Art

From Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita to Raven Leilani's Luster, the texts in this collection investigate themes related to the power and promise of many types of art — from the written word to visual arts such as painting and cinema.

Sisters

by Raina Telgemeier

Publication year 2014

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Fear, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Daughters & Sons, Animals, Art, Order & Chaos

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Snow

by Orhan Pamuk

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Religion & Spirituality, Art, Gender Identity, Literature

Tags Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature

Snow is a novel of postmodern literary fiction published in Turkish in 2002 and in English in 2004. Snow won the Le Prix Médicis étranger award for the best foreign novel in France. The author, Orhan Pamuk, won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature and was the youngest person ever to receive this award. Pamuk was born in Istanbul in 1952 and grew up in Nişantaşı, Turkey. He studied architecture and journalism, only to decide... Read Snow Summary

So Big

by Edna Ferber

Publication year 1924

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Beauty, Perseverance, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Gender Identity, Food, Place, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Art, Literature

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Poverty

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Solibo Magnificent

by Patrick Chamoiseau

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Plants, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Colonialism, Community, Art, Justice, Literature

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction

Solibo Magnificent (1988) is an allegorical detective novel by Martinican author Patrick Chamoiseau. One night during Carnival in Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, the master storyteller and charcoal seller, Solibo Magnificent, is telling a story under the tamarind tree when he suddenly falls dead. Police inspectors Bouaffesse and Pilon investigate the suspicious death, but their interrogations of the witnesses reveal more about the life and culture on the island than they do about the circumstances... Read Solibo Magnificent Summary

Solo

by Mary Rand Hess, Kwame Alexander

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Family, Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Gratitude, Hate & Anger, Joy, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Art, Music, Trust & Doubt, Fame, Love, Death, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Colonialism, Appearance & Reality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Prose, Free Verse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Music, Modern Classic Fiction

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Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Mental Health, Family, Friendship

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Mental Illness, Coming of Age, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Speak is a young-adult realistic fiction novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, first published in 1999. It follows the plight of a teenager, Melinda, who was raped at age 13 and struggles to put her life back together and find her voice. Anderson has written several young adult novels, all of which address pressing issues for teens honestly and empathetically. She was honored with the Margaret A. Edwards award for her important and relevant contributions to... Read Speak Summary

Stay True

by Hua Hsu

Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Grief, Friendship, Art, Immigration

Tags Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Asian Literature, Music, Biography

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Steppenwolf

by Hermann Hesse

Publication year 1927

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Masculinity, Mental Health, The Past, Self Discovery, War, Art, Beauty, Literature, Music, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Philosophy, Existentialism, German Literature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Steppenwolf, originally published in German in 1927, then translated into English in 1929, is the eighth novel published by Swiss German novelist Hermann Hesse. The novel was commercially successful upon publication, and it remains a popular novel to the present day. However, Hesse remarked that whereas his intention was to find humor in life and resist despair, Steppenwolf has often been misunderstood as a glorification of suffering. Much of Hesse’s body of work addresses spiritual... Read Steppenwolf Summary

Still Life

by Louise Penny

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Appearance & Reality, Community

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Published in 2005, Still Life is Louise Penny’s debut novel, the first in a series of mystery novels set in rural Canada featuring detective Armand Gamache. Penny won multiple awards for Still Life, including a Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award, a Barry Award, an Arthur Ellis Award, an Anthony Award, and the Dilys Award. A made-for-TV film adaptation produced by PDM Entertainment aired in 2013. This guide is based on the 2006 Minotaur Books edition.Content... Read Still Life Summary

Suddenly, Last Summer

by Tennessee Williams

Publication year 1958

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Sexual Identity, Family, Art

Tags Southern Gothic, Drama, American Literature, Southern Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Suddenly Last Summer (1958) is a one-act play by American playwright Tennessee Williams. It was originally staged with another Williams drama (Something Unspoken) in a double bill known as Garden District and met with mixed reviews upon its Broadway premiere. This may have been due to the content of the play, which includes pedophilia, cannibalism, and relationships between men (considered scandalous at the time). Indeed, Williams reportedly modeled Suddenly Last Summer and its two-monologue structure... Read Suddenly, Last Summer Summary

Surviving the Applewhites

by Stephanie S. Tolan

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Coming of Age, Fathers, Friendship, Grandparents, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Order & Chaos

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

Surviving the Applewhites is a children’s novel written by American author Stephanie S. Tolan and was first published in 2002.The narrative follows Jake Semple, a troubled teenager forced to move in with the unconventional and eccentric Applewhite family following an incident at school. Jake struggles to fit in at first but gradually sheds his past transgressions and undergoes a transformative journey toward self-discovery and redemption. The novel touches on Personal Growth and Transformation, Individuality Versus... Read Surviving the Applewhites Summary

Swing Time

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Femininity, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Art, Beauty, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Music, Realistic Fiction, British Literature, Arts & Culture, Social Class, Finance, Gender & Feminism, History: African , European History, Love & Sexuality, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction

Swing Time (2016) is renowned author Zadie Smith’s fifth novel. Inspired by classic movie musicals and Smith’s childhood passion for musical theater, Swing Time is a story about women, how forms of privilege warp our worldviews, and the ways in which history informs our present. The novel is divided into seven parts, each narrated by the same unnamed protagonist sometimes as a child and sometimes as an adult.One of the most respected literary voices of... Read Swing Time Summary

Table for Two

by Amor Towles

Publication year 2024

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Joy, Femininity, Place, Teamwork, Social Class, Economics, Art, Beauty, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

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Tell the Wolves I'm Home

by Carol Rifka Brunt

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Friendship, Conflict, Forgiveness, Family, Siblings, Art, Truth & Lies

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+

Tell the Wolves I’m Home is the 2012 debut novel of author Carol Rifka Brunt. In it, 14-year-old narrator June Elbus wrestles with her grief over the death of her uncle Finn Weiss, who died of AIDS. Set in 1987 New York at the height of the AIDS crisis, the novel confronts the stigmas surrounding the disease through June’s parents and sister, who blame Finn’s long-term partner, Toby Aldshaw, for transmitting AIDS to Finn. As... Read Tell the Wolves I'm Home Summary