Power

This curated selection of titles examines the concept of power and its role in shaping society. The texts in the Power Collection draw upon a wide range of literary traditions and genres to explore concepts related to power and its pursuit, such as equality and injustice, colonialism, authority, and conflict.

Becket

by Jean Anouilh

Publication year 1959

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Friendship, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Tragedy, Religion & Spirituality, European History, Politics & Government, French Literature, Modernism, Medieval, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Becket or The Honor of God is a 1959 play by the French dramatist Jean Anouilh. It portrays a fictionalized version of the conflict that took place between King Henry II of England and the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, in the 12th century. The English translation of the play premiered on Broadway in 1960 to great acclaim and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1964.The central conflict of Becket, which ended in... Read Becket Summary

Belly Up

by Stuart Gibbs

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Perseverance, Animals

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Humor, Action & Adventure, Animals, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction

... Read Belly Up Summary

Belonging

by Nora Krug

Publication year 2018

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Guilt, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Race, Death, The Past, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags European History, Holocaust, World War II

... Read Belonging Summary

Blood Meridian

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fate, Safety & Danger, Justice, Order & Chaos, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Wins & Losses, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Fear, Conflict

Tags Western, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Horror & Suspense, World History, Classic Fiction

Blood Meridian, a 1985 historical fiction novel by Cormac McCarthy, is one of the most celebrated works of modern American literature. The novel was inspired by people and events of the mid-19th century in the borderlands of the United States and Mexico. McCarthy’s works have won many honors including the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. Blood Meridian is often considered his greatest novel. This guide uses an eBook version of the 1992 First Vintage... Read Blood Meridian Summary

Blood Over Bright Haven

by M. L. Wang

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hope, Regret, Revenge, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Death, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Race

Tags Fantasy

... Read Blood Over Bright Haven Summary

Book of Night

by Holly Black

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Love, Appearance & Reality, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Social Class, Fame, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Romance

... Read Book of Night Summary

Brain Damage

by Freida McFadden

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Memory, Shame & Pride, Disability, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Midlife, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Friendship, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction

... Read Brain Damage Summary

Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Friendship, Community, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance

Breaking Dawn (2008) by Stephenie Meyer is the fourth and final novel of the best-selling Twilight book series. It is a young adult fantasy romance novel following the life of Bella Swan, a teenager who falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The three prior novels explore Bella’s attempts to assimilate into the secret vampire world with Edward and his family, as well as the love triangle with her best friend, Jacob Black, whom... Read Breaking Dawn Summary

Broken Bonds

by J Bree

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Education, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance

... Read Broken Bonds Summary

Buddenbrooks

by Thomas Mann

Publication year 1901

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Loneliness, Regret, Masculinity, Mental Health, Death, Appearance & Reality, Marriage, Economics, Art, Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, German Literature, World History, Classical Period

Thomas Mann’s novel Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family was first published in 1901 and came to be recognized as a monumental work in the canon of modern literature. Thomas Mann (1875­–1955) was a German novelist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929 for his novels, Buddenbrooks and The Magic Mountain. Mann draws on his own family history to craft Buddenbrooks’ narrative, demonstrating profound understanding of societal and familial dynamics in the... Read Buddenbrooks Summary

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

by Dee Brown

Publication year 1970

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Justice, Politics & Government, Nation, War, Indigenous Identity, Place, Environment

Tags US History, Military & War, Race & Racism, Politics & Government, World History, Classic Fiction

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, a nonfiction history by librarian and historian Dee Brown, was published in 1970 and became a widely influential bestseller. Dee Brown (full name Dorris Alexander Brown) was the author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. As a librarian at the University of Illinois, he had access to the primary historical records from the late 19th century that became the main... Read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee Summary

Butcher's Crossing

by John Edward Williams

Publication year 1960

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Coming of Age, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Food, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Western, American Literature, Historical Fiction

Published in 1960, Butcher’s Crossing is a revisionist Western novel by American author John Williams. The book follows a young Harvard dropout who ventures into the Kansas wilderness in the 1870s on a buffalo-hunting expedition, confronting the brutal realities of the American frontier and the destruction of the natural world. The novel explores themes that include The Deconstruction of the American Frontier Myth, Human Arrogance Versus Nature’s Indifference, and Disillusionment and the Loss of Idealism.Williams... Read Butcher's Crossing Summary

By Night in Chile

by Roberto Bolaño

Publication year 2000

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Memory, Shame & Pride, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Latin American Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

By Night in Chile (2000) is a novella by Roberto Bolaño. The story unfolds as the deathbed confession of Father Sebastián Urrutia Lacroix, a Jesuit priest and literary critic who collaborates with Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Urrutia’s omissions, lies, and rationalizations betray the guilt he avoids until the moment before his death. By Night in Chile explores The Problem of Complicity in Dictatorships, The Illusion of Literary Immortality, and The Past as Mutable and Uncertain.  Bolaño... Read By Night in Chile Summary