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.

Daniel's Story

by Carol Matas

Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Coming of Age, Family, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Trauma & Abuse, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

Carol Matas is the author of the 1993 novel for young readers, Daniel’s Story, and she published the book in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial exhibit Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story. Like the museum exhibit, Daniel’s Story presents a researched account of what it was like to grow up in Nazi Germany and live through the Holocaust. Before she wrote Daniel’s Story, Matas published two historical novels about the Dutch resistance during... Read Daniel's Story Summary

Darling Girls

by Sally Hepworth

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, The Past, Family, Siblings, Self Discovery, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

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

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David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens

Publication year 1850

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period

David Copperfield is Charles Dickens’ eighth novel. The book was originally produced in serial form between 1849 and 1850, and then published in full in 1850. Written from the first-person perspective of its eponymous narrator, the novel recounts his experiences from boyhood to manhood. Because many of these experiences closely mirror the life of Charles Dickens, David Copperfield is widely considered both a bildungsroman and an autobiographical novel. In addition to being Dickens’ favorite among... Read David Copperfield Summary

Dawn

by Elie Wiesel

Publication year 1960

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Guilt, Memory, Fate, Good & Evil, War

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Military & War, Relationships, Jewish Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

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Dead End In Norvelt

by Jack Gantos

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Coming of Age, Place, Self Discovery, Good & Evil

Tags Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Humor, Life-Inspired Fiction

Jack Gantos is the author of the coming-of-age, historical fiction novel Dead End in Norvelt (2011). The story is partly autobiographical, as it is based on Gantos’s experiences growing up in the early 1960s in Pennsylvania. Gantos gives the adolescent main character his name. Gantos has published many books for children and young readers including the illustrated Rotten Ralph series (1976-2011), a chapter book series about Joey Pigza (1998-2014), and the memoir Hole in My... Read Dead End In Norvelt Summary

Dead Mountain

by Donnie Eichar

Publication year 2013

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Memory, Language, Death, The Past, Climate, Environment, Place, Teamwork, Nation, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Russian Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, European History, Crime & Law, Action & Adventure, Travel Literature

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Death in Her Hands

by Ottessa Moshfegh

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Marriage, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction

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Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

Publication year 1949

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Masculinity, Memory, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Tragedy, Drama, Modern Classic Fiction, American Literature, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Death of a Salesman is a play written by American playwright Arthur Miller and first performed on Broadway in 1949. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play, it is considered by critics to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. The cynical play follows the final hours of a mentally unstable salesman at the end of his career who fails to attain the American Dream... Read Death of a Salesman Summary

Declaration

by Tracy K. Smith

Publication year 2018

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Memory, Grief, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse

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Deep and Dark and Dangerous

by Mary Downing Hahn

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Memory, Death

Tags Horror & Suspense, Relationships, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

Mary Downing Hahn’s Deep and Dark and Dangerous, published in 2007 by Clarion Books, is one of numerous stories in the American artist and former librarian’s extensive catalogue. Hahn has published in the historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary fiction genres, but some of her most acclaimed novels are ghost stories—including this one. Deep and Dark and Dangerous was well received by critics and was awarded Missouri’s 2010 Mark Twain Award for the best book for... Read Deep and Dark and Dangerous Summary

Direbound

by Sable Sorensen

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hope, Love, Memory, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, Fantasy

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Displacement

by Kiku Hughes

Publication year 2020

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Race, Community, Coming of Age, Memory

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Fantasy, World War II, Children`s Literature, World History

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Doctor Sleep

by Stephen King

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Death, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Good & Evil, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Order & Chaos, Community, Power & Greed, Self Discovery, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Mental Health

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Doctor Sleep is a 2013 horror novel by Stephen King. It is a sequel to the events that occurred in King’s popular novel The Shining and features the return of Danny Torrance. Decades after the horrors at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance must now reckon with the renewed threat of the spirits. When the novel begins, the dead woman from the Overlook’s Room 217 has returned and threatens Danny in his bathroom. King uses this... Read Doctor Sleep Summary

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight

by Alexandra Fuller

Publication year 2001

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Shame & Pride, Race, Childhood & Youth, Place, Family, Colonialism, War, Indigenous Identity

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (2002) is a memoir by Alexandra Fuller. Fuller recounts her childhood during the tumultuous years of the Rhodesian Bush War and life in post-independence Southern Africa. The author details her family‘s tragedies against the backdrop of political upheaval and social change as they settle on a series of struggling farms in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia), Malawi, and Zambia. The memoir was a New York Times Notable Book for... Read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Summary

Do You Remember?

by Freida McFadden

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Death, Friendship, Marriage, Self Discovery, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Psychological Fiction, Horror & Suspense

... Read Do You Remember? Summary