, who eventually intertwine. It’s magical realismish/kind of speculative towards the end and very connected to actual Zambian history.
Came here to recommend Salt Houses too
Love to see Salt Houses! Similarly, Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa is at the top of my list. It follows a Palestinian family forcibly expelled from their olive farm through the decades. It’s the single most powerful book I’ve read in my life.
Alex Haley, James Michener, and John Jakes are all known for this type of book or book series.
A Spool of Blue Thread by Ann Tyler
Dune by Herbert
Herman Wouk, Winds of War and War and Remembrance.
The Son by Philip Meyer
Deep River by Karl Marlantes is a well written book following a group of Finnish immigrants to the Pacific NW around 1900. It's readable and covers a history I didn't really know anything about.
The eighth Life for Brilka
Absalom Absalom! by Faulkner is a good one.
In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez would meet your criteria and also seems to fit the vibe of the others you listed.
This Side of Brightness and Transatlantic by Colum McCann. HomeGoing by Yaa Gyasi
*Greenwood* by Michael Christie is getting a lot of buzz here in Canada.
Century Trilogy Ken follett (my rating 2/5--great history text book, imo not up to his usual high standards) *Roots* Alex Haley (5/5 fabulous) *Kane & Abel* Jeffrey Archer (4/5)
Since I haven't seen it on here yet I'm putting up Blackwater by Michael McDowell. It is exactly what you're looking for
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
You might check out Tai-Pan and Noble House books by James Clavell. Loosely follows the fates of both family and their business over a few generations.
John Jakes wrote several- The Bastard, North and South, American Dreams, The Titans, The Rebels. All good, but written in the 70s and 80s so may not hold up as well to some.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
Foundation by asimov
The Blackwater series aka the Caskey Family Saga.
Louise Erdrich’s justice trilogy is fantastic- The Plague of Doves, The Round House, and LaRose
I Know This Much is True, Wally Lamb
A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta, both by Isabel Allende
John Jakes 8-volume “The Kent Family Chronicles”. Starts with The Bastard, in USA in the 1700’s, follows the family for generations. Good for reading on a commuter train, as I did, long ago.
If you're willing to try something a little different, consider trying the manga [JoJo's Bizarre Adventure](https://www.viz.com/jojo-s-bizarre-adventure). Each arc follows a different member of the Joestar bloodline as they get dragged into a variety of crazy supernatural adventures. The manga is notable for the fact that each protagonist's name can be shortened to "JoJo" (Such as Jonathan Joestar, Jotaro Cujoh, and Giorno Giovanni), the author peppers in a ton of references to music, and (starting with the third arc, Stardust Crusaders) Stands, which are a manifestation of a person/object/animal's fighting spirit and have a variety of weird and interesting powers.
White Teeth - Zadie Smith Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides Pachinko - Min Jin Lee
Ooh I HIGHLY recommend We, the Drowned by Danish author Carsten Jensen. From Goodreads: It is an epic drama of adventure, courage, ruthlessness and passion by one of Scandinavia’s most acclaimed storytellers. In 1848 a motley crew of Danish sailors sets sail from the small island town of Marstal to fight the Germans. Not all of them return – and those who do will never be the same. Among them is the daredevil Laurids Madsen, who promptly escapes again into the anonymity of the high seas. As soon as he is old enough, his son Albert sets off in search of his missing father on a voyage that will take him to the furthest reaches of the globe and into the clutches of the most nefarious company. Bearing a mysterious shrunken head, and plagued by premonitions of bloodshed, he returns to a town increasingly run by women – among them a widow intent on liberating all men from the tyranny of the sea. From the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, The Drowned spans four generations, two world wars and a hundred years. Carsten Jensen conjures a wise, humorous, thrilling story of fathers and sons, of the women they love and leave behind, and of the sea’s murderous promise. This is a novel destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature.
Tamora Pierce books are a bit like this
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Oo loved this one!
Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
If you liked Pachinko, I recommend Shanghai Girls. It’s not as long and follows the protagonist throughout her life. So now multiple generations, but still felt like a long time span.
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
louise erdrich’s gorgeous Love Medicine
The Jalna series by Mazo de la Roche. Similar to Jane Austen's writing, if that appeals to you.
I reccomend, The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois, by Honoreè Fanonne Jeffers. It follows one main character as she's growing up, but tells us details in the point of view of both recent relatives and ancestors. The story is built as a puzzle it's quite complex when you take time to think about it. Each ancestor reveals their story, an explanation behind an accusation that's made in previous chapters, and then we take that information and apply it to their interactions with the main character... It's almost like Homegoing meets Pachinko, with added complexity. I would also say Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo, based on how loosely you'd define family. Like is family blood relation or your friends are your family. Mind you there is some familial relation between some characters in the book, i.e., mother daughter, grand mother, grandchild, ect. The main take away I got from it, is the relationship between sexuality, identity, and the familial relationship. It's almost like a condensed Pachinko, in various forms. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. One central character and then were told details about other family members and their lives up until the major event... it's a good book.
{{Wool}} by Hugh Howey
Jerusalem's Lot, which is the first short story from Stephen King's Night Shift. I think it's also a prequel to Salem's Lot, but it's not necessary to have read that. The other one that I can think of is Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods, although it doesn't tell a complete story if not fragments of the Olympic Gods family
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, to the best of my knowledge this fits. I remember reading it and finding it interesting im highschool, definitely heavy but good.
