Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

Notes from Underground

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Publication year 1864

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Memory, Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Psychological Fiction, Russian Literature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy

Notes from Underground (sometimes translated as Notes from the Underground) is an 1864 novella by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky was a novelist, journalist, and short story author. His novels are deeply rooted in philosophy and politics and explore the experiences and repercussions of his 19th-century Russian sociopolitical context. Dostoevsky is also the author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. His writing influenced many other writers and philosophers, including existentialists... Read Notes from Underground Summary

Notes on Nursing

by Florence Nightingale

Publication year 1860

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Teamwork, Perseverance, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Community, Education

Tags Health, Psychology, Relationships, Science & Nature, World History, Classic Fiction

Florence Nightingale was an English nurse commonly known as the founder of modern nursing practices. Born in Italy, she became an experienced nurse and formed many of her opinions while serving in the Crimean War, enrolling in nursing school at age 24 in Germany. She penned Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What it Is Not in 1859, just a few years after serving in the war, and the work was first published in... Read Notes on Nursing Summary

Not Nothing

by Gayle Forman

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Friendship, Community

Tags Coming of Age, Children`s Literature

... Read Not Nothing Summary

No Visible Bruises

by Rachel Louise Snyder

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Community

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Social Justice, Politics & Government

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us (2019) was written by Rachel Louise Snyder, an associate professor of creative writing and journalism at American University. A world traveler, longtime contributor to magazines and podcasts, and a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Snyder has won awards for both her fiction and nonfiction works, which include Fugitive Denim and What We’ve Lost is Nothing. No Visible Bruises, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, won the... Read No Visible Bruises Summary

Oathbound

by Tracy Deonn

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction

... Read Oathbound Summary

Odour of Chrysanthemums

by D. H. Lawrence

Publication year 1911

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Death, Social Class, Loneliness, Community

Tags Classic Fiction

“Odour of Chrysanthemums” is a short story by English author, D. H. Lawrence, written in 1909 and revised before its first publication in The English Review literary magazine in 1911. Lawrence also included it in his 1914 collection, The Prussian Officer and Stories. “Odour of Chrysanthemums” was among the first of Lawrence’s works to be published, though he had been writing extensively for some time. Its key themes of The Inevitability of Death and Decay... Read Odour of Chrysanthemums Summary

Oedipus at Colonus

by Sophocles

Publication year 401

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Grief, Guilt, Regret, Aging, Death, Future, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Community, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classical Period, Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece

Oedipus at Colonus is an ancient Athenian tragedy composed by Sophocles in (it is widely believed) the last year of his life, approximately 406 BC. His grandson, who was named Sophocles after him, first produced the play in 401 BC at the Festival of Dionysus, also known as the Great Dionysia. Along with Oedipus Rex and Antigone, it is one of three surviving tragedies by Sophocles, known as the Theban plays, that retell episodes from... Read Oedipus at Colonus Summary

Oil and Marble

by Stephanie Storey

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

... Read Oil and Marble Summary

Omar Rising

by Aisha Saeed

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Education, Social Class, Community, Self Discovery, Justice

Tags Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Social Justice, Race & Racism

... Read Omar Rising Summary

Omeros

by Derek Walcott

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Language, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Climate, Environment, Plants, Place, Friendship, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Literature, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Narrative Poem, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Postmodernism

Omeros (1990) by Derek Walcott is an epic poem that reimagines The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer on the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. Walcott explores themes of post-colonial identity and trauma while linking life on the island to Homer’s legendary characters, such as Achilles, Helen, and Hector. Omeros has been celebrated as a foundational work of post-colonial fiction and has won numerous awards. This guide refers to the 1992 Farrar, Straus... Read Omeros Summary

On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Beauty, Family, Marriage, Aging, Religion & Spirituality, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal, Mothers, Social Class, Community, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Siblings, Midlife, Trust & Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Forgiveness, Art, Apathy, Guilt, Equality, Hate & Anger, Coming of Age, Masculinity, Conflict, Education, Femininity, Self Discovery, Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride, Appearance & Reality, Death, Grief, Gender Identity, Hope

Tags British Literature, Race & Racism, Modern Classic Fiction

On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary

On Call

by Anthony Fauci

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Family, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Science & Technology

Tags Biography, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, World History, Health

... Read On Call Summary

Once Were Warriors

by Alan Duff

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction

Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff is the first installment of a historical fiction trilogy originally published in 1990 that explores the lives of a Māori family in early 1990s New Zealand. In the first year of its publication, it won the PEN Best First Book award and was the runner-up for the Goodman Fielder Wattie Award. In 1994, Once Were Warriors was optioned and made into a movie of the same name, which won... Read Once Were Warriors Summary

One Came Home

by Amy Timberlake

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

One Came Home (2013) by Amy Timberlake is a middle grade historical mystery set in 1871 Wisconsin. It follows a 13-year-old girl, Georgie Burkhardt, who is on a search to discover the truth about her older sister, Agatha, after their town declares she is dead. Georgie’s quest challenges her both physically and mentally as she begins to reexamine what she thought she knew about herself, her sister, and her community. One Came Home was awarded a... Read One Came Home Summary

One-Dimensional Man

by Herbert Marcuse

Publication year 1964

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Politics & Government, Art, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Community

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Psychology, Education, Education, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Philosophy

... Read One-Dimensional Man Summary

One Native Life

by Richard Wagamese

Publication year 2008

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Indigenous Identity, Language, Animals, Plants, Place, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Education, Nation, Art, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Justice, Literature, Music, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags World History, Biography

... Read One Native Life Summary