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.

The Country Husband

by John Cheever

Publication year 1962

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Marriage, Community

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction

“The Country Husband,” one of John Cheever’s most anthologized short stories, is an exploration of suburban life and the struggles of its inhabitants. It won an O’Henry award in 1956 and was included in the anthology The Stories of John Cheever, which won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Using a third-person narrator, it focuses on protagonist Francis Weed’s disillusionment with his life after a near-death experience, which manifests primarily as a romantic obsession with... Read The Country Husband Summary

The Crossing

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Loneliness, Masculinity, Race, Truth & Lies, Religion & Spirituality, Globalization, Community, Family, Appearance & Reality, Place, Justice

Tags Coming of Age, Western, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

... Read The Crossing Summary

The Cruelest Month

by Louise Penny

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Community, Friendship

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny is the third book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series. Published by St. Martin’s Press, the novel earned the Agatha Award for Best Novel of 2008. Formerly a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) journalist and radio host, Penny published her debut novel, Still Life, in 2005. The first book in the Gamache series, Still Life received numerous awards and propelled Penny into the top echelon of modern mystery writers. The... Read The Cruelest Month Summary

The Custom of the Country

by Edith Wharton

Publication year 1913

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Social Class, Community, Family, Power & Greed, Nation

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Literature, World History

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton is a tragicomedy of manners that explores themes of greed, ruthless ambition, progress, and gendered ideas. Wharton, who was herself a member of the New York City elite, was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and her novels are pieces of classic American literature for their social commentary, multilayered characters, and analysis of American culture.Published in 1913, this novel can be read as... Read The Custom of the Country Summary

The Darkest Minds

by Alexandra Bracken

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Community, Conflict, Memory, Power & Greed

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure, Religion & Spirituality

American author Alexandra Bracken’s young adult dystopian novel The Darkest Minds (2012) tells the story of teen protagonist Ruby, who escapes a grim government camp for kids with special abilities. She meets a group of other young people on the run led by the charismatic Liam. The first book in The Darkest Minds series is followed by Never Fade, In the Afterlight, and Through the Dark. Exploring themes of generational conflict and the power of... Read The Darkest Minds Summary

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

by Jane Jacobs

Publication year 1961

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Sociology, Urban Development, World History, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government

The Death and Life of Great American Cities is a 1961 non-fiction book written by Jane Jacobs, an American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist with expertise in urban history and theory. This guide refers to the original edition published by the Vintage Books division of Random House. The title references the killing of cities by urban planners and to Jacobs’s ideas about the processes required to breathe new life into them. Jacobs’s overarching aim is to... Read The Death and Life of Great American Cities Summary

The Deepest Well

by Nadine Burke Harris

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Social Class, Community, Mental Health, Science & Technology, Memory, The Past, Disability, Future, Perseverance, Nature Versus Nurture, Education, Childhood & Youth

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Mental Illness, Science & Nature, Health, Education, Education, Parenting, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement

... Read The Deepest Well Summary

The Division of Labor in Society

by Émile Durkheim

Publication year 1893

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community, Justice

Tags Sociology, Philosophy, Business & Economics, Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government

The Division of Labor in Society by Émile Durkheim is a doctoral dissertation first published in 1893. It is most notable for using the scientific method to explain social phenomena, and it is widely considered one of the foundational works in modern sociology. Durkheim, along with other theorists such as Max Weber and Karl Marx, is considered a founder of the field. In The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim explores how modern societies remain... Read The Division of Labor in Society Summary

The Dollhouse

by Fiona Davis

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Place, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Beauty, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Romance

... Read The Dollhouse Summary

The Door

by Magda Szabó

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Love, Memory, Death, The Past, Place, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Classic Fiction

... Read The Door Summary