Loyalty & Betrayal

The texts in this thematic collection organized around the idea of Loyalty & Betrayal range from Dennis Lehane's Mystic River to Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. But each book explores the idea in its own way, revealing the intricate ways we may maintain loyalty at all costs — or test the bonds of family and friend relationships through deep betrayal.

New Moon

by Stephenie Meyer

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

New Moon, a young-adult fantasy romance by Stephenie Meyer, continues the adventure begun in the bestselling novel Twilight about a teenage girl, Bella Swan, who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen. When Edward leaves her, she struggles with grief and begins spending time with a boy, Jacob Black, who is a vampire-hating werewolf. Published in 2006, New Moon became a number-one New York Times bestseller and received plaudits for its character development and exploration... Read New Moon Summary

Nibelungenlied

by Anonymous

Publication year 1200

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Power & Greed, Good & Evil, Wins & Losses, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Conflict, Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Medieval, Narrative Poem, Mythology

Sometimes referred to as the “German Iliad,” Nibelungenlied is a 13th-century German epic poem that combines historical events with German heroic legend. The epic’s poet is unknown—though some clues within the text suggest that he was from Passau, Germany. The epic, which literally translates to “The Song of the Nibelungs” in English, portrays the Burgundians’ historic defeat by the Huns in the 5th century—the tragic result of the mythical queen Kriemhild’s desire to avenge her... Read Nibelungenlied Summary

Night

by Elie Wiesel

Publication year 1956

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Holocaust, European History, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a memoir recounting the author’s experience in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz, Gleiwitz, and Buchenwald during the last two years of World War II. The book was published in France in 1958; a shortened English translation was published in the United States in 1960.In 1944, the 15-year old Wiesel, his father, mother, and sisters were deported from the village of Sighet in Hungary and interned at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration... Read Night Summary

Nightbane

by Alex Aster

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Love, Memory, Appearance & Reality, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

... Read Nightbane Summary

Nine Perfect Strangers

by Liane Moriarty

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, Grief, Forgiveness, Guilt, Love, Family, Community, Fear

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction

Nine Perfect Strangers is a 2018 novel by Liane Moriarty. Set in Sydney, Australia, the novel follows a group of strangers who gather at a wellness retreat to receive treatment from a mysterious health guru. The novel was adapted for a 2021 television series starring Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, and Michael Shannon.Other works by this author include Apples Never Fall, What Alice Forgot, and Here One Moment.This guide uses an eBook copy of the text... Read Nine Perfect Strangers Summary

None Left to Tell

by Noelle W. Ihli

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Hope, Memory, Indigenous Identity, Race, Death, The Past, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Colonialism, Immigration, War, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense

... Read None Left to Tell Summary

Nostromo

by Joseph Conrad

Publication year 1904

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags British Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is a 1904 modernist novel by Polish British author Joseph Conrad. Originally published as a two-volume serial in T.P.’s Weekly, Nostromo is the story of an Italian dockworker who becomes swept up in the political turmoil of a fictional Latin American country in the late 19th Century. An example of modernist literature, Nostromo has been heralded as one of Conrad’s greatest works and has been adapted for film, television... Read Nostromo Summary

Notes on Being a Man

by Scott Galloway

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Apathy, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Regret, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Grandparents, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Education, Immigration, Politics & Government, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Wins & Losses

... Read Notes on Being a Man Summary

Nutshell: A Novel

by Ian McEwan

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Nutshell (2016) is a contemporary fiction novel by British author Ian McEwan. Told from the perspective of an unborn fetus, it explores the relationship between the narrator’s mother, Trudy, his father, John, and John’s brother, Claude, with whom Trudy is having a secret love affair. Just days from birth, the narrator learns that Trudy and Claude plan to kill his father, forcing him to contemplate his own existence and how and if he should act... Read Nutshell: A Novel Summary

Oath and Honor

by Liz Cheney

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Nation, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Politics & Government, US History, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Biography

... Read Oath and Honor Summary

On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Beauty, Family, Marriage, Aging, Religion & Spirituality, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal, Mothers, Social Class, Community, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Siblings, Midlife, Trust & Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Childhood & Youth, Forgiveness, Art, Apathy, Guilt, Equality, Hate & Anger, Coming of Age, Masculinity, Conflict, Education, Femininity, Self Discovery, Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride, Appearance & Reality, Death, Grief, Gender Identity, Hope

Tags British Literature, Race & Racism, Modern Classic Fiction

On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary

One by One

by Freida McFadden

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Marriage, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

... Read One by One Summary

One of the Girls

by Lucy Clarke

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Regret, Revenge, Femininity, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Self Discovery, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

... Read One of the Girls Summary