Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Social Critique
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
A teenage boy's journey of self-discovery, navigating complexities of the adult world.
An angry, depressed 16-year-old (Holden Caulfield) lives in an unspecified institution in California after the end of World War II . After his discharge within a month, he intends to go live with his ... (Wikipedia)
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
An orphan's journey of survival and resilience in the face of poverty and injustice.
Oliver Twist is born into a life of poverty and misfortune, raised in a workhouse in the fictional town of Mudfog , located 70 miles (110 km) north of London . , , , He is orphaned by his father's ... (Wikipedia)
Fight Club
by Chuck Palahniuk
A man's journey of self-discovery and transformation, challenging the status quo of society.
Fight Club centers on an anonymous narrator , who works as a product recall specialist for an unnamed car company. Because of the stress of his job and the jet lag brought upon by frequent business ... (Wikipedia)
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
An exploration of the struggles of working-class Americans, and the power of family and culture to shape one's life.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for ... (Goodreads)
The Lady in the Lake
by Raymond Chandler
Private investigator Phillip Marlowe investigates the disappearance of a young woman, uncovering a sinister plot.
Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, hires Marlowe to find his estranged wife, Crystal. Kingsley had received a telegram from Crystal about two weeks before stating that she was divorcing him and ... (Wikipedia)
American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
A corporate psychopath's descent into homicidal madness, exposing the dark side of 1980s New York.
Set in Manhattan during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho follows the life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. Bateman, in his mid-20s when the story begins, ... (Wikipedia)
The Dispossessed
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A sci-fi exploration of utopian and dystopian societies, and the struggle for a better world.
Librarian note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN, 9780061054884,. Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the ... (Goodreads)
Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
A social commentary on the English legal system, exploring themes of inequality, injustice and corruption.
Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually ... (Goodreads)
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
An aging knight's adventures and misadventures, filled with chivalry, honor, and satire.
Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in ... (Goodreads)
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
A human raised by Martians must find his place in a hostile Earth society.
The story focuses on a human raised on Mars and his adaptation to and understanding of humans and their culture. It is set in a post- Third World War United States, where organized religions are ... (Wikipedia)
Dead Souls
by Nikolai Gogol
A satirical tale of a man's quest for wealth, exposing the corruption of 19th century Russian society.
The story follows the exploits of Chichikov, a middle-aged gentleman of middling social class and means. Chichikov arrives in a small town and turns on the charm to woo key local officials and ... (Wikipedia)
Naked Lunch
by William S. Burroughs
Surrealist exploration of addiction, delusions, and reality.
Naked Lunch is a non-linear narrative without a clear plot. The following is a summary of some of the events in the book that could be considered the most relevant. The book begins with the ... (Wikipedia)
Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City
by Warren Ellis
A science-fiction dark comedy about a journalist navigating a dystopian world.
SC, TPB, in cello, New, Written by Warren Ellis. Art by Darick Robertson. Published in June of 2001. Softcover, 144 pages, full color. Mature Readers. Cover price $14.99. ... (Goodreads)
Howl and Other Poems
by Allen Ginsberg
A collection of poems exploring themes of individualism and modern culture.
This Side of Paradise
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A young man's quest to find purpose and meaning in a turbulent post-war world.
The book is written in three parts. Amory Blaine, a young Midwesterner, is convinced that he has an exceptionally promising future. He attends boarding school and later Princeton University. He ... (Wikipedia)
Ham on Rye
by Charles Bukowski
A semi-autobiographical novel following a young man's struggles with poverty, violence and mental illness.
The novel focuses on the protagonist, Henry Chinaski, between the years of 1920 and 1941. , It begins with Chinaski's early memories. As the story progresses the reader follows his life through the ... (Wikipedia)
Dubliners
by James Joyce
Collection of stories about everyday life in Dublin, exploring the Irish psyche.
This work of art reflects life in Ireland at the turn of the last century, and by rejecting euphemism, reveals to the Irish their unromantic realities. Each of the 15 stories offers glimpses into the ... (Goodreads)
A Doll's House
by Henrik Ibsen
A woman's struggle to break from societal expectations and find her own identity.
A Doll's House (1879), is a masterpiece of theatrical craft which, for the first time portrayed the tragic hypocrisy of Victorian middle class marriage on the stage. The play ushered in a new social ... (Goodreads)
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
A fantastical, satirical examination of Soviet life, intersecting with the supernatural.
