Mortality & Death

"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.

For the Sake of Elena

by Elizabeth George

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Regret, Disability, Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Death, Social Class

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Elizabeth George’s For the Sake of Elena (1992) is the fifth novel in her internationally bestselling Inspector Lynley mystery series. The British-style detective novel follows Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, as they are called to Cambridge University to investigate the brutal murder of a deaf undergraduate, Elena Weaver. As they delve into the victim’s complex life, the detectives must navigate the insular world of academia, fraught with personal secrets... Read For the Sake of Elena Summary

Four Perfect Pebbles

by Lila Perl, Marion Blumenthal Lazan

Publication year 1996

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Grief, Hope, Love, Race, Death, The Past, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags World War II, Holocaust

Four Perfect Pebbles is a Holocaust memoir written by Marion Blumenthal Lazan and co-authored by Lila Perl. It was originally published in 1996, 51 years after Marion and her family were liberated from the death train by Russian troops in Nazi Germany. Marion was five years old when she and her family moved to a refugee camp in Holland, which was later converted into a transit camp for Auschwitz. The Blumenthals also lived at the... Read Four Perfect Pebbles Summary

Four Quartets

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1941

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Fate, Death, Aging, Conflict

Tags Lyric Poem, The Lost Generation

Four Quartets is a collection of four poems by T.S. Eliot. The four pieces were originally published between 1934 and 1942, during a period of time in which Eliot’s life was disrupted by the events of World War II. They were then collected into a single volume in 1943. The poems are linked loosely by theme; all of them are about the relationship between people and the divine. At the time of its publication, several of... Read Four Quartets Summary

Frankissstein

by Jeanette Winterson

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Marriage, Social Class, Economics, Art, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary

Full Measures

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

... Read Full Measures Summary

Fuzz

by Mary Roach

Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Animals, Death, Equality

Tags Science & Nature, Animals, Crime & Law, Humor, World History

... Read Fuzz Summary

Games at Twilight

by Anita Desai

Publication year 1978

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Perseverance, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Siblings

Tags Indian Literature, Education, Education, Asian Literature, Classic Fiction

“Games at Twilight” is a short story written by Indian author Anita Desai. It was originally published in 1978 in a collection titled Games at Twilight and Other Stories, which contains several texts that explore different aspects of Indian life in urban settings. That same year, Desai was nominated for the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and the Sahitya Akademi Award for her novel Fire on the Mountain. “Games at Twilight” focuses on a young boy who... Read Games at Twilight Summary

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

by Talia Hibbert

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Friendship, Art, Forgiveness, Animals, Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Love, Hate & Anger, Grief, Fear, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope

Tags Romance, Humor, Health, British Literature, Disability, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Get a Life, Chloe Brown Summary

Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Ghost Story Summary

Gilead

by Marilynne Robinson

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Memory, Family, Daughters & Sons

Tags Historical Fiction, Christian, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction

Published in 2004, Gilead is Marilynne Robinson’s second novel and the first in the Gilead trilogy, which includes Home (2008) and Lila (2014). The story is written as a letter from dying Congregationalist minister John Ames to his young son. The letter is a bittersweet account of John’s life. With a slow, thoughtful pace and intimate tone, John shares past family memories and resolves an old personal grievance with his best friend’s son. As John... Read Gilead Summary

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Publication year 1993

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, The Past, Femininity, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Death, Memory, Science & Technology

Tags Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Biography

Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary