Memory

In many ways, who we are is shaped by what we remember, yet our recollections aren't always a reliable account of the past. This collection gathers texts that explore the ideas, theories, and challenges conjured by memory.

House Made of Dawn

by N. Scott Momaday

Publication year 1968

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Apathy, Perseverance, Loneliness, Love, Place, Animals, Religion & Spirituality, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Colonialism, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Memory

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Social Justice, World History

The novel House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday, was first published in 1968. Heralded as a major landmark in the emergence of Indigenous American literature, the novel won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. House Made of Dawn blends fictional and nonfictional elements to depict life on an Indigenous American reservation like the one where Momaday grew up.This guide uses an eBook version of the 2018 First Harper Perennial Modern Classics (50th Anniversary)... Read House Made of Dawn Summary

House of Glass

by Sarah Pekkanen

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Appearance & Reality, Family, Good & Evil, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

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

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House of Stairs

by William Sleator

Publication year 1974

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Memory, Teamwork, Politics & Government, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy

House of Stairs, written by William Sleator and published in 1974, is a young adult science fiction classic whose title is inspired by M. C. Escher’s famous lithograph print. The novel explores the social and emotional effects of authoritarianism by placing five teenage protagonists in an enclosed location filled only with endless staircases. Prompted by a strange machine, the main characters undergo a psychological experiment that tests the limits of their morality and sense of... Read House of Stairs Summary

How I Met My Husband

by Alice Munro

Publication year 1974

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Coming of Age

Tags Romance, Coming of Age, Social Class, Gender & Feminism, Love & Sexuality, Post-War Era, World History, Historical Fiction, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction

“How I Met My Husband” is a short story by Alice Munro. It appeared in her 1974 collection Something I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You. Munro's other works include the collection Runaway (2003) and the novel Dear Life (2012). This guide is based on the Vintage eBook edition of the collection, published in 2014.Fifteen-year-old Edie comes of age in postwar rural Canada. She is from a large, farming family. When she fails high school, she... Read How I Met My Husband Summary

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

by Julia Alvarez

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Siblings, Race, Immigration, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is Julia Alvarez’s debut novel and was influenced by her experiences as a young girl living in the Dominican Republic. While the novel’s Garcia girls were born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York, Alvarez was born in New York and immigrated to the Dominican Republic. Like other Alvarez novels, this book explores the tensions and difficulties that immigrants experience throughout their lives. It also provides... Read How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents Summary

How the Light Gets In

by Louise Penny

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Revenge, Forgiveness, Memory, Fear, Conflict

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Leadership

Published by Minotaur Books in 2013, How the Light Gets In is the ninth book in Louise Penny’s bestselling Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series. The series is famous for its heroic protagonist, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the head of the homicide division at the Sûreté du Québec. The novel comprises of three narratives: the murder of Constance Ouellet, the internal conflict at the Sûreté, and the mysterious death of a clerk at the Ministry of... Read How the Light Gets In Summary

How to Be Both

by Ali Smith

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Grief, Love, Memory, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Self Discovery, Social Class, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+

How to be Both is a 2014 novel by Scottish author Ali Smith. The narrative explores common threads of grief, identity, and memory from the perspectives of recently bereaved 16-year-old English schoolgirl George and a character named Francescho, inspired by the real 15th-century Italian artist Francesco del Cossa. The book, exploring themes such as The Impact of Grief on Personality, Ambiguity as an Inescapable Feature of Life, and Everyday Resistance to Injustice, was a critical... Read How to Be Both Summary

How to Seal Your Own Fate

by Kristen Perrin

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Memory, Revenge, Death, Family, Social Class, Justice

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction

Kristen Perrin’s How to Seal Your Own Fate (2025) is the second installment in the Castle Knoll Files cozy mystery series. After inheriting the sprawling Gravesdown estate, Annie is drawn into investigating the mysterious 1961 car crash that killed three members of the aristocratic Gravesdown family. Guided by a cryptic fortune-teller, Annie uses her great-aunt’s extensive archives of village secrets to unravel a conspiracy of murder and betrayal, solving a 60-year-old cold case. The novel... Read How to Seal Your Own Fate Summary

Human Acts

by Han Kang

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Justice, Politics & Government, Community, Memory

Tags Historical Fiction, Grief & Death, Social Justice, Korean Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, World History

... Read Human Acts Summary

Hurt Locker

by Brian Turner

Publication year 2005

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Memory, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Fear, Grief, Perseverance, Conflict, Safety & Danger, Good & Evil, Wins & Losses, Death

Tags Iraq War

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I Am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Memory, Good & Evil

Tags Science Fiction, Relationships, Science & Nature, Social Class, Fantasy, Romance, Action & Adventure, Religion & Spirituality

I Am Number Four (2010) is the first book in the modern young adult science fiction series Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore, the pseudonym of authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes. Despite the novel’s mixed reviews, I Am Number Four spent seven successive weeks at the top of the New York Times children’s bestseller list. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 2011 by DreamWorks Pictures.Other works by this author... Read I Am Number Four Summary

I Am The Messenger

by Markus Zusak

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Fear, Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Conflict, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Guilt, Perseverance, Apathy, Memory, Love, Regret, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Beauty, Literature

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Originally published in 2002, Markus Zusak’s I Am the Messenger is a young adult realistic fiction novel. Ed Kennedy, the protagonist and narrator, is a 19-year-old cab driver whose average life takes an unexpected turn when he stops a bank robber. After this moment of heroism, he begins receiving mysterious playing cards with cryptic messages that lead him to people in need of his assistance. The novel is set in suburban Sydney and draws on... Read I Am The Messenger Summary

I Cheerfully Refuse

by Leif Enger

Publication year 2024

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Death, Future, Climate, Environment, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Music, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction

... Read I Cheerfully Refuse Summary