"The art of losing isn't hard to master," wrote poet Elizabeth Bishop. Perhaps she meant that we will all face loss at some point in our lives. In this collection, we have brought together texts that take up the universal experience of grief.
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Japanese Literature, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Asian Literature, Magical Realism, Classic Fiction
First published in 1987, Norwegian Wood is a coming-of-age novel by renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. After becoming a bestseller in Japan, the book was translated into English by Jay Rubin in 2000. Set against the backdrop of the late 1960s, Norwegian Wood tells the story of Toru Watanabe, a young college student who falls in love with two very different women as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his best childhood friend. Told from... Read Norwegian Wood Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 1865
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Transcendentalism, History: U.S., American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
Odd Thomas (2003) is a paranormal thriller novel by Dean Koontz. The novel centers on the titular Odd Thomas, a 20-year-old short-order cook who can see the dead, who lead him to their killers. When he begins seeing the dark spirits that he calls bodachs around his town, Pico Mundo, he knows trouble is coming and decides to stop it. The story is told in first-person perspective from Odd’s point of view and is written... Read Odd Thomas Summary
Publication year 1819
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Flora/plants, Natural World: Place, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Values/Ideas: Beauty
Tags Lyric Poem, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Grief / Death, Education, Education, British Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 401
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Classical Period, Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Ancient Greece
Oedipus at Colonus is an ancient Athenian tragedy composed by Sophocles in (it is widely believed) the last year of his life, approximately 406 BC. His grandson, who was named Sophocles after him, first produced the play in 401 BC at the Festival of Dionysus, also known as the Great Dionysia. Along with Oedipus Rex and Antigone, it is one of three surviving tragedies by Sophocles, known as the Theban plays, that retell episodes from... Read Oedipus at Colonus Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family
Tags Class, Modern Classic Fiction, Relationships
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family
Tags Modern Classic Fiction
Published in 2008, Olive Kitteridge is an unconventional novel by Elizabeth Strout that interlinks 13 tales about the people of Crosby, Maine. The novel is a collection of short stories tied together by the unifying element of titular character Olive Kitteridge. The novel won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and HBO created a mini-series of the book in 2014. Because of its construction, Strout’s novel is less about its plot than it is about... Read Olive Kitteridge Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Aging, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Midlife, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Education, Identity: Femininity, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags British Literature, Race / Racism, Modern Classic Fiction
On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Mystery / Crime Fiction, British Literature, History: World
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Holidays & Occasions, British Literature, Christian literature, History: World, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1969
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family
Tags Science / Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Religion / Spirituality, Psychology, Grief / Death, Health / Medicine
On Death and Dying is a 1969 psychological study by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. It is best known in popular culture for introducing the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Kübler-Ross’s work with terminally ill patients inspired the model. She wrote the study as a response to the lack of instruction in medical schools about how to handle the topic of death. It was the very first book written by Kübler-Ross in her... Read On Death and Dying Summary
Publication year 1976
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Language
Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Arts / Culture, LGBTQ, Classic Fiction, Biography
Throughout her life, Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) suffered many losses. Her father died before her first birthday and her mother entered a mental institution when Bishop was only five, leaving her to the guardianship of maternal and paternal grandparents. Later, Bishop’s lover committed suicide in Brazil, prompting Bishop’s return to the US. “One Art” (1976) alludes to several of these prominent losses, though the poem objectively approaches loss. “One Art” defines loss as a special form... Read One Art Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags LGBTQ, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Raised by his mother, Rose, and his grandmother, Lan, Little Dog grows up in a lower working-class neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut, beginning in the early 90s. Troubled by loss and abuse, Little Dog, at age 28, decides to write a letter to his illiterate mother, using it as a method of exorcising his demons, exploring the loss and trauma that shaped his and his family’s lives, and the love and beauty that defines their lives... Read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: Class, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Fear
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Romance, Play: Drama, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Romance, Magical Realism, Travel Literature, Italian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery
Tags Romance, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction