Family

Leo Tolstoy famously begins the novel Anna Karenina with the sentence: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In this thematic collection, we have gathered noteworthy texts that navigate the joyous and sorrowful emotional terrain of the family unit.

Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

by Anne Tyler

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is a 1982 contemporary fiction novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, along with The Accidental Tourist (1985). Tyler won the Pulitzer for her 1988 novel, Breathing Lessons. Tyler's other well-known works include Saint Maybe (1991), Clock Dance (2018), and French Braid (2022). Plot Summary Pearl Tull lies in her bed, aware that she is close to death. She begins to reflect on her life. Aged 30... Read Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant Summary

Dire bound

by Sable Sorensen

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hope, Love, Memory, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, Fantasy

... Read Dire bound Summary

Dirt Music

by Tim Winton

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Family, Environment, Loneliness, Love, Midlife, Music

Tags Romance, Dramatic Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

... Read Dirt Music Summary

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Family

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure

Divergent is the first installment in a science-fiction trilogy, and is narrated by a 16 year old girl called Beatrice Prior. The setting is a futuristic city which, though not specified in the novel, closely resembles Chicago. The city has been split into five factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. The idea behind this split is that human conflict has not been caused by political ideology, race, religion, or nationalism but by differences between personality... Read Divergent Summary

Doctor Sleep

by Stephen King

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Death, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Good & Evil, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Order & Chaos, Community, Power & Greed, Self Discovery, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Mental Health

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Doctor Sleep is a 2013 horror novel by Stephen King. It is a sequel to the events that occurred in King’s popular novel The Shining and features the return of Danny Torrance. Decades after the horrors at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance must now reckon with the renewed threat of the spirits. When the novel begins, the dead woman from the Overlook’s Room 217 has returned and threatens Danny in his bathroom. King uses this... Read Doctor Sleep Summary

Doll Bones

by Holly Black

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Coming of Age, Family, Nostalgia, Childhood & Youth

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Religion & Spirituality

Doll Bones (2013) is a middle grade novel written by Holly Black and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. It blends gothic, horror, and fantasy elements. The novel follows three friends, Zach, Poppy, and Alice, as their make-believe games take a turn for the supernatural, sending them on an eerie quest to return a haunted doll to a gravesite before it wreaks havoc on their lives. The novel explores the challenges of growing up and the strain... Read Doll Bones Summary

Dolly All the Time

by Annabel Monaghan

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Love, Family, Social Class

Tags Romance, Contemporary Literature

Dolly All the Time (2026) is a contemporary romance novel by New York Times best-selling author Annabel Monaghan. Monaghan is known for her popular romance novels, including Nora Goes Off Script, a Reese’s Book Club selection, and Same Time Next Summer. Set in the fictional Rhode Island seaside town of Whitfield, Dolly All the Time follows 39-year-old single mother Dolly Brick, who spends her life solving problems for everyone around her. When a fire at... Read Dolly All the Time Summary

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Publication year 1848

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Death, Place, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature

British author Charles Dickens, a notable figure in the canon of modern English literature, is a Victorian novelist famous for such stories as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol. A prolific author who blends sentiment, comedy, and social realism with a satiric edge, Dickens was enormously popular in his lifetime and deeply influential in the development of the English novel. Dombey and Son is considered one of his more mature if less popular... Read Dombey and Son Summary

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight

by Alexandra Fuller

Publication year 2001

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Shame & Pride, Race, Childhood & Youth, Place, Family, Colonialism, War, Indigenous Identity

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (2002) is a memoir by Alexandra Fuller. Fuller recounts her childhood during the tumultuous years of the Rhodesian Bush War and life in post-independence Southern Africa. The author details her family‘s tragedies against the backdrop of political upheaval and social change as they settle on a series of struggling farms in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia), Malawi, and Zambia. The memoir was a New York Times Notable Book for... Read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Summary