Fate

Richard Flanagan’s 2014 novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North won the Man Booker Prize for fiction. It is an examination of the consequences of war, regret, loneliness, adultery, and love. The book unfolds through brief chapters that span five parts and multiple decades. The experiences of the men in the WWII Japanese POW camp mirror those of Richard Flanagan’s father, who was himself a prisoner of war. Although the novel has many characters—even... Read The Narrow Road to the Deep North Summary

The Night Circus tells the story of the rivalry between two different forms of magic—the old and the new—and the competition and love affair between two young magicians who are destined to face each other in a magical duel to the death.The novel opens in 1873, as five year-old Celia Bowen is left at the office of Prospero the Entertainer, her estranged magician father, after her mother’s suicide. Though Prospero does not wish to raise... Read The Night Circus Summary

... Read The Octopus Summary

Book DetailsThe Odyssey is a classic ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer. Often referred to as the beginning of Western literature, The Odyssey draws on conceits and concepts from Near Eastern epics, most notably the Homecoming Husband. The narrative revolves around the restoration of a family after a prolonged separation, exploring themes of The Importance of Home and Family, Reciprocity as Virtue and Obligation, and the Intersection of Fate, the Gods, and Human Choices... Read The Odyssey Summary

... Read The Odyssey Summary

... Read The Once and Future Witches Summary

... Read The One Summary

... Read The Only Plane in the Sky Summary

The prolific American writer, poet, and journalist Stephen Crane is the author of “The Open Boat.” He published his short story in 1897 after surviving a shipwreck earlier in the year. To cover the brewing war between Cuba and its colonizer, Spain, Crane boarded the Commodore as 1896 turned into 1897. The ship sank, and Crane and others endured a day and a half on a tiny lifeboat. Before publishing his fictional account of the... Read The Open Boat Summary

... Read The Open Society and Its Enemies Summary

Mary Lawson’s 2016 novel, The Other Side of the Bridge, tells the dual stories of Arthur and Ian, two men separated by a generation but in love with the same woman: Arthur’s wife, Laura.Odd-numbered chapters are told from the point-of-view of Ian Christopherson, the son of a doctor who takes a job on Arthur Dunn’s farm, chiefly to be near Laura Dunn. Even-numbered chapters follow Arthur Dunn. The older of the two Dunn brothers, Arthur... Read The Other Side of the Bridge Summary

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (2010) is a narrative nonfiction story that chronicles the lives of two young black men who share the same name: Wes Moore. The author was inspired to write this story because of this fact and their similar start in Baltimore, Maryland. While one Wes Moore was sentenced to life in prison, the writer Wes Moore became a Rhodes Scholar and a best-selling author. Moore’s purpose in writing... Read The Other Wes Moore Summary

“The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” a short story by American author Bret Harte, showcases the customs and dialect of American Western Regionalism. As one of the first American writers to popularize Regionalism, Harte paved the way for other writers in this movement. Originally written in 1869 and published in The Overland Monthly, the literary magazine of which Harte was the pioneering editor, the story thematically employs gambling terminology to depict the choices humans face when... Read The Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary

Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Overcoat” is one of the best-known and most anthologized examples of Russian fiction. Numerous authors have cited “The Overcoat” as influencing Russian surrealism, short fiction, and satire. In 1941, the Russian American author Vladimir Nabokov referred to “The Overcoat” as “the greatest short story ever written” (Nabokov, Vladimir. “The Art of Translation.” The New Republic, 4 Aug. 1941). Likewise, one of the most famous apocryphal sayings in Russian literature (attributed... Read The Overcoat Summary

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s 2008 novel, The Palace of Illusions, is a retelling of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. Divakaruni is also the author of short story collection Arranged Marriage (1995) and novels Sister of My Heart (1999) and One Amazing Thing (2009). The Palace of Illusions is narrated from the point of view of Panchaali, a princess who is born from fire. Her brother, Dhri, is born this way as well. They inhabit a world... Read The Palace of Illusions Summary

... Read The Paris Daughter Summary

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, first published in 2014, is the debut novel by Afghan-American novelist Nadia Hashimi. Set in Kabul in 2007, it centers on a girl named Rahima and her sisters, who struggle in a family run by their drug-addicted father, Arif. With no brothers, their ability to leave the house, attend school, or earn money is limited. Rahima finds hope in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows her to... Read The Pearl That Broke Its Shell Summary

... Read The People Could Fly Summary

... Read The Perfumist of Paris Summary

Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory (originally published in 1940) recounts the tragic story of the whisky priest. His religion has been outlawed, his faith shattered, and his history—like his name—all but erased. He’s relentlessly pursued by the lieutenant, whose secular beliefs are as passionate as others’ spiritual beliefs. The priest’s mere presence endangers those he once served, and he constantly struggles to fulfill his duty to bring comfort and absolution to others at... Read The Power and the Glory Summary