The novel has two settings. The first is Moscow during the 1930s, where Satan appears at Patriarch's Ponds as Professor Woland . He is accompanied by Koroviev, a grotesquely-dressed valet; Behemoth , ... (Wikipedia)
The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
by Ambrose Bierce
Collection of satirical definitions of everyday words, offering a cynical take on humanity.
If we could only put aside our civil pose and say what we really thought, the world would be a lot like the one alluded to in The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. There, a bore is "a person who talks ... (Goodreads)
Shirley
by Charlotte Brontë
A young woman's turbulent journey to find her place in a restrictive society.
Robert Moore is a mill owner noted for apparent ruthlessness towards his employees. He has laid off many of them, and is apparently indifferent to their consequent impoverishment. In fact he had no ... (Wikipedia)
Agnes Grey
by Anne Brontë
A young governess's struggles to find her place in the world, while teaching and caring for the children of a wealthy family.
Agnes Grey is the daughter of Mr. Grey, a minister of modest means, and Mrs. Grey, a woman who left her wealthy family and married purely out of love. Mr. Grey tries to increase the family's ... (Wikipedia)
The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy
A story of a man's ill-fated love, set against the wild landscape of rural England.
The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath , and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses , covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy ... (Wikipedia)
On Liberty
by John Stuart Mill
Exploration of freedom of thought and expression, and the importance of individual rights.
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780140432077 Published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty presented one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom in nineteenth-century social and ... (Goodreads)
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A woman's journey of redemption and perseverance, in a world of religious hypocrisy and judgment.
In Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman who has given birth to a baby of unknown parentage. Her sentence required her to stand on ... (Wikipedia)
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
A reflective journey into nature, exploring the power of contemplation and simplicity.
Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and ... (Goodreads)
The Idiot
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A man's struggle to find his place in society, and the moral dilemmas he faces.
Prince Myshkin, a young man in his mid-twenties and a descendant of one of the oldest Russian lines of nobility, is on a train to Saint Petersburg on a cold November morning. He is returning to ... (Wikipedia)
Cat's Eye
by Margaret Atwood
A woman reflects on her childhood and her complex relationships with her peers.
After being lured back to her childhood home of Toronto for a retrospective show of her art, Elaine reminisces about her childhood. At the age of eight she becomes friends with Carol and Grace, and, ... (Wikipedia)
Pereira Declares: A Testimony
by Antonio Tabucchi
A journalist's moral awakening amidst a totalitarian regime.
The novel is set in Portugal in the summer of 1938, during Salazar 's dictatorship. Pereira, an old journalist on a Portuguese newspaper - the Lisboa - who loves literature and practically gives his ... (Wikipedia)
Hark! A Vagrant
by Kate Beaton
A collection of humorous and witty comic strips about history, literature, and popular culture.
Hark! A Vagrant is an uproarious romp through history and literature seen through the sharp, contemporary lens of New Yorker cartoonist and comics-sensation Kate Beaton. No era or tome emerges ... (Goodreads)
Blindness
by José Saramago
A society is plunged into chaos when everyone suddenly loses their sight.
Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. The novel follows the misfortune of a ... (Wikipedia)
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
by Nikolai Gogol
Collection of humorous and dark stories exploring the absurd and surreal.
Hailed by Nabokov as "the greatest artist that Russia has yet produced," Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) left his mark as a playwright, novelist, and writer of short stories. Gogol's works remain popular ... (Goodreads)
Survivor
by Chuck Palahniuk
A darkly humorous look at the trappings of modern society and the state of human existence.
The novel opens, in medias res, to Tender Branson, who has just hijacked an airliner, released its passengers, and is now sitting in the cockpit telling his life story to the cockpit voice recorder . ... (Wikipedia)
Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine
by Kelly Sue DeConnick
A science fiction tale of a dystopian future, exploring the power of female resistance.
“... one of the most unique and subversive artifacts of pop culture in recent memory.” -,Salon.com, "Seldom do comics burst onto the scene and shatter our worldview by being entirely poignant, raw, ... (Barnes & Noble)
Notes from Underground
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A portrait of the struggles of a troubled man, exploring his inner turmoil.
The novel is divided into two parts. Serving as an introduction into the mind of the narrator, the first part of Notes from Underground is split into nine chapters: The narrator observes that utopian ... (Wikipedia)
Germinal
by Émile Zola
Depicts the harsh conditions of miners in 19th century France, a story of hope and revolution.
