Truth & Lies

Whether exploring the consequences of concealing the truth or excavating the mysterious nature of truth itself, the titles in this collection discuss the intersections among honesty, factualness, legitimacy, deception, falsehood, and lies.

The House of Mirth

by Edith Wharton

Publication year 1905

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Community, Friendship, Economics, Shame & Pride, Nature Versus Nurture, Power & Greed, Beauty, Marriage, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Love, Femininity, Art, Perseverance, Hope

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satirical Literature, Social Class, Gilded Age, Naturalism, American Literature, World History

Set in New York’s high society at the turn of the 20th century, The House of Mirth (1905), was the second novel by renowned American writer Edith Wharton. Wharton drew upon her own privileged upbringing in a wealthy, long-established New York family for her astute observations of this social milieu during the Gilded Age, a period marked by economic disparities and ostentatious materialism. Prior to the novel’s publication in October 1905, The House of Mirth... Read The House of Mirth Summary

The Human Stain

by Philip Roth

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies

Tags US History, Jewish Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Human Stain, published in 2000, is a novel by American novelist Philip Roth. The narrator of The Human Stain is Nathan Zuckerman, a writer, who tells the story of a series of events happening to his neighbor in rural New England in the summer of 1998. Nathan Zuckerman features in several of Roth’s novels, and The Human Stain is considered to be part of a loose trilogy that includes American Pastoral (1997) and I... Read The Human Stain Summary

The Hunting Party

by Lucy Foley

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Fear, Conflict, Forgiveness, Loneliness, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Friendship

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

... Read The Hunting Party Summary

The Idiot

by Elif Batuman

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Literature, Beauty, Education, Truth & Lies

Tags Coming of Age, Life-Inspired Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Elif Batuman is a contemporary Turkish-American author. She received her BA from Harvard University and PhD in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and spent several years in Turkey as a resident writer at Koç University. Her first novel, The Idiot (2017), as well as her collection of essays, The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them (2010), are auto-biographical in nature and focus on life within US academia. Both titles allude... Read The Idiot Summary

The Imaginary Invalid

by Moliere

Publication year 1673

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Love, Family, Fathers

Tags Comedy & Satire, Classic Fiction, French Literature

Le Malade Imaginaire, typically translated as The Imaginary Invalid, opened in Paris in 1673 and was the final play written by the famous French satirist Molière. Molière wrote frequently about doctors, and six of his comedies deal significantly with medical practitioners. The trope of the doctor who is as greedy and as pompous as he is inept—often speaking a jumble of Latin and Greek to prove his intelligence—is a stock character of commedia dell’arte, the... Read The Imaginary Invalid Summary

The Institute

by Stephen King

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Family, Future, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Perseverance

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

Critically acclaimed, The Institute (2019) is the 60th entry in Stephen King’s body of more than 100 works. While best known as a horror writer (and one of the most popular writers since the 1970s in general), King dabbles in many genres, including fantasy, mystery, and science fiction—often blurring the boundaries between them. The Institute is more sci-fi thriller than horror, sharing story beats and themes with King’s earlier novels Firestarter and It: It follows... Read The Institute Summary

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

by Katherine Anne Porter

Publication year 1929

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Memory, Death, Grief, Truth & Lies

Tags Education, Education, American Literature, Classic Fiction

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is a short story written by American author Katherine Anne Porter and first published in 1930 as part of Porter’s short story collection Flowering Judas, and Other Stories. Set in the final moments of the title character’s life, the narrative explores her emotions and memories, as well as her struggle to cope with mortality. Written during the Modernist movement, which sought to break away from traditional literary forms and explore... Read The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Summary

The Kitchen Boy

by Robert Alexander

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Guilt, Loyalty & Betrayal, The Past, Forgiveness, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Politics & Government, Russian Literature, World History, European History

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar (2003) is a historical fiction novel detailing the fate of the Romanovs by Robert Alexander (a pen name for Robert Zimmerman). Although Alexander is American, he spent decades in Russia. He attended Leningrad State University and, afterward, ran various businesses in St. Petersburg. As such, he has personal experience with Russian culture. He wrote several historical fiction novels that take place during the Russian Revolution—including Rasputin’s... Read The Kitchen Boy Summary

The Lacuna

by Barbara Kingsolver

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Sexual Identity, Self Discovery, Nation, Art, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction

The Lacuna (2009) is Barbara Kingsolver’s sixth novel. This work of historical fiction was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the 2010 Women’s Prize for Fiction. The novel traces the life of Mexican American Harrison Shepherd from the 1920s to the 1950s. The son of a dissolute flapper who chases rich men, Shepherd begins to make his way by landing a job working for the famous Mexican visual artists Frida Kahlo and Diego... Read The Lacuna Summary