Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

The Forest People

by Colin M. Turnbull

Publication year 1961

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Anthropology, Action & Adventure, Education, Education, Anthropology, Science & Nature, World History, Travel Literature

In The Forest People, anthropologist Colin M. Turnbull describes his experiences while living as a friend and observer with the BaMbuti (Pygmies) of the Ituri Forest. He shares the everyday lives of the Pygmies located in the Epulu River region and their interactions with each other and with him. The setting is the Belgian Congo, which Turnbull describes as located in the center of Africa. Turnbull had visited the Epulu BaMbuti in 1951. This narrative... Read The Forest People Summary

The Frozen River

by Ariel Lawhon

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Birth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism

... Read The Frozen River Summary

The Gift

by Marcel Mauss

Publication year 1923

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Power & Greed, Shame & Pride

Tags Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, Business & Economics, Education, Education, Anthropology, French Literature, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

... Read The Gift Summary

The Girls in the Garden

by Lisa Jewell

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Appearance & Reality, Family, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Truth & Lies

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

... Read The Girls in the Garden Summary

The Girl with All the Gifts

by M. R. Carey

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Trust & Doubt, Childhood & Youth

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Grief & Death, Science & Nature, Relationships, British Literature, Fantasy

M.R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts began as a short story (“Iphigenia in Aulis”) and was adapted into a 2016 film for which Carey also wrote the screenplay. The novel, which Carey wrote concurrently, was published in 2014. It is a post-apocalyptic horror tale that fits uneasily into the zombie/science fiction literary genre. While The Girl with All the Gifts incorporates plenty of genre tropes—cannibalism, disease, high-speed chases, feeding frenzies—the core of the... Read The Girl with All the Gifts Summary

The Golden Bowl

by Henry James

Publication year 1904

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Loyalty & Betrayal, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Midlife, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, American Literature, US History, World History

The Golden Bowl is a 1904 novel by Henry James. The novel explores the intricacies of marriage and affairs in the early 19th century through the affair of Amerigo and Charlotte, who were once in love but too poor to marry. Amerigo instead marries Maggie, and Charlotte marries Maggie’s father, a wealthy American museum curator. While Amerigo is at first happy with his new wife, the time she spends with her father creates an opportunity... Read The Golden Bowl Summary

The Golem and the Jinni

by Helene Wecker

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Self Discovery, Community, Immigration, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, World History

Published in 2013, The Golem and the Jinni is Helene Wecker’s debut novel. As its title implies, the novel follows the story of a Golem named Chava and a Jinni named Ahmad as they navigate the chaotic realities of New York City in 1899 and 1900. Even as they both struggle to hide their true natures and blend into their local communities, they learn to trust each other on the difficult path to reconciling their... Read The Golem and the Jinni Summary

The Good Earth

by Pearl S. Buck

Publication year 1931

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Power & Greed, Environment, Social Class, Perseverance, Place, Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Asian History, Education, Education, World History, Chinese Literature

A measure of the quality, prescience, and veracity of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth is that, nearly a century after its first publication, the book remains required reading in literature, world history, and social science courses. The novel is a simple, straightforward narrative about 50 years in the life of Wang Lung, an uneducated farmer in eastern China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While this era period was one of continual... Read The Good Earth Summary

The Government Inspector

by Nikolai Gogol

Publication year 1836

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Guilt, Community, Politics & Government, Truth & Lies

Tags Comedy & Satire, Classic Fiction, Russian Literature

The Government Inspector is a satirical stage play by Russian-Ukrainian author Nikolai Gogol, originally published in 1836 and later revised in 1842. Also known as The Inspector General, the play is a comedy of errors based on a supposed anecdote relayed to Gogol by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In a small unnamed Russian town, a young dissolute government clerk, Khlestakov, is mistaken for an awaited government inspector. Khlestakov uses the situation to his advantage... Read The Government Inspector Summary

The Grass Dancer

by Susan Power

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Colonialism, Family, Coming of Age, Community, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Relationships, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Fantasy

The Grass Dancer (1994) is the debut novel by Susan Power, an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. This young adult novel is part of the magical realism genre. Using a nonlinear structure and overlapping narratives, Power slowly pieces together a story that links generations of Sioux families together in a complex and powerful way. The following material was gathered using a first edition copy of the text.Plot SummaryThe Prologue begins with Harley... Read The Grass Dancer Summary