The novel's central character is Étienne Lantier, previously seen in, L'Assommoir, (1877), and originally to have been the central character in Zola's "murder on the trains" thriller, La Bête ... (Wikipedia)
Candide
by Voltaire
A young man's satirical journey through life, encountering misfortune and eventual optimism.
Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a ... (Goodreads)
Gulliver's Travels: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
by Jonathan Swift
A fanciful journey to lands of tiny people, giant people, talking horses, and other strange creatures.
The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck ... (Wikipedia)
Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers
A magical nanny takes a troubled family on a journey of self-discovery and growth.
By P.L. Travers, the author featured in the major motion picture, Saving Mr. Banks . From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is ... (Goodreads)
Demons
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A fictional exploration of the human condition, examining the darker sides of our nature.
The novel is in three parts. There are two epigraphs, the first from Pushkin's poem "Demons" and the second from Luke 8:32–36. After an almost illustrious but prematurely curtailed academic career ... (Wikipedia)
A Room of One's Own
by Virginia Woolf
Examining gender roles and societal expectations with an eye to achieving independence and creative freedom.
A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton ... (Goodreads)
Nation
by Terry Pratchett
A story of courage and determination, as an island nation rebuilds its culture and identity after a devastating tsunami.
Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until ... (Goodreads)
The Yellow Wall-Paper
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman's descent into madness due to oppressive social expectations.
A woman and her husband rent a summer house, but what should be a restful getaway turns into a suffocating psychological battle. This chilling account of postpartum depression and a husband's ... (Goodreads)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
A young girl's adventures on the high seas, fighting for justice and freedom.
The story starts in the early summer of 1832, as thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle prepares to take a voyage from Liverpool , England, to her family's home in Providence, Rhode Island . Her upper ... (Wikipedia)
The Bad Girl
by Mario Vargas Llosa
A young girl's rebellious journey of self-discovery and exploration of her own identity.
¿Cuál es el verdadero rostro del amor? Ricardo ve cumplido, a una edad muy temprana, el sueño que en su Lima natal alimentó desde que tenía uso de razón: vivir en París. Pero el rencuentro con un ... (Goodreads)
Foam of the Days
by Boris Vian
Unexpected romance between a wealthy man and a singer, set in a surreal, dreamlike world.
In a surreal world where animals and inanimate objects reflect the emotions of humans, Colin is a wealthy young man with a resourceful and stylish valet , Nicholas, and a loyal best friend, Chick. ... (Wikipedia)
Wonder Boys
by Michael Chabon
A struggling author's journey of finding inspiration, navigating life's obstacles and complexities.
Pittsburgh professor and author Grady Tripp is working on an unwieldy 2,611-page manuscript that is meant to be the follow-up to his successful, award-winning novel The Land Downstairs , which was ... (Wikipedia)
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
by Louise Rennison
A comedic coming-of-age story of a teenage girl, navigating the ups and downs of teenage life.
Georgia, a teenager, lives with her mother, father, 3-year-old sister Libby, and her wild cat, Angus, whom the family found on a holiday to Scotland. Georgia bumps into the popular and attractive ... (Wikipedia)
La vida del Lazarillo de Tormes
by Unknown
A picaresque novel of a young man's adventures and misfortunes in 16th-century Spain.
Lázaro es un muchacho desarrapado a quien la miseria obliga a emplearse como sirviente. Las inocentes y a veces justificadas burlas con las que Lázaro se defiende de sus amos son castigadas con una ... (Goodreads)
Down and Out in Paris and London
by George Orwell
An exploration of the dark side of two cities, and how life can be different for the privileged and the destitute.
This unusual fictional memoir - in good part autobiographical - narrates without self-pity and often with humor the adventures of a penniless British writer among the down-and-outs of two great ... (Goodreads)
The Monkey Wrench Gang
by Edward Abbey
A comedic adventure of environmental activism, fighting against corporate pollution.
The book's four main characters are ecologically minded misfits—"Seldom Seen" Smith, a Jack Mormon river guide; Doc Sarvis, an odd but wealthy and wise surgeon; Bonnie Abbzug, his young Jewish ... (Wikipedia)
Little Dorrit
by Charles Dickens
A tale of injustice, exploring the social and economic inequalities of Victorian England.
