Leo Tolstoy famously begins the novel Anna Karenina with the sentence: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In this thematic collection, we have gathered noteworthy texts that navigate the joyous and sorrowful emotional terrain of the family unit.
Publication year 1962
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Aging, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Play: Drama, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, History: U.S., American Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 1999
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Education, Education, History: U.S., Asian Literature, Chinese Literature
Publication year 1941
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Class
Tags Southern Literature, Race / Racism, Southern Gothic, Education, Education, History: U.S., History: World, Historical Fiction, Humor, Classic Fiction
“Why I Live at the P.O.” is a short story written in 1941 by Eudora Welty, an author and photographer from the American South. The story’s narrator, Sister, narrates her family’s reaction as her sister, Stella-Rondo, leaves her husband and returns to the family’s home in China Grove, Mississippi, surprising her family with a young child in tow. As conflict unfolds among the family members, Sister moves into the post office where she works, seeking... Read Why I Live at the P.O. Summary
Publication year 1995
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Identity: Gender
Tags Fantasy, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Classic Fiction
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) by Gregory Maguire reimagines the central antagonist of the iconic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was published in 1900 by author L. Frank Baum and became central to American popular culture through the 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland. Allusions to the original story recur throughout film, television, and novels. Decades later, expressions like “we’re not in Kansas anymore” or... Read Wicked Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment
Tags Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Music
Tags Romance, Contemporary Literature, Western, Music
Publication year 1980
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Wild Seed is a science fiction novel written by Octavia Butler in 1980. It is sequentially the first book in a sequence of “Patternist” books written by the same author, though it was the fourth book published in that series. These include Mind of My Mind (1978), Clay’s Ark (1984), Survivor (1977), and Patternmaster (1976). Wild Seed takes place over different centuries and continents, beginning in Africa in 1690 and ending in America just before... Read Wild Seed Summary
Publication year 1991
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Politics & Government
Tags History: Asian, Asian Literature, Asian Literature, History: World, Chinese Literature, Politics / Government, Biography
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (1991) is a family history and autobiography by Chinese writer Jung Chang. Set against the backdrop of 20th-century China, in particular the first three decades of Communist rule (1949-1978), Wild Swans appeared in print at an important historical moment. Communism was under siege worldwide. In 1991, the year of the book’s original publication, the Soviet Union collapsed. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist government’s violent crackdown on pro-freedom demonstrators at Tiananmen... Read Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Animals, Society: Community, Relationships: Family
Tags Animals, Realistic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Grief / Death, Children's Literature, Science / Nature
Publication year 2007
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Fame, Self Discovery, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Music, Arts / Culture, Creative Nonfiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Biography, Self Help
Publication year 1919
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Modernism, History: U.S., History: World
Originally published in 1919, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life, is a short story cycle by American author Sherwood Anderson. Anderson drew inspiration from the Ohio town of Clyde, where he spent his childhood. By the late 20th century, many scholars considered Winesburg, Ohio a seminal text of American Modernist literature.Winesburg, Ohio focuses on the people who inhabit the eponymous town at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Among them... Read Winesburg, Ohio Summary
Publication year 2010
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, WWII / World War II, Russian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Food, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mental Illness, Grief / Death, Depression / Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction
Wintergirls is a young-adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson published in 2009 by Penguin Books. Wintergirls is the winner of the 2010 Milwaukee County Teen Book Award and has received several other award nominations. Wintergirls follows the mental health journey of Lia Overbrook as she attempts recovery from anorexia, depression, and other mental health issues. Lia spends the weeks during Thanksgiving and Christmas struggling to gain closure over her former best friend Cassie’s death. Lia... Read Wintergirls Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Disability
Tags Realistic Fiction, Animals, Bullying, Children's Literature
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Family
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction
Wish You Well (October 2000) is a semi-autobiographical novel by crime writer David Baldacci. The book falls into the categories of Family Saga, Coming of Age Fiction, and Historical Mystery and is a departure from Baldacci’s thrillers, which he is primarily known for. Baldacci is the author of more than 40 novels, most of which became international bestsellers. Several have also been adapted for film. His first book, Absolute Power (1996), was adapted into a... Read Wish You Well Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Irish Literature, Literary Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Romance, Mental Illness, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Food
With the Fire on High is a 2019 young adult coming-of-age novel by Dominican American author Elizabeth Acevedo, who won a National Book Award for her 2018 young adult novel, The Poet X. It tells the story of Emoni Santiago, a teenage mother of Puerto Rican descent, and her senior year at a Philadelphia high school. The novel focuses on Emoni’s enrollment in a culinary arts class and her subsequent journey of self-discovery. With the... Read With the Fire on High Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Historical Fiction, Western, Magical Realism, History: World