Romance

"The course of true love never did run smooth," wrote William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream—and he knew what he was talking about. A text from this study guide collection might be just the thing to remind you of the bliss and pain of love.

Publication year 1951

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, War, Hate & Anger

Tags Romance, Symbolic Narrative, Latin American Literature, Surrealism

“My Life with the Wave” is a surrealist prose poem written by Mexican poet and author Octavio Paz, first published in 1951 as part of Paz’s collection ¿Águila o sol?. The English translation (Eagle or Sun?) by Eliot Weinberger was published in 1976. Paz’s poetry, essays, and prose frequently underscore Mexican identity, culture, and politics, especially during his time as a Mexican diplomat and ambassador. His travels exposed him to surrealism and existentialism, which had... Read My Life With the Wave Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Love, Literature, Fear, Grief, Hope, Memory, Regret, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, Trust & Doubt

Tags Romance, British Literature

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Love

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate

Tags British Literature, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction

Book Details & Major ThemesNever Let Me Go is a 2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro set in a dystopian version of Great Britain in the 1990s in which cloning technology allows for the mass proliferation of organ donation. Medical problems like cancer are cured because organs are harvested from clones through a state-sanctioned program. The cloned “donors” have their organs taken one at a time until they die. The novel is narrated by Kathy H... Read Never Let Me Go Summary

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

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Love, Disability, The Past, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

Next Year in Havana is a novel by Chanel Cleeton, a Cuban-American writer of contemporary romance and historical fiction. The book was the July 2018 selection for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club and a New York Times bestseller. The novel alternates between 2017, when Cuban-American writer Marisol Ferrera goes to Cuba to scatter the ashes of her grandmother Elisa (Perez) Ferrera, and 1958-1959, when Elisa falls in love with a revolutionary. This guide is based on... Read Next Year In Havana Summary

Publication year 1887

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Colonialism, Social Class, Power & Greed, Politics & Government

Tags Satirical Literature, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Asian History, Politics & Government, Asian Literature, World History, Romance, Classic Fiction

Noli Me Tángere (1887)—which translates to “Touch Me Not” in Latin—is a novel written by Filipino writer José Rizal. The novel tells the story of Don Crisóstomo Ibarra, a young man of Filipino and Spanish descent who returns to the Philippines after a seven-year trip to Europe. Upon his return, and because he is now old enough to better understand the world, Ibarra sees the oppression wrought on the Indigenous population by Spanish colonialism. As... Read Noli Me Tángere Summary

Publication year 1854

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Social Class, Love

Tags Victorian Period, Industrial Revolution, Historical Fiction, Romance, Social Class, World History, Victorian Era, Classic Fiction

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell debuted in Charles Dickens’s magazine Household Words, appearing in 20 weekly installments between September 1854 and January 1855. The novel was later published in two volumes. Dickens heavily edited the novel and changed the title from Margaret Hale to North and South. In the novel, Gaskell draws on her personal experience of being married to a Unitarian minister, a role that brought her into contact with all levels of... Read North and South Summary

Publication year 1817

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Social Class, Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Satirical Literature, Gothic Literature, Coming of Age, British Literature, World History

Northanger Abbey is an early novel by Jane Austen. Though it wasn't published until after her death in 1817, Austen wrote the novel in 1803, intending it as a satire of the gothic novels that were popular during this period. Northanger Abbey follows the life and loves of its unlikely heroine, seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, a naïve young woman away from her family for the first time and trying to navigate the world and the heart—with... Read Northanger Abbey Summary

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nostalgia, Mental Health, Grief

Tags Japanese Literature, Romance, Coming of Age, Asian Literature, Magical Realism, Classic Fiction

First published in 1987, Norwegian Wood is a coming-of-age novel by renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. After becoming a bestseller in Japan, the book was translated into English by Jay Rubin in 2000. Set against the backdrop of the late 1960s, Norwegian Wood tells the story of Toru Watanabe, a young college student who falls in love with two very different women as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his best childhood friend. Told from... Read Norwegian Wood Summary