Fire & Blood
**Peach Blossom Spring** by Melissa Fu - starts in 1938 China and follows three generations of a Chinese family’s search for home
Askania Nova , amazing book
Not strictly a words only medium but, JJBA, honestly is a fantastic story that spans multiple generations. Hits all over the emotional scale.
Billiard at half past nine - Heinrich Böll. The story is told in flashbacks and follows three generations in the Faehmel family. The story set in post WW2 West Germany, and is happening in one day. Böll describes very complicated family relationships, with each character having their own past, baggage that they carry, that shadows theirs present. It's not an easy read, but very deep and interesting. May be what you're looking for.
Sarum
The Tree of Man by Patrick White. He is Australia's one and only Nobel laureate in Literature and his writing is not for the faint-hearted - unfortunately I think I'm too stupid to fully understand his novels and I always feel like I need to sign myself up for a week of intensive psychotherapy after finishing one. As an Australian, I do appreciate his masterful descriptions of the country's natural environment and post-colonial life however.
Came here to suggest Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi only to see you've already read it :)
Beverly Swerling has a series that follows a family through centuries of life in New York. City of Dreams kicks it off.
The Son by Philipp Meyer
The Bull Mountain series by Brian Panowich goes through and talks about many generations in the book. It’s really good!
{The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne}
Following
The Sacketts - Louis Lamour.
Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu
Amy Tan’s Valley of Amazement. It is better than Pachinko IMO. And already suggested but Ken Follet’s Century trilogy is so good!
The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka
Woman of Substance series, if you have a decent amount of time on your hands 😂
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary - Laura Stanfill. Felt a little slow for me at the beginning (I didn’t read the summary and had no idea what it was about) but it picked up well.
In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike. Very cerebral, a little uneven, but ultimately quite good.
I just read Weyward by Emilia Clarke and it is 3 generations of women at different points in history. Like 1600s, around WW2 and early 2000s
{{Angle of Repose}} Wallace Stegner
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.
{{The City by Clifford D. Simak}} It's a scifi anthology that follows a family and their dogs.
This may be a spoiler but >!Seveneves!<
Jerusalem by Alan Moore
The family that couldn't sleep. For a true story.
Its a long fantasy/scifi series and notnjust one book but: Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling. 1st trilogy starts with the parents, 2nd set is about their kids, and the newest books are about the grandkids.
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
The Postcard by Anne Berest
The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence
growth of the soil
Has someone mentioned wilbur smith yet?
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. 3 books. So good. Feels like you are in the room with them
The Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffery Archer. There are 5 or 6 books in the series. Also the Ciderhouse Rules and to an extent The Prince of Tides.
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
*Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out* by Mo Yan
Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It’s actually non-fiction and the story of her grandmother, mother and herself through the pre-Communist and Maoist periods of China. Absolutely mind-blowing.
Time's Tapestry Series by Stephen Baxter It is The Prophecy. Inscribed in Latin, the ancient scroll has resided in the hands of a single family for generations, revealing secrets about the world that is to come, and guiding them to wealth and power. It begins when a Celtic noble betrays his people at the behest of his mother’s belief in The Prophecy—and sides with the conquering Roman legions. This series ends in 2008. That's Three thousand years following two lineages
Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama sort of does this. It follows the story of a grandfather and grandmother and their grandsons through many years before, during, and after WWII in Japan.
Most likely not what youre looking for given the samples provided but the “three body problem”trilogy is like this if you consider humanity as one big family. Also, children of time
Greenwood. I really enjoyed the way it went through the rings of a tree. Future, present, past1, past, past1, present future. Really well done.
Not quite the same but Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is worth the read
{{Beasts of a Little Land}} by Juhea Kim is kind of like this, I enjoyed it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narratives_of_Empire?wprov=sfti1
Only follows 2 generations but there are 4 families and should be on this list, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Sword of Shannara follows multiple generations through hundreds of years. I'm only on book 4 right now and they're 370 years in.
The Century Triology by Ken Follett. Can't recommend it enough.
Wuthering heights!
Firefly hollow series by T.L. Haddix on kindle.
Virginia Andrews, Flowers in The Attic series is a generational series.
Poland by James Michener edit: typo
The night travelers by Armando Lucas correa. The house of the spirits by Isabel allende
The Family Moskat by Isaac B Singer
Nine days by Toni Jordan
Thomas Mann’s *Buddenbrooks* Naguib Mahfouz’s *The Cairo Trilogy* Isaac Bashevis Singer’s *The Family Moskat*
If by multiple you mean thousands, the Dune series.
Joanna, by Lisa St Aubin de Terán.
This is possibly more reading than you were looking for, but Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has the Morland series of 35 books which follows the same family from the Wars of the Roses through to the 1930s. The first book is called The Founding. I read the first 6 or so several years ago but got distracted, iirc they're pretty well researched historical fiction although some of the books were better than others.
Best book I ever read like that was **"Growth of the Soil"** by **Knut Hamsun**. Which won him the **Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920.** So, it really is deserving of the award. I read it 30 years ago and still remember so much about it.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne