Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Grief
Tags Romance, Survival Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure
Guilt
In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, a character remarks, "If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake; that will be punishment—as well as the prison." In other words, guilt is its own form of imprisonment, from which someone may never be released. In this collection explore titles that probe the questions and implications raised by the idea of guilt.
In an Instant
Incidents Around the House
In Her Defense
Intercepts
Interview with the Vampire
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried
In the Distance
In the Garden of Beasts
Into That Darkness
Into Thin Air
I Stand Here Ironing
I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980
It
Iveliz Explains It All
I Will Find You
Jade War
Japanese Gothic
Jar of Hearts
Jasper Jones
Jesus' Son
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Grief
Tags Romance, Survival Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Guilt, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Family, Marriage, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies
Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 2026
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Guilt, Love, Sexual Identity, Family, Mothers, Social Class
Tags Crime & Law, Dramatic Literature, Horror & Suspense
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Science & Technology, Death, Fathers, Guilt, Revenge
Tags Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 1976
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Good & Evil, Death, Apathy, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Religion & Spirituality, Loneliness, Love, Nostalgia, Place, Regret
Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, Arts & Culture, Depression & Suicide, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Philosophy, Trauma & Abuse, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Interview with the Vampire is a 1976 novel by Anne Rice. It tells the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac and his experiences after he becomes a vampire in 1791. Louis’s dissatisfaction with his mortal life extends into his immortal life, allowing Rice to explore themes of morality, love, loyalty, and immortality. This guide references the 2010 Ballantine Books eBook.Content Warning: This guide references the book’s discussion of suicide.Anne Rice ControversyThough her Vampire Chronicles... Read Interview with the Vampire Summary
Publication year 1983
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Death, Grief, Guilt
Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Grief & Death
American author Amy Hempel wrote the minimalist short story “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried” in 1983. The story is dedicated to Jessica Wolfson, Hempel’s friend who died of a terminal illness. Originally published in TriQuarterly, the story appeared in her first short story collection, Reasons to Live, in 1985.The story is written in the first-person point of view, with minimal detail provided about the narrator. The story is presumed to take place... Read In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Siblings
Tags Historical Fiction, Western, Action & Adventure, Immigration & Refugeeism, Modern Classic Fiction, World History
Publication year 2011
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Guilt
Tags Holocaust, Politics & Government, European History, World War II, Military & War, World History, Biography
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson is a non-fiction book published in 2011. It recounts the early years of Germany's Nazi regime from the perspective of the American ambassador, William Dodd, and his family. In Berlin, the family watches with growing horror as Hitler increases his dictatorial control over Germany, rearms the country in preparation for war, and conducts a national campaign of violent... Read In the Garden of Beasts Summary
Publication year 1974
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Guilt, Good & Evil, Justice, War
Tags World War II, Holocaust, Crime & Law, Military & War, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Biography
Publication year 1997
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Place, Guilt, Death
Tags Travel Literature, Action & Adventure, Sports, Dramatic Literature, Natural Disaster, World History, Biography
Into Thin Air is American is authored by professional mountain climber Jon Krakauer. It is a personal account of attempting to ascend Mount Everest, prompted by an assignment from Outside magazine to cover the commercial development of the communities at the mountain’s base. Krakauer’s climbing attempt, which was fatal for several, became the deadliest expedition ever on the mountain. In the book, he reflects on his experience, reporting it as truthfully as possible.Krakauer recalls being... Read Into Thin Air Summary
Publication year 1961
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Femininity, Guilt, Social Class
Tags Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction
“I Stand Here Ironing” was originally published in 1961 in Tell Me a Riddle, Tillie Olsen’s first collection of short stories. Since then, it has greatly impacted feminist scholars and creative writers alike and is often anthologized. The short story is an intimate exploration of one woman’s experience with motherhood between the 1930 and 1950s. Her oldest daughter, Emily, is 19 years old and has been neglected and separated from the narrator due to factors... Read I Stand Here Ironing Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Death, Environment, Place, Family, Friendship, Safety & Danger
Tags Children`s Literature
Publication year 1986
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, Childhood & Youth, Friendship
Tags Horror & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Stephen King’s 1986 novel It is widely considered to be one of the most frightening stories ever written. The book’s cast of characters clash against a monster that can assume the form of their worst fears, in a town called Derry that is itself a source of evil. It examines themes of friendship, family, grief, fear, and memory.The novel jumps frequently between past and present, but the structure of the story told in It can... Read It Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Mental Health, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Race, Coming of Age, Death, Fathers, Grandparents, Mothers, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Perseverance, Guilt, Regret, Masculinity, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt
Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Guilt, Revenge, Race, Family, Globalization, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2026
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Grief, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Death, The Past, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Colonialism, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Magical Realism, Contemporary Literature
Kylie Lee Baker’s Japanese Gothic (2026) is a psychological horror novel that blends Western Gothic traditions with Japanese folklore. The story follows Lee Turner, a university student who flees to an old family home in Japan, believing he has murdered his roommate. Haunted by suppressed trauma, Lee discovers the house is a portal connecting his present to the year 1877. There, he meets Sen, a young female samurai whose family is hiding after a failed... Read Japanese Gothic Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, The Past, Truth & Lies
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Guilt
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History
Published in 2009 and written by Craig Silvey, Jasper Jones is a coming-of-age novel that follows the teenage protagonist, Charlie Bucktin, after he helps an ostracized teen named Jasper Jones dispose of the body of a local teenage girl. Charlie and Jasper attempt to find out who killed the girl, and in the process, they both learn secrets about their own families and the town around them. The novel won numerous awards, including both the... Read Jasper Jones Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Regret, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Mental Health, Death, Future, The Past, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Safety & Danger
Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction
Jesus’ Son (1992) is a collection of short fiction by American writer Denis Johnson, published by Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. It explores themes of The Slipperiness of Time, Substance Use Disorder, and Violence as Inevitability. In the form of a short story cycle, each of the 11 stories of Jesus’ Son is narrated by the same protagonist, who has a substance use disorder and is referred to in the narrative as “Fuckhead”. The book takes... Read Jesus' Son Summary