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.

Necropolitics

by Achille Mbembe

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Indigenous Identity, Race, Death, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Place, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Philosophy, Social Science, Politics & Government, Sociology

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Needful Things

by Stephen King

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Community, Power & Greed, Conflict, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

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

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New Moon

by Stephenie Meyer

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

New Moon, a young-adult fantasy romance by Stephenie Meyer, continues the adventure begun in the bestselling novel Twilight about a teenage girl, Bella Swan, who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen. When Edward leaves her, she struggles with grief and begins spending time with a boy, Jacob Black, who is a vampire-hating werewolf. Published in 2006, New Moon became a number-one New York Times bestseller and received plaudits for its character development and exploration... Read New Moon Summary

Night, Mother

by Marsha Norman

Publication year 1998

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Death, Aging

Tags Drama, Dramatic Literature, Depression & Suicide, Relationships, Women`s Studies, Education, Education, American Literature, World History, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

’Night, Mother by Marsha Norman opened on Broadway in 1983, earning the Tony Award for Best Play and the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play takes place in real time, with no intermission or breaks in the action, to depict the unrelenting emotional exchange between Thelma and her daughter, Jessie, after Jessie announces that she plans to commit suicide. As Jessie sets her affairs in order, Thelma tries unsuccessfully to stop Jessie’s plan from... Read Night, Mother Summary

No Man Is an Island

by John Donne

Publication year 1624

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Community, Death

Tags Symbolic Narrative, European History, Relationships, British Literature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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No Promises In The Wind

by Irene Hunt

Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Forgiveness, Death, Friendship, Community, Economics, Social Class, Safety & Danger, Childhood & Youth, Shame & Pride, Hope, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Grief, Perseverance, Conflict, Gratitude, Family, Masculinity, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Great Depression, Coming of Age, Food, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, World History, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction

No Promises in the Wind is a young-adult historical novel that takes place at the height of the Great Depression. The first-person narrative tells the coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old boy who leaves home with his younger brother because their family doesn’t have enough to eat. Josh and Joey Grondowski use their musical talents to survive on their own as they travel through a country of angry and impoverished people. First published in 1970, the... Read No Promises In The Wind 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

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NOS4A2

by Joe Hill

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Family, Death

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

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Notes on Nursing

by Florence Nightingale

Publication year 1860

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Teamwork, Perseverance, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Community, Education

Tags Health, Psychology, Relationships, Science & Nature, World History, Classic Fiction

Florence Nightingale was an English nurse commonly known as the founder of modern nursing practices. Born in Italy, she became an experienced nurse and formed many of her opinions while serving in the Crimean War, enrolling in nursing school at age 24 in Germany. She penned Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What it Is Not in 1859, just a few years after serving in the war, and the work was first published in... Read Notes on Nursing Summary

No Two Persons

by Erica Bauermeister

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hope, Perseverance, Love, Coming of Age, Death, Marriage, Self Discovery, Literature

Tags Psychological Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Relationships, Arts & Culture, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Novel Without a Name

by Thu Huong Duong

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Birth

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Asian Literature, World History

Novel Without a Name, first published in English in 1995, tells the story of a young North Vietnamese soldier named Quan whose physical and emotional journey draws heavily from Vietnamese author Duong Thu Huong’s own life. Novel Without a Name is her third book. Other works by this author include Paradise of the Blind, Beyond Illusions, No Man's Land, and Memories of a Pure Spring.At the start of the novel, Quan is with his military... Read Novel Without a Name Summary

Numbering all the Bones

by Ann Rinaldi

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Death, Siblings, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Race, Equality, Justice, War, Fathers

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Life-Inspired Fiction, American Civil War, Race & Racism, US History, Military & War, World History

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