Books on Justice & Injustice

James Baldwin said, "It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have." In this collection, we've compiled texts that explore the idea of what justice is — and how it can thrive.

The Third Man

by Graham Greene

Publication year 1949

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality, Justice

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality, Social Justice, Politics & Government, Relationships, British Literature

English writer Graham Greene penned his novella The Third Man to work out the finer details of the plot and setting for the screenplay of Carol Reed’s 1949 film of the same name. (In writing screenplays, Greene preferred to work from source material in story format.) Although publication of the novella wasn’t originally planned, the film was such a huge commercial and critical success that the novella was published in 1950.The film The Third Man... Read The Third Man Summary

The Tortilla Curtain

by T.C. Boyle

Publication year 1995

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Immigration, Social Class, Environment, Justice

Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Dramatic Literature, Race & Racism, Immigration & Refugeeism, American Literature

Published in 1995, The Tortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle tells the story of two couples living parallel lives in Southern California: Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher, affluent white Americans with a home in the upper-middle-class subdivision of Arroyo Blanco; and Cándido and América Rincón, undocumented immigrants from Mexico living in a makeshift camp at the bottom of the canyon. Rotating among the perspectives of the four protagonists, the novel explores the inequality inherent in the United States... Read The Tortilla Curtain Summary

The Tradition

by Jericho Brown

Publication year 2015

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Race, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Lyric Poem, US History, Race & Racism, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Justice

“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown is written from the perspective of a collective “we.” This group planted colorful perennial flowers, including aster, nasturtium, and delphinium (Line 1); filmed the flowers they planted blooming; then watched this video on fast forward (“Sped the video to see blossoms / brought in seconds,” Lines 11-12). At the end of the poem, the reader discovers that the collective “we” narrating the poem are Black men, and the sped-up video... Read The Tradition Summary

The Train From Rhodesia

by Nadine Gordimer

Publication year 1952

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Justice, Power & Greed, Conflict

Tags Race & Racism, African Literature, Relationships

“The Train from Rhodesia” is a short story by Nadine Gordimer, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. The story originally appeared in The Soft Voice of the Serpent, her first collection of stories, published in 1953 and used as the basis for this study guide.The story takes place in a train station in an unnamed African village. The station is surrounded by beggars and by vendors selling carved wooden animals. A stationmaster... Read The Train From Rhodesia Summary

The Trees

by Percival Everett

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Justice, Revenge, Community

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter

... Read The Trees Summary

The Trial

by Franz Kafka

Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Justice, Politics & Government, Guilt

Tags Classic Fiction, Science Fiction, Absurdism, Philosophy, Jewish Literature, German Literature, World History, Philosophy

Book DetailsThe Trial, an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, was written in the 1910s and published posthumously in 1925. One of Kafka’s most famous works, it is a nightmarish story where the rules of reality are bent and twisted as the protagonist, Josef K., is prosecuted for a crime whose nature is never revealed to him. Literary Movement & Major ThemesWritten at a pivotal moment in European history, The Trial has become one of the... Read The Trial Summary

The Twits

by Roald Dahl

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Teamwork, Justice

Tags Humor, Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction

The Twits (1980) by Roald Dahl is a fantastical and absurd children’s story about a mean couple and how they are eventually outsmarted by the animals they mistreat. The Big Read listed The Twits as one of the 200 greatest books of all time according to the British public in 2003, and in 2012, the Twits appeared on a commemorative postage stamp. The book was adapted for the stage in 2007, and an animated feature... Read The Twits Summary

The Upstairs Room

by Johanna Reiss

Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History

The Upstairs Room (1972) is a novel based on the experiences of author Johanna Reiss as a Jewish girl during World War II. The novel follows protagonist Annie de Leeuw and her sister Sini as they hide from the Nazis during the German occupation of Holland. Annie’s story, which is told from her first-person perspective, celebrates human resilience and compassion while exploring themes concerning the loss of childhood innocence, the sacrifices people make during wartime... Read The Upstairs Room Summary

The Visit

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Publication year 1956

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Revenge, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Tragedy, Comedy & Satire, German Literature

The Visit, by Swiss author and playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt, premiered in 1956 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich under the German title Der Besuch der alten Dame, or The Visit of the Old Lady. Dürrenmatt’s darkly comic satiric plays are credited with helping revitalize German theatre following World War II. His writing also reveals the influence of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, notably in Dürrenmatt’s use of parables: simple stories using human characters to illustrate a lesson or... Read The Visit Summary

The Warsaw Orphan

by Kelly Rimmer

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Gender Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Nation, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags World War II, Military & War, Historical Fiction, European History

... Read The Warsaw Orphan Summary

The Wave

by Todd Strasser

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Education, Community, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychology, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Psychology, Classic Fiction

The Wave is a 1981 young adult novel by Todd Strasser (originally written under the pseudonym Morton Rhue). A novelization of a teleplay by Johnny Dawkins for the 1981 made-for-TV movie of the same name, the story is a fictionalized account of a 1967 social experiment called “The Third Wave,” which took place at a high school in Palo Alto, California. In the novel, the experiment unfolds at the fictional Gordon High School. The story... Read The Wave Summary