The novel begins in Marseilles "thirty years ago" (c. 1826), with the notorious murderer Rigaud telling his prison cellmate John Baptist Cavalletto how he killed his wife, just prior to being ... (Wikipedia)
Skinny Legs and All
by Tom Robbins
A tale of love, loss, and mystery that revolves around a small diner in the American Southwest.
This is a gutsy, fun-loving, and provocative novel in which a bean can philosophises, a dessert spoon mystifies, a young waitress takes on the New York art world, and a rowdy redneck welder discovers ... (Goodreads)
Choke
by Chuck Palahniuk
A darkly humorous story of a man's journey to self-awareness through disruption and chaos.
Choke follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child. , Victor had grown up moving from one foster home ... (Wikipedia)
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
A woman's spiritual journey of faith and doubt, set against the backdrop of a mysterious sea-serpent.
After being widowed when her wealthy, abusive husband dies of throat cancer, Cora Seaborne decides to ignore the trappings of her London society life and take up amateur palaeontology. Vacationing in ... (Wikipedia)
The Crimson Petal and the White
by Michel Faber
A prostitute's journey of self-empowerment as she navigates the seedy underbelly of Victorian England.
Sugar, 19, prostitute in Victorian London, yearns for a better life. From brutal brothel-keeper Mrs Castaway, she ascends in society. Affections of self-involved perfume magnate William Rackham soon ... (Goodreads)
Anthem
by Ayn Rand
An individual's quest for freedom amidst a dystopian society determined to control thought and behavior.
Equality 7-2521, a 21-year-old man writing by candlelight in a tunnel under the earth, tells the story of his life up to that point. He exclusively uses plural pronouns ("we", "our", "they") to refer ... (Wikipedia)
Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation
by Tim Hamilton
A dystopian future where books are outlawed and firemen burn them.
"Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes." For Guy Montag, a career fireman for whom kerosene is perfume, this is not just an official slogan. ... (Goodreads)
The Thin Man
by Dashiell Hammett
A retired detective called to investigate a mysterious murder.
The story is set in New York City in December 1932, in the last days of Prohibition. The main characters are a former private detective , Nick Charles and Nora, his clever young wife. Nick, son of a ... (Wikipedia)
Damned
by Chuck Palahniuk
A powerful satire of American culture, as a young woman confronts the absurdities of society.
The novel opens with 13-year-old Madison "Maddy" Spencer waking in Hell , unsure of the details surrounding her death. She believes she died of a marijuana overdose while her celebrity parents were ... (Wikipedia)
The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
by Oscar Wilde
Satirical plays that explore the hypocrisies and absurdities of Victorian society.
Combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation, the works collected in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays are edited with an introduction, commentaries and ... (Goodreads)
The Angel of Darkness
by Caleb Carr
Detective Laszlo Kreizler investigates a series of horrific child murders in 19th century New York City.
The now-adult Stevie Taggert, a tobacconist , makes a bet with an elderly John Moore that he can write the story of one of their adventures together as well as Moore (a former newspaper reporter) ... (Wikipedia)
The Red and the Black
by Stendhal
A young man's ambitious rise in 19th century French society, as he navigates through its politics and passions.
In two volumes,, The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the 19th Century, tells the story of Julien Sorel's life in France's rigid social structure restored after the disruptions of the French ... (Wikipedia)
Wyrd Sisters
by Terry Pratchett
A fantastical adventure of three witches determined to overthrow an evil tyrant.
Wyrd Sisters features three witches : Granny Weatherwax ; Nanny Ogg , matriarch of a large tribe of Oggs and owner of the most evil cat in the world; and Magrat Garlick , the junior witch, who firmly ... (Wikipedia)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
by Jeanette Winterson
A young girl's journey of self-discovery, navigating the boundaries between religion, sexuality and identity.
Alternate cover edition for 9780802135162 This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a ... (Goodreads)
The Miserable Mill
by Lemony Snicket
A young boy faces danger and misfortune at a sinister mill in a mysterious town.
Violet , Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire are traveling on a train heading for Paltryville, the location of the children's new home, the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Upon arrival, the children learn that they ... (Wikipedia)
Journey to the End of the Night
by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
A darkly comic, nihilistic journey of self-discovery, following a man into the heart of an absurd world.
Céline’s masterpiece—colloquial, polemic, hyper-realistic, boiling over with black humor Céline’s masterpiece—colloquial, polemic, hyper realistic—boils over with bitter humor and revulsion at ... (Barnes & Noble)
Bluebeard
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
A woman's exploration of her husband's dark past, uncovering secrets and shocking truths.
