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 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family
Tags Education, Education, Asian Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction
The Gangster We Are All Looking For, published in 2003, is a novel that takes the reader through the life of a young, unnamed girl—whom we will call “the Girl”—and her family, who have fled Vietnam in the wake of the war with America to live in San Diego, California. The book draws upon author lê thi diêm thúy’s own experience as a Vietnamese refugee in America. The story begins with the Girl leaving Vietnam... Read The Gangster We Are All Looking For Summary
Publication year 1794
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Lyric Poem, Religion / Spirituality, History: World, British Literature
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Irish Literature
The Gathering by Anne Enright is a novel about family history, grief, and the ways we learn to live with our pasts. Published in 2007, The Gathering was awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The Gathering is Anne Enright’s fourth novel. Enright is the author of seven novels and is a major figure in contemporary Irish literature. This guide is based on the following 2007 Black Cat edition of The Gathering.Content Warning: This guide summarizes... Read The Gathering Summary
Publication year 1986
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem
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 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Fantasy, Children's Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Action / Adventure
The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a 2016 fantasy novel for middle school readers by American author Kelly Barnhill. The story follows a young girl named Luna, who is accidentally enmagicked as a baby. As Luna grows, she struggles to recover important things she has lost: her memories, her mother, and her magic. With rich, lyrical language and gentle humor, Barnhill creates a fairytale-like world very different from ours, but one that faces similar... Read The Girl Who Drank the Moon Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die is a thriller/suspense novel by New York Times-bestselling author April Henry. Published in 2013, the novel involves a 16-year-old protagonist who wakes up in a cabin in the woods. She has no recollection of who she is or how she’s ended up in the cabin. There are obvious signs that she’s been tortured, and she overhears that she is going to be killed. With this beginning, The Girl... Read The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction
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: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags History: World
Publication year 1984
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags History: U.S., Military / War, WWII / World War II, History: World, Biography
“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II was published in 1984 and received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction the following year. Written by Studs Terkel, the book is still considered a classic of oral history. Unlike traditional history, which tends to rely on written records and other material artifacts like works of art and literature or archaeological remains, oral histories collect information about past events through interviews with individuals who were... Read The Good War Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s 2012 novel, The Great Unexpected, follows the relationship between two best friends, Naomi Deane and Lizzie Scatterding, both orphans who know little about their families. They have felt heartache and loss, though these experiences impact them in contrasting ways: Lizzie is talkative and enthusiastic, while Naomi is guarded and anxious. In a discussion of her inspiration for the text, Creech recounts her realization that when faced with the unexpected, children... Read The Great Unexpected Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2020
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Holocaust, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1830
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Race / Racism, History: European, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction, Biography
Publication year 1998
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction
The Hours is a 1998 novel by the American author Michael Cunningham. It is an homage to Virginia Woolf’s 1923 novel Mrs. Dalloway (of which the working title was “The Hours”). Mimicking Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness narrative style, Cunningham re-situates her characters and themes within a modern context, making them his own. The story follows three different women, in three different decades, affected by Mrs. Dalloway over the course of one June day in each of their... Read The Hours Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Place, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Fear
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Mental Illness, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Grief / Death, Addiction / Substance Abuse
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, LGBTQ, Asian Literature, History: World
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Mothers
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Love / Sexuality, Romance