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.

News of the World

by Paulette Jiles

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory

Tags Western, Historical Fiction, World History, Action & Adventure

Paulette Jiles’s novel, News of the World, tells the tale of 72-year-old Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd and 10-year-old Johanna Leonberger's journey from Wichita, Texas to Castroville, Texas in 1870, and how that journey would forever and drastically change the course of each of their lives.The story begins in Wichita, Texas, in the early spring of 1870, with Captain Kidd hanging posters advertising his reading of the news. He travels the state reading newspapers to people... Read News of the World 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

Nora Webster

by Colm Tóibín

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Death, Family, Social Class, Politics & Government, Art, Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Depression & Suicide

Written by Colm Tóibín, Nora Webster (2014) is a historical novel that follows the titular character, a young woman who is struggling to raise her four young children, process her grief, and reinvent her life after her husband passes away. In 2015, the novel won the Hawthornden Prize, and it has also received numerous other prestigious award nominations. Throughout his career, Colm Tóibín has alternated between fiction and non-fiction, producing works such as Brooklyn (2009), which... Read Nora Webster Summary

North Woods

by Daniel Mason

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Memory, Fate, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Plants, Objects & Materials, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Beauty, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Magical Realism

... Read North Woods Summary

Notes from Underground

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Publication year 1864

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Memory, Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Psychological Fiction, Russian Literature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy

Notes from Underground (sometimes translated as Notes from the Underground) is an 1864 novella by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky was a novelist, journalist, and short story author. His novels are deeply rooted in philosophy and politics and explore the experiences and repercussions of his 19th-century Russian sociopolitical context. Dostoevsky is also the author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. His writing influenced many other writers and philosophers, including existentialists... Read Notes from Underground Summary

Not Nothing

by Gayle Forman

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Friendship, Community

Tags Coming of Age, Children`s Literature

... Read Not Nothing Summary

Oil and Marble

by Stephanie Storey

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

... Read Oil and Marble Summary

Omeros

by Derek Walcott

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Language, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Climate, Environment, Plants, Place, Friendship, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Literature, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Narrative Poem, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Postmodernism

Omeros (1990) by Derek Walcott is an epic poem that reimagines The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer on the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. Walcott explores themes of post-colonial identity and trauma while linking life on the island to Homer’s legendary characters, such as Achilles, Helen, and Hector. Omeros has been celebrated as a foundational work of post-colonial fiction and has won numerous awards. This guide refers to the 1992 Farrar, Straus... Read Omeros Summary

Once More to the Lake

by E. B. White

Publication year 1941

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Memory, Environment

Tags Education, Education, Classic Fiction

“Once More to the Lake” is a narrative nonfiction essay written by E. B. White. The essay was originally published in Harper’s Magazine in 1941. White (1899-1985) was an American author best known for his children’s novels, including Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, as well as his contribution as co-author to The Elements of Style, a seminal English-language writing guide. “Once More to the Lake” recounts White’s experience of revisiting, as an adult, a lakefront... Read Once More to the Lake Summary