You know, you can buy a .40 caliber Glock. I've never fired a gun, but I believe I have a vast knowledge of them. Glocks are nice because they're reliable, pretty lightweight, and have a hard time jamming. They also have negative psychological associations because most cops are issued either a 9mm or .40 caliber Glock.
World War II Era pistols are very reliable, most notable being the Luger P08 or the Colt M1911 (I think the modern versions are at least slightly different). These are powerful, and also make great show pieces, but are a bit pricey. Also, some might go through walls.
If you are concerned about bullet penetration, shotguns are great choice. However, make sure it fires some kind of buckshot/birdshot, because deer shot or solid slugs will blow up the wall and keep going. Even some buckshot ( probably 14-12 gauge) will go straight through a wall, so you want smaller rounds. These should also lower the recoil, I think (don't know too much about non-military shotguns).
You could also go for a .22 short. These are easy to maintain, quiet, cheap, and have a low recoil. They have little to no penetration abilities. Most handguns on the market can be easily and legally modified to fire .22 rounds. These have little stopping power, however, if you get hollow point rounds, they will tumble and break apart upon hitting soft targets. What this means is, instead of a .22 caliber (approximate a fifth of an inch) hole, the bullet will break up, tumble, and lose energy as it goes through the body. This is likely to tear open internal organs and leave a very large hole, making it more dangerous than a 9mm. I'm not sure how well this works with .22 short, but with a .22 hypersonic, or even a 5.56X45mm (a very long, pointed version of the .22 used by the military) it's quite devastating.
If you have the money, an excellent weapon is the M1A1 Carbine. Although it is seen as a World War II weapon, they are still produced today, and are very effective. They jam very little, and they fire the .30 caliber pistol round, which has little penetration (although, admittedly, still some) it is devastating at close range due to the tumble and break effect I mentioned earlier. In fact, at close range, it is more damaging than the standard sniper rifle firing a .308 round.
Normally, for home defense, I'd suggest a Colt .25 or Walther PPK, but obviously, you can't have "Saturday Night Specials".
EDIT: I'm not sure if this is quite big enough, but my grandfather owns a Ruger MK1 firing a .22 LR round. They're supposed to be very reliable and accurate, along with quiet. Apparently, some versions have a built in silencers, and others just make a small pop when fired. Also, because it's based off of the Luger P08, you'll notice it's got a weird shape. This is actually a good thing. The way it's designed, when you raise it straight up, the sights should be aligned. Something to do with the tilt of the grip in coordination with your hand.
Also, looks pretty sexy. Like something James Bond would (and probably has) used.
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