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.

Tornado

by Betsy Byars

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Climate, Place, Family, Fathers, Siblings

Tags Animals, Realistic Fiction

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To the Lighthouse

by Virginia Woolf

Publication year 1927

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Memory, Art

Tags Classic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Social Class, Modernism, British Literature, The Bloomsbury Group, Arts & Culture, Education, Education, World History

Virginia Woolf’s Modernist classic To the Lighthouse was published in May 1927 by Hogarth Press, the publishing house founded by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard Woolf in 1917. The Modern Library placed To the Lighthouse on its list of the 20th century’s best English-language novels. The three-part novel, which is written entirely in Woolf’s own stream-of-consciousness literary style, marks To the Lighthouse as a seminal work of Modernism. Woolf herself described To the Lighthouse... Read To the Lighthouse Summary

Train Dreams

by Denis Johnson

Publication year 2002

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Grief, Memory, Regret, The Past, Environment

Tags Historical Fiction, American Literature, World History, Western

Set mainly in the early 1900s, Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella, Train Dreams, presents snapshots in the life of Robert Grainier, a laborer in the Northwest frontier. Working in the logging and railroad industries while living a remote life in the wilderness, Grainier navigates a harsh world while contending with grief. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2012, Train Dreams tackles themes including Industrial Progress and the Erosion of Wilderness, The Symbiosis of... Read Train Dreams Summary

Travels With Charley

by John Steinbeck

Publication year 1962

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Place, Fear, Hope, Nostalgia, Memory, Masculinity, Aging, Future, The Past, Self Discovery, Beauty, Justice, Language, Community

Tags Travel Literature, Action & Adventure, American Literature, Animals, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Classic Fiction, Biography

Published in 1962, Travels With Charley: In Search of America is a narrative travelogue by John Steinbeck. The book follows a cross-country road trip the author took with his dog, a brown poodle named Charley. They travel in a camper-style pickup truck named Rosinante, which Steinbeck had custom built for the trip. Steinbeck embarked on the journey because he felt disconnected from the larger picture of American life after years of living in New York... Read Travels With Charley Summary

Tropesick

by Lauren Okie

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Forgiveness, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Death, The Past, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Romance, Contemporary Literature

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Turtle in Paradise

by Jennifer L. Holm

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Fear, Apathy, Memory, Regret, Childhood & Youth, Environment, Plants, Food, Community, Economics, Appearance & Reality, Social Class, Literature, Art, Music, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Friendship, Grandparents, Mothers

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Great Depression, Animals, Realistic Fiction, World History

Turtle in Paradise is a 2010 historical fiction children’s novel by Jennifer L. Holm. Set in the Florida Keys during the Great Depression, the novel follows an 11-year-old girl’s struggles and successes as she visits her aunt and cousins in the town where her mother grew up. The novel won the Golden Kite Award and is a Newbery Honor Book as well as a Junior Library Guild selection. Other works by this author include The... Read Turtle in Paradise Summary

Two Kinds

by Amy Tan

Publication year 1989

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Grief, Memory, Family

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

“Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is a short story from the collection The Joy Luck Club, which was originally published in 1989. The full short story collection was adapted for film as the eponymous Joy Luck Club in 1993. Amy Tan and Ronald Bass adapted the screenplay. The series portrays first and second-generation Chinese immigrants living out the “American dream” in current day Chinatown, San Francisco. Through a series of 16 linked stories, four women... Read Two Kinds Summary

Ubik

by Philip K. Dick

Publication year 1969

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory

Tags Science Fiction

Ubik is a science-fiction novel published in 1969 by the American writer Philip K. Dick. Set in 1992, the book exists in a future in which telepathy has emerged as a common tool for corporate espionage. Moreover, technology exists that allows the recently deceased to be suspended for long periods of time in a state of hibernation known as “half-life.” Among other accolades, Time magazine selected Ubik as one of the 100 greatest novels published... Read Ubik Summary

Unlikely Animals

by Annie Hartnett

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Family, Community, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Memory, Mental Health, Death, The Past, Animals, Environment, Fathers, Siblings

Tags Magical Realism, Humor, Animals, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy

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V.

by Thomas Pynchon

Publication year 1963

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Order & Chaos, Apathy, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Disability, The Past, Future, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Fathers, Colonialism, War, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags American Literature, Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, European History, US History, Military & War, Crime & Law, Postmodernism, Post-War Era

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Vanishing Acts

by Jodi Picoult

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Truth & Lies, Love, Memory

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Vanishing Acts is a 2005 domestic and psychological novel by Jodi Picoult. The story follows Delia Hopkins as she struggles to deal with the aftermath of her father’s arrest and trial for kidnapping her 28 years prior. The story cycles through multiple narrators who all share their story in first person, both in the present and through flashbacks. The story examines memory, the effect of lies, internal family struggles, and determining self-identity.This guide refers to... Read Vanishing Acts Summary

Vietgone

by Qui Nguyen

Publication year 2015

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Love, Memory, Regret, Language, Race, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Immigration, Nation, War, Fate, Justice, Music, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Drama, Comedy & Satire, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Humor

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Voyager

by Diana Gabaldon

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Environment, Family, Marriage, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction

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