"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages," said philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The texts in this collection depict happy and unhappy marriages—and those that fall somewhere in between.
Publication year 1978
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Mental Illness, Self Help
Publication year 1887
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Play: Drama, Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Play: Tragedy, Gender / Feminism, History: European, Mental Illness, Relationships, Scandinavian Literature, Naturalism, History: World
Publication year 2006
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature
Tags Psychology, Science / Nature, Health / Medicine, Self Help, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Love / Sexuality
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Mothers, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Society: Politics & Government, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Crime / Legal
OverviewBook DetailsThe Firm is the second legal thriller written by attorney John Grisham. It followed his 1988 debut novel A Time to Kill. The Firm was the top-selling novel of 1991 on the New York Times bestseller list, bringing its author international fame. It focuses on new Harvard Law School graduate Mitch McDeere, who accepts a financially lucrative position with a Memphis law firm that he discovers is embroiled in unethical and illegal activities.Author HighlightsGrisham... Read The Firm Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Politics / Government, Gender / Feminism, History: World
Publication year 1950
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Immigration / Refugee, Religion / Spirituality, Holocaust
“The First Seven Years” is a short story that Bernard Malamud originally published in 1950. The story subsequently appeared in several collections, including The Magic Barrel, which won the 1959 National Book Award for fiction. Malamud’s exploration of the complications of the American Dream for immigrants and the aftermath of the Holocaust make the story an important contribution to American Jewish literature of the twentieth century. This guide is based on the short story as... Read The First Seven Years Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Aging, Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Inspirational, Magical Realism, Religion / Spirituality, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel by best-selling writer Mitch Albom. Published in 2003, it sold more than 10 million copies and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2004, the story was adapted into a made-for-television movie starring Jon Voight. In 2018, Albom penned a follow-up called The Next Person You Meet in Heaven. The novel follows the story of Eddie, a man who believes his life was... Read The Five People You Meet In Heaven Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Natural World: Objects, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance
Publication year 1986
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Historical Fiction, African American Literature
“The Gilded Six-Bits” is a short story written by Zora Neale Hurston and originally published in 1933 in Story magazine. The story explores themes of Sex, Physical Desire, and Marriage, The Function and Morality of Money, and Appearance Versus Reality. Hurston, in addition to being a noted African American author, was also an anthropologist and folklorist. She is best known for her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. “The Gilded Six-Bits” is Hurston’s most... Read The Gilded Six-Bits Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction
Paula Hawkins wrote The Girl on the Train over the course of six months in 2014. Hawkins, an Oxford-educated journalist and writer, drew on her experience as a reporter in London to structure the novel and describe its locations. Drawing immediate comparisons to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Girl on the Train had similar performance, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015, and remaining there for 13 consecutive weeks... Read The Girl On The Train Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags History: World, Arts / Culture, Magical Realism
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1904
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Fathers, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, American Literature, History: U.S., History: World
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
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Siblings, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: The Past
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a contemporary murder mystery novel published in 2020. Foley, an English author, weaves a tale of intrigue, secrets, and betrayal upon the backdrop of an isolated island in West Ireland. Foley is also known for the thrillers The Hunting Party (2018) and The Paris Apartment (2022), among others. Often likened to Agatha Christie, Foley’s novel is a slow-burn whodunit.Plot SummaryMany perspectives compose The Guest List; each chapter jumps... Read The Guest List Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Aging, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage
Tags LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor, Romance
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Economics, Society: Class
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last is a work of speculative fiction released in 2015. The novel is a reworking of her Positron series for the website Byliner: four interconnected stories that were digitally released as episodes over the course of a year, starting in March 2012. The project aimed to recapture the literary tradition of serialization, but the final installment was never released, and the novel is intended to bring things together and provide... Read The Heart Goes Last Summary
Publication year 1940
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Society: Class
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, American Literature, Southern Literature, Southern Gothic
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940) is a Southern Gothic novel written by Carson McCullers, one of the most prominent American literary voices of the 20th century. Set in a small unnamed town, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter captures the spiritual isolation and loneliness of five ordinary people in the deep American South in the 1930s. McCullers is known for her contributions to the development of the Southern Gothic subgenre, and her novels... Read The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Education, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Race / Racism, History: World