At the opening of the book, the narrator, Rabo Karabekian , apologizes to the arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen..." He describes himself as a ... (Wikipedia)
The Joke
by Milan Kundera
A reflection on the nature of humor, and the consequences of a single joke.
The novel is composed of many jokes, which have strong effects on the characters. The story is told from the four viewpoints of Ludvik Jahn, Helena Zemánková, Kostka, and Jaroslav. Jaroslav's joke is ... (Wikipedia)
Going Postal
by Terry Pratchett
An eccentric postman's humorous journey to restore order to a chaotic post office.
As with many of the Discworld novels, the story takes place in Ankh-Morpork , a powerful city-state based on the historical and modern settings of various metropolises like London or New York City. ... (Wikipedia)
The Girl in the Tower
by Katherine Arden
A young woman's journey of self-discovery, braving the unknown to reclaim her destiny.
The Bear and the Nightingale , Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel, introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts ... (Goodreads)
Citizen of the Galaxy
by Robert A. Heinlein
A young slave's journey to find his place in a chaotic galaxy, discovering the power of friendship and freedom.
The novel is set in the future when the human race has developed interstellar spaceflight and is engaged in trade with a number of alien races. However human slavery has reappeared on some planets. ... (Wikipedia)
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
by Edwin A. Abbott
A two-dimensional world and its inhabitants explore the concept of multidimensionality.
The story describes a two-dimensional world occupied by geometric figures, whereof women are simple line-segments, while men are polygons with various numbers of sides. The narrator is a square , a ... (Wikipedia)
The Insulted and Humiliated
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A story of revenge, focusing on morality and redemption.
Natasha leaves her parents' home and runs away with Alyosha (prince Alexey) – the son of Prince Valkovsky. As a result of his pain, her father, Nikolai, curses her. The only friend that remains by ... (Wikipedia)
The Heart Goes Last
by Margaret Atwood
A couple's struggle to survive in a dystopian world, where they must alternate between prison and freedom.
Living in their car, surviving on tips, Charmaine and Stan are in a desperate state. So, when they see an advertisement for Consilience, a ‘social experiment’ offering stable jobs and a home of their ... (Wikipedia)
Praise of Folly
by Erasmus
Satirical exploration of the follies of humankind.
In Praise of Folly, , also translated as, The Praise of Folly, ( Latin : Stultitiae Laus or Moriae Encomium ; Greek title: Μωρίας ἐγκώμιον ( Morias egkomion ); Dutch title: Lof der Zotheid ), is an ... (Wikipedia)
Persona normal
by Benito Taibo
A story of a young woman's search for identity, battling with society's expectations.
Una grandiosa e increíble aventura para ser todo... excepto normal. Tenía un par de padres divertidos y jóvenes, llenos de sueños y de planes. Pero a mis doce años, cinco meses, tres días y dos horas ... (Goodreads)
Mother Courage and Her Children
by Bertolt Brecht
A play exploring the impact of war and its aftermath on a woman and her children.
Widely considered one of the great dramatic creations of the modern stage, "Mother Courage and Her Children" is Bertolt Brecht's most passionate and profound statement against war. Set in the ... (Goodreads)
My Struggle, Book Two
by Karl Ove Knausgård
A story of self-reflection and exploration of the complexities of modern life.
Having left his first wife, Karl Ove Knausgaard moves to Stockholm, Sweden, where he leads a solitary existence. He strikes up a deep friendship with another exiled Norwegian, a Nietzschean ... (Goodreads)
The Tin Drum
by Günter Grass
A satirical novel of a young boy's journey through WWII Germany, and the power of the human spirit.
The story revolves around the life of Oskar Matzerath, as narrated by himself when confined in a mental hospital during the years 1952–1954. Born in 1924 in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk , ... (Wikipedia)
Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories
by Flannery O'Connor
A collection of stories that explore themes of race, faith, and morality in the South.
Flannery O'Connor was working on Everything That Rises Must Converge at the time of her death. This collection is an exquisite legacy from a genius of the American short story, in which she ... (Goodreads)
Silent in the Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
A Victorian-era mystery novel involving a determined female sleuth to unmask a murderer.
"LET THE WICKED BE ASHAMED, AND LET THEM BE SILENT IN THE GRAVE." These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward ... (Goodreads)
Amerika
by Franz Kafka
A young man's surreal journey through a bizarre and dystopian version of America.
