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.

East of Eden

by John Steinbeck

Publication year 1952

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Good & Evil, Family

Tags American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Relationships, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality

John Steinbeck’s East of Eden is an American classic. A work of contemporary fiction, the novel was a popular success upon its 1952 publication, quickly rising to the top of the fiction bestseller list. It has remained in print ever since and is still a widely read and well-respected book. Steinbeck published 33 books, including nonfiction, and received the Nobel Prize in 1962 for his contribution to American letters. His most famous works are the... Read East of Eden Summary

Eat a Bowl of Tea

by Louis Chu

Publication year 1961

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Regret, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Community, Immigration, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Asian Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

... Read Eat a Bowl of Tea Summary

Echo Mountain

by Lauren Wolk

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Perseverance, Appearance & Reality, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Poverty, Animals, Gender & Feminism, Relationships, Science & Nature, Great Depression, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, World History

... Read Echo Mountain Summary

Educated

by Tara Westover

Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Trust & Doubt, Memory, Fathers, Family

Tags Education, Poverty, Biography, Religion & Spirituality

Tara Westover’s 2018 memoir, Educated, tells the story of her journey to obtain an education. Westover is the youngest of seven children who grew up in the mountains of southwest Idaho in a radical Mormon family in the late 1980s and 1990s. From an early age, Westover knew that her family was not like other families because hers did not send the children to school, did not visit doctors’ offices or hospitals, and was not... Read Educated Summary

Elatsoe

by Darcie Little Badger

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Revenge, Grief, Indigenous Identity, Family

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, LGBTQ+, Magical Realism, Action & Adventure, Grief & Death, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Elatsoe Summary

Electra

by Sophocles

Publication year 450

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Death, Fate, Siblings, Revenge, Family, Justice, Grief, Truth & Lies, Perseverance, Appearance & Reality

Tags Tragedy, Mythology, Grief & Death, Ancient Greece, Dramatic Literature, Classical Period, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

... Read Electra Summary

Electra

by Euripides

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Family, Justice, Revenge, Siblings, Hate & Anger

Tags Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece, Classical Period, Trauma & Abuse, Dramatic Literature, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

... Read Electra Summary

Elephant Run

by Roland Smith

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Animals, World War II, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure

Roland Smith’s Elephant Run (2007) is a middle grade adventure novel that takes place during World War II. Narrator Nick Freestone tries to escape the war and moves from the deadly bombings in London to his father's teak plantation in Burma. Unfortunately for Nick, the war follows him to Burma, and Japanese soldiers soon imprison him and his childhood friend Mya at his family home. Aided by the ancient monk Hilltop, Mya and Nick set... Read Elephant Run Summary

Eleven

by Tom Rogers

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Coming of Age, Fathers, Siblings, Safety & Danger, Family

Tags Children`s Literature, Animals, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

... Read Eleven Summary

Elijah of Buxton

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Truth & Lies, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, World History

Elijah of Buxton is a 2007 middle grade novel by American writer Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963; Bud, Not Buddy). Set in the 1850s, it follows 11-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first freeborn child of Buxton, a Canadian settlement of escaped slaves, as he makes a dangerous journey into the United States. The novel was a Newbery Honor Book and won the Coretta Scott King Award. Plot SummaryThe story opens as Elijah investigates strange... Read Elijah of Buxton Summary

Ellen Foster

by Kaye Gibbons

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hate & Anger, Memory, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Love, Gratitude, Hope, Childhood & Youth, Death, The Past, Equality, Good & Evil, Literature, Art, Beauty, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Daughters & Sons, Friendship, Family, Fathers, Grandparents, Mothers, Nature Versus Nurture, Appearance & Reality

Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature, Life-Inspired Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Race & Racism

Ellen Foster is a work of adult fiction by US novelist Kaye Gibbons, first published by Algonquin Books in 1987. The novel was Gibbons’s debut, and it won the Sue Kaufman Prize for literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a notable citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Critics praised the novel for its unsentimental outlook and the wry, distinct voice of its protagonist. Ellen, a young girl living in the American... Read Ellen Foster Summary

Eloisa to Abelard

by Alexander Pope

Publication year 1717

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Religion & Spirituality, Conflict, Memory, Guilt, Grief, Apathy

Tags Narrative Poem, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Religion & Spirituality, Age of Enlightenment, British Literature, Medieval, Gothic Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction

“Eloisa to Abelard” is a poem published in 1717 by Alexander Pope. The poem discusses the ill-fated love affair of a real-life couple from 12th-century France: Heloïse d’Argenteuil, a gifted 18-year-old student, and Peter Abelard, a renowned French scholar, philosopher, and poet of the Medieval era who was 20 years older than Heloïse. The poem is a heroic verse epistle, which is a genre first made famous in Ovid’s Heroides. Pope adopts Eloisa’s persona and... Read Eloisa to Abelard Summary

Emily Of New Moon

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Publication year 1923

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Environment, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Beauty, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age

... Read Emily Of New Moon Summary