What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedAftersun
Charlotte Wells · Film · 2022
If you loved Aftersun, start with Go Ahead (2020) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Aftersun across media.
What hooked you in Aftersun was the way memory acts as a fragile, haunting bridge between your present self and lost childhood.
Books on the same thread
Fun Home
Alison Bechdel · Book · 2007
Shares a thread with Aftersun: Father-Daughter Relationship.
Much like Aftersun, this memoir uses a complicated father-daughter relationship to anchor a narrative about reconciling the person you knew with the private, hidden struggles of their adult life.
The Optimist's Daughter
Eudora Welty · Book · 2011
Shares a thread with Aftersun: Memory.
If the quiet, melancholic ache of Aftersun moved you, you will find a similar resonance here in the way the protagonist navigates the heavy, lingering grief of losing a father.
One Golden Summer
Carley Fortune · Book
Explores: reconnecting with the past, summer love, emotional growth.
This story mirrors the nostalgic pull of Aftersun by examining how returning to a specific summer location forces a character to confront the ghosts of their own past.
Lessons
Ian McEwan · Book
Explores: historical memory, existential regret, coming-of-age.
You will appreciate how this novel captures the same existential regret found in Aftersun, tracing the weight of time and personal history across the span of a single human life.
Series on the same thread
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Series · 2023
Explores: Mortality, The Value of Time, Regret and Remembrance.
Just as Aftersun explores the distance between memory and reality, this series uses the passage of time to reflect on the quiet, lingering sadness of understanding those we loved.
Heartstopper
Alice Oseman · Series · 2022
Shares a thread with Aftersun: Mental Health.
While lighter in tone than Aftersun, this show captures the same delicate vulnerability of coming-of-age, focusing on the profound, fleeting intimacy that defines our most formative and transformative connections.
Go Ahead
Series · 2020
Shares a thread with Aftersun: Coming-of-Age Drama.
Fans of Aftersun will recognize the central theme of childhood trauma surfacing in adulthood, as characters attempt to reconcile their shared history with the burdens their parents left behind.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han · Series · 2022
Explores: First Love, Summer Romance, Love Triangle.
This series echoes the vacation setting of Aftersun, exploring how a singular, sun-drenched summer holiday acts as the definitive turning point where childhood innocence gives way to complex adult reality.
Podcasts on the same thread
boomer and zoomer
Podcast
Shares a thread with Aftersun: father-daughter relationship.
If the father-daughter dynamic in Aftersun resonated with you, this podcast provides an authentic, real-world exploration of those same intergenerational gaps and the evolving nature of familial love over time.
Unsent Podcast
Podcast · 2023
Shares a thread with Aftersun: Regret.
This podcast taps into the same emotional vulnerability present in Aftersun, focusing on the things left unsaid and the heavy, lingering weight of regret that defines our most significant relationships.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Aftersun based on a true story?
Aftersun is a 2022 film written and directed by Charlotte Wells. The narrative follows Sophie as she reflects on a holiday taken with her father twenty years earlier, reconciling her memories of their shared joy with the private melancholy and hidden struggles he experienced during that time.
What is the central conflict in Aftersun?
The central conflict in Aftersun involves Sophie attempting to reconcile the version of her father she knew as a child with the troubled man he was in private. She uses her memories and camcorder footage to bridge the gaps between their shared joy and his underlying melancholy.
Does Aftersun focus on the perspective of the father or the daughter?
Aftersun is told from the perspective of Sophie, who looks back on a holiday she took with her father two decades prior. The film explores her attempt to understand the man behind the father she knew by examining the private melancholy he experienced during their time together.
How does camcorder footage function in Aftersun?
In Aftersun, camcorder footage serves as a key narrative device. Sophie uses these recordings alongside her own memories to fill the gaps in her understanding of the holiday, helping her piece together the reality of her father's private struggles during the trip they took twenty years earlier.