Books which follow characters over many years?

[Bearg]

I love books which really dig into the character/characters and follow them over their lifetime or many years. Some of my favourites are Summer Sisters by Judy Blume, One Day by David Nicholls, and I've almost finished Lessons by Ian McEwan which I have also enjoyed.

Can anyone recommend any other similar books?

Also the Rabbit novels by John Updike

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Another Life, by Jodie Chapman.
Quote on the front cover is, this is not a love story. This is a story about love.
Follows from late adolescence to 30s of two main characters.

London is an amazing book. One of my favourites.

Written for a younger audience, but the Anne of Green Gables sequels follow her into adulthood.

Someone beat me to Any Human Heart!
Also - Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively and Larry's Party (I think that's the title) by Carol Shields. Both brilliant books

Love these books. Great holiday reading

The Suttons of Yorkshire series by Elizabeth Elgin. Follows the family from pre- World War One to the post Second World War period.

Another vote for the Cazalets. I didn't think they were my kinda thing but it turned out they weren't what I thought they were.

An old one, Winter by Len Deighton

Thornbirds

A few Rosamund Pilchers do this. Lovely books. The Shell Seekers is her most famous. September is a sort of sequel to that.

Also Margaret Forster’s Diary of an Ordinary Woman is superb.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

The Secret Children by Alison McQueen. It's a big Indian Raj type saga from cradle to grave.

Violeta by Isabel Allende - it covers the 100 years of the Violeta’s life.

Elena Ferrante Neopolitan novels

I love these books!!

I love all the Deldefield books, but especially the Horseman Riding By series and the Swann family series. They never seem to get a mention these days.

Another Cazalet fan too.

@ilovepixie

I don't think I have ever encountered anyone else who has read it! We have a regular cull of books and have moved multiple times since I first read it but London always stays on the "keep" pile.

Have you read any of his others? I think I have worked my way through most of them.

Daughter of fortune by I.Allende
Pachinko
The Camerons by Robert Crichton
Les Miserables

Placemarking for ideas!

CS Forester Hornblower novels. Not a series of character but one character from a teenager to an old man.

The Outlander series of books, 9 in all I think.

There is a Ken Follett trilogy: Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity which follows several families through the 20th century. There were elements I had objections to, and he seems to think that every woman has mind boggling sex the first time, but overall I really enjoyed them.