Guilt

The Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by German author Gunther Grass. In the novel, a man named Oskar tells the story of his life, particularly focusing on his experiences during World War II. The novel employs satire, absurdism, magical realism, and allegory to wrestle with the pain and trauma of life under Nazi rule. The Tin Drum was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1979 and has been hailed as a landmark in literary... Read The Tin Drum Summary

Book DetailsThe Trial, an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, was written in the 1910s and published posthumously in 1925. One of Kafka’s most famous works, it is a nightmarish story where the rules of reality are bent and twisted as the protagonist, Josef K., is prosecuted for a crime whose nature is never revealed to him. Literary Movement & Major ThemesWritten at a pivotal moment in European history, The Trial has become one of the... Read The Trial Summary

The Truth About Forever (2004) is a young adult contemporary romance by Sarah Dessen. The novel follows Macy Queen, a teen girl struggling to heal from the tragic death of her father, only to find that the answers lie not in chasing perfection and control but embracing the unpredictable and chaotic joys of life. The Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen’s sixth published novel and won the 2004 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Urban... Read The Truth About Forever Summary

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Maggie O’Farrell’s novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, published in 2006, is the author’s fourth novel and tackles the grim history of forced incarcerations of women and the devastating effects of family secrets. O’Farrell’s work often focuses on women trapped physically, emotionally, and psychologically by forces over which they have no control, and this novel is no exception. Through a twisted entanglement of three different perspectives, O’Farrell tells the story of not only Esme... Read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Summary

The Wife Between Us is a psychological thriller by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen published in 2017. Pekkanen and Hendricks are a best-selling author duo known for their co-authored psychological thrillers, including The Golden Couple (2022), An Anonymous Girl (2019), and You Are Not Alone (2020). The Wife Between Us follows recently divorced Vanessa Thompson as she tries to prevent her ex-husband’s second marriage to the woman he left her for. Plot SummaryThe novel is divided... Read The Wife Between Us Summary

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The Winter’s Tale is a late romance play in five acts by William Shakespeare. Originally published in the First Folio of 1623 but debuted onstage circa 1611, the play follows a man’s reckless jealousy as it destroys his family and his own conscience. Shakespeare’s play is based on the romance Pandosto: The Triumph of Time by the Elizabethan author Robert Greene published in 1588, with Shakespeare taking a more lighthearted approach to Greene’s story toward... Read The Winter's Tale Summary

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The novel Thousand Cranes (in Japanese, Senbazuru) was written by Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. It was originally published in serialized form between 1949 and 1951 and compiled with another of Kawabata’s novels, Snow Country (1948), in book form in 1952. The narrative follows Kikuji, an orphaned young businessman, as he navigates the legacy of his father’s infidelity against the backdrop of traditional Japanese tea culture. It explores themes of Decay of Traditions and Values, Legacy:... Read Thousand Cranes Summary

Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck is a 2006 work of narrative nonfiction that braids two seemingly unrelated historical events that captured public attention in the pre-World War I years. The first involves the emerging and transformative technology of wireless communication designed by Marconi, the second a gruesome murder in London perpetrated by a seemingly docile and genial doctor named Crippen. Thunderstruck follows the success of Larson’s 2003 Devil in the White City, which coupled America’s first major... Read Thunderstruck Summary

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a work of fiction written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Published between 1883 and 1885, the allegorical novel also known as Thus Spake Zarathustra is a collection of speeches by a character named Zarathustra to the villagers of The Motley Cow. Nietzsche uses many literary devices such as personification, allegory, and allusion. The philosophical points referenced in Thus Spoke Zarathustra include the death of... Read Thus Spoke Zarathustra Summary

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Published in 1962 in an America just beginning to grapple with the responsibilities of environmental stewardship and the catastrophic cost of technology’s impact on nature, William Stafford’s deceptively simple poem “Traveling Through the Dark” raises difficult—often unanswerable—questions about humanity’s responsibility for the future of nature. Driving a mountain road one night, the speaker comes upon a dead doe, hit by a car and left by the side of the road. While clearing the deer off... Read Traveling through the Dark Summary