The story describes the bizarre wanderings of sixteen-year-old European immigrant Karl Roßmann, who was forced to go to New York City to escape the scandal of his seduction by a housemaid. As the ... (Wikipedia)
The Time Machine/The Invisible Man
by H.G. Wells
Adventures in the world of science fiction, exploring the boundaries of human capabilities.
The Time Machine and The Invisible Man , by H. G. Wells , is part of the, Barnes & Noble Classics, series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, ... (Goodreads)
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
by Cho Nam-Joo
A young woman's journey of self-acceptance, navigating misogynistic society.
The story-line centres on a housewife who becomes a stay-at-home mother and later suffers from depression. It focuses on the everyday sexism the title character experiences from youth. , , , The book ... (Wikipedia)
The Rum Diary
by Hunter S. Thompson
A man's journey to find himself and meaningful work, set in a tropical paradise.
Begun in 1959 by a twenty-two-year-old Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary is a tangled love story of jealousy, treachery, and violent alcoholic lust in the Caribbean boomtown that was San Juan, Puerto ... (Goodreads)
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
by Olga Tokarczuk
An elderly woman's journey of self-discovery, as she investigates a series of mysterious animal deaths.
In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her ... (Goodreads)
Sick Puppy
by Carl Hiaasen
A wild and chaotic adventure involving a hapless protagonist and a crooked politician.
Robert Clapley, a former drug smuggler -turned-real estate developer, plans to build high-rise condominiums and golf courses on Toad Island, the home to a large population of oak toads . The project ... (Wikipedia)
Utopia
by Thomas More
A fictional account of a perfect society, exploring the ideal of an ordered and just world.
In his most famous and controversial book, Utopia , Thomas More imagines a perfect island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and all property is ... (Goodreads)
Beauty Queens
by Libba Bray
A group of beauty pageant contestants stranded on a desert island, learning resilience and self-reliance.
From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.,Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio
A collection of tales of love, adventure, and comedy set in medieval Florence.
The Decameron (c.1351) is an entertaining series of one hundred stories written in the wake of the Black Death. The stories are told in a country villa outside the city of Florence by ten young noble ... (Goodreads)
Don Quixote - Vol. 1
by J.R. Cuenot
A knight's quest for chivalrous glory, accompanied by his loyal sidekick.
Una coleccion que adapta grandes obras y autores de la literatura escrita en espanol.Cada titulo incluye:Una breve presentacion de la vida y obra del autor. El texto adaptado. Una seleccion de partes ... (Goodreads)
The Twelve Chairs
by Ilya Ilf
A comedic tale of two men's quest for hidden jewels in a chair with a secret compartment.
In the Soviet Union in 1927, a former Marshal of Nobility , Ippolit Matveyevich "Kisa" Vorobyaninov, works as the registrar of marriages and deaths in a sleepy provincial town. His mother-in-law ... (Wikipedia)
Harrison Bergeron
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
A dystopian future where equality is enforced through handicapping citizens.
In the year 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution dictate that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than ... (Wikipedia)
Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas
by Louise Rennison
A teenage girl's humorous journey of self-discovery, finding her place in the world.
As I was going out of my bedroom door I remembered my nungas. Perhaps I should take some precautions to keep them under strict control. Maybe bits of Sellotape on the ends of them to keep them from ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Hour of the Star
by Clarice Lispector
A poor Brazilian girl's life story, illustrating the struggles of the working class.
The novel starts with the narrator, Rodrigo S.M., discussing what it means to write a story. He addresses the reader directly and spends a lot of time talking about his philosophical beliefs. After ... (Wikipedia)
Scoop
by Evelyn Waugh
A humorous and satirical look at journalistic misadventures in Africa.
Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the "Daily Beast", has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, ... (Goodreads)
The Colossus and Other Poems
by Sylvia Plath
A collection of poems exploring the topics of death, despair, and identity.
With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force. In such classics as "The Beekeeper's Daughter," "The ... (Goodreads)
The Maias
by Eça de Queirós
A romantic family drama set in 19th century Portugal, exploring the decline of traditional values.
The book begins with the characters Carlos Eduardo da Maia, João da Ega, Afonso da Maia and Vilaça in the family's old house with plans to reconstruct it. The house, nicknamed "Ramalhete" (bouquet), ... (Wikipedia)
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