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.

Vanishing Acts

by Jodi Picoult

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Truth & Lies, Love, Memory

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Vanishing Acts is a 2005 domestic and psychological novel by Jodi Picoult. The story follows Delia Hopkins as she struggles to deal with the aftermath of her father’s arrest and trial for kidnapping her 28 years prior. The story cycles through multiple narrators who all share their story in first person, both in the present and through flashbacks. The story examines memory, the effect of lies, internal family struggles, and determining self-identity.This guide refers to... Read Vanishing Acts Summary

Vicious

by L. J. Shen

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Love, Revenge, Coming of Age, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, New Adult

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Voices from Chernobyl

by Svetlana Alexievich

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, Economics, Death, Grief, Environment

Tags European History, Journalism, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Agriculture, Business & Economics, Food, Education, Grief & Death, World History, Military & War, Poverty, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Russian Literature, Biography

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich is a collection of 35 first-person oral accounts of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union. Originally published in Russian in 1997, the book was translated into English by Keith Gessen in 2005; it has been translated into almost every European language. Alexievich, a Belarusian investigative journalist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for Voices from Chernobyl in... Read Voices from Chernobyl Summary

Volpone

by Ben Jonson

Publication year 1606

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Gender Identity, Aging, Death, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags British Literature, Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, Jacobean Era, Drama, Classical Period

Volpone is a comedic play by English playwright Ben Jonson, written in 1605-06 and first performed by the King’s Men at the Globe Theatre the same year. The play was first published in a quarto in 1607 and then in an official folio, The Workes of Benjamin Jonson, in 1616. Volpone, like Jonson’s other popular works, is a satire that comments on The Corrupting Power of Greed,     The Moral Impact of Performance, and Seeking Justice... Read Volpone Summary

Waiting for the Barbarians

by J. M. Coetzee

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Guilt, Truth & Lies

Tags African Literature, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Historical Fiction

Waiting for the Barbarians is a 1980 novel written by John Maxwell Coetzee, a South African and Australian novelist who was winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. Penguin chose the book for its Great Books of the 20th Century series, and the novel won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. Waiting for the Barbarians was influenced by the 1904 poem of the same name written by... Read Waiting for the Barbarians Summary

Ward D

by Freida McFadden

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Fear, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Friendship

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Mental Illness

... Read Ward D Summary

Warlight

by Michael Ondaatje

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Gender Identity, Family, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Nation, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Coming of Age, Post-War Era

Warlight (2018) is a historical fiction novel by Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. Ondaatje is best known for his Booker Prize winning novel, The English Patient (1992). Part spy thriller and coming-of-age story, Warlight follows 14-year-old Nathaniel Williams and his older sister, Rachel, in post-World War II London. When their parents depart for a year-long work assignment in Singapore, the siblings are left in the care of an enigmatic guardian named The Moth. Nathaniel... Read Warlight Summary

War Stories

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military & War, World War II, Children`s Literature, World History

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Watching You

by Lisa Jewell

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Internet & Social Media, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Watching You Summary

We

by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Publication year 1921

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Russian Literature, World History, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

We is a 1921 science fiction novel by Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin. In the future authoritarian society of the One State, the novel’s protagonist D-503 is the chief builder of a new rocket, the Integral, which is designed to integrate other planets into the One State’s mathematically perfect happiness. However, this plan is subverted when D-503 meets I-330, a woman who encourages him to break the One State’s rules.This guide uses a 2022 independently published... Read We Summary

We Are Water

by Wally Lamb

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Art, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ+

We Are Water: A Novel (2013) is a work of contemporary literary fiction by American author Wally Lamb, who is known for his psychologically nuanced explorations of family, trauma, and moral complexity. We Are Water centers on the wedding of Annie Oh, an artist who has left her longtime husband, Orion Oh, to marry her partner and art dealer, Viveca Christopholous-Shabbas. Set in New England, the narrative unfolds over the days surrounding the wedding while... Read We Are Water Summary

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale

by Philip K. Dick

Publication year 1966

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Space, Masculinity

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Psychology, Technology, Philosophy, American Literature, Cold War, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale is a short story by renowned sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, first published in April 1966 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story is about a man named Douglas Quail, who visits a medical facility which promises to implant fake memories about visiting Mars in his head. The story has twice been adapted into film, though both movie adaptations change the title to Total Recall... Read We Can Remember It for You Wholesale Summary

We Did OK, Kid

by Anthony Hopkins

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, The Past, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Arts & Culture, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships

... Read We Did OK, Kid Summary