Memory

In many ways, who we are is shaped by what we remember, yet our recollections aren't always a reliable account of the past. This collection gathers texts that explore the ideas, theories, and challenges conjured by memory.

Publication year 1987

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Historical Fiction, WWII / World War II, British Literature, Military / War, History: World, Classic Fiction

Penelope Lively’s 1987 novel Moon Tiger is a work of historical fiction. Set primarily in England and Egypt during the 20th century, the novel is a frame story that joins protagonist Claudia Hampton on her deathbed as she reflects on the relationships, memories, and historical forces that shaped her life. The author was awarded the 1987 Booker Prize for the novel. Moon Tiger explores the subjective nature of memory, the difference between lived and linear... Read Moon Tiger Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Colonialism, Identity: Gender

Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags LGBTQ, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

More Happy Than Not (2015) is Adam Silvera’s debut novel. It was well received and marked Silvera’s entrance into the growing field of queer young adult fiction. In the Author’s Note, Silvera speaks about his own sexuality and the difficulty of feeling “wrong” when surrounded by his straight friends. This insight and a deft writing hand have allowed him to produce several books featuring young queer protagonists, such as the acclaimed They Both Die at... Read More Happy Than Not Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: War

Tags Social Justice, Lyric Poem


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Technology, Class


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, British Literature, History: World

Mothering Sunday is a 2016 novella written by British author Graham Swift. Like much of Swift’s writing, it has a psychological bent, exploring the relationship between history and memory. Swift won the Booker Prize for his 2006 novel Last Orders and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This guide uses the 2016 Scribner edition of the text.Plot SummaryIt is March 30, 1924 in the upper-middle-class house of Beechwood in Berkshire, Southern England... Read Mothering Sunday Summary


Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Modernism, The Bloomsbury Group, Education, Education, Gender / Feminism, History: World, Classic Fiction

Mrs. Dalloway, one of Virginia Woolf’s best-known novels, was published in 1925. The entirety of the novel takes place over the course of one day in London, in June of 1923. At the start of the novel, in the morning, Clarissa Dalloway, the protagonist, makes last-minute preparations for her party scheduled for that evening. As the day progresses, readers meet various characters, major and minor, and learn about their thoughts and feelings about the past, present... Read Mrs. Dalloway Summary


Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Music, Science / Nature, Psychology, Health / Medicine, Psychology


Publication year 1918

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Immigration

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

IntroductionMy Ántonia, first published in 1918, is the third novel in what reviewers sometimes refer to as “The Prairie Trilogy” or “The Great Plains Trilogy” by celebrated American author Willa Cather (1873-1947). The other two books, O Pioneers! (1913) and The Song of the Lark (1915) also feature strong female characters from immigrant families in a Great Plains setting but are otherwise unrelated. My Ántonia is considered one of Cather’s most outstanding novels for its... Read My Antonia Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Trauma / Abuse / Violence


Publication year 2004

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Relationships


Publication year 1807

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Joy

Tags Lyric Poem, Romanticism / Romantic Period, British Literature, Education, Education, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Elizabeth Strout’s New York Times bestselling novel My Name is Lucy Barton follows the titular character on a journey of healing. Published in 2016, My Name is Lucy Barton explores the impact of trauma as Lucy navigates her reunion with her estranged mother. Longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, My Name is Lucy Barton was adapted for the stage as a one-woman show featuring acclaimed actress Laura Linney in 2018 and 2020. Strout’s novel... Read My Name is Lucy Barton Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Children's Literature, Action / Adventure, Historical Fiction


Publication year 2007

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Lyric Poem


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy

Tags Addiction / Substance Abuse, Grief / Death, Class, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness


Publication year 1898

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Victorian Literature


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Romance, New Adult, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Love / Sexuality


Publication year 1958

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Free verse, Holocaust


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Western, Historical Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure

Paulette Jiles’s novel, News of the World, tells the tale of 72-year-old Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd and 10-year-old Johanna Leonberger's journey from Wichita, Texas to Castroville, Texas in 1870, and how that journey would forever and drastically change the course of each of their lives.The story begins in Wichita, Texas, in the early spring of 1870, with Captain Kidd hanging posters advertising his reading of the news. He travels the state reading newspapers to people... Read News of the World Summary