Mortality & Death

"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Literature, Social Science, Business / Economics, History: World, Social Justice

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary


Publication year 1915

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature

Tags Metaphysical, Romanticism / Romantic Period


Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Christian literature, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 1982

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Fantasy, Education, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Action / Adventure


Publication year 1827

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Tell Me Three Things is Julie Buxbaum's first young adult novel, published in 2017. Sixteen-year-old Jessie Holmes narrates this contemporary story in real-time over the course of two months, as she navigates the daunting halls of a new high school, a life without her mother, and anonymous messages from a classmate. Buxbaum intersperses Jessie's narration with digital conversations in the forms of text messages, emails, and instant messages (IMs), adding a modern epistolary element to... Read Tell Me Three Things Summary


Publication year 1869

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Play: Historical

“Tennessee’s Partner” is a short story by Bret Harte (1836-1902), an American writer and editor. Harte’s stories about rugged, romantic figures participating in the California Gold Rush have inspired many theatrical and film adaptations and make him an eminent figure in the local color style, a 19th-century American literary movement concentrating on local dialect and experience. “Tennessee’s Partner” was originally published in the Overland Monthly in 1869 and explores themes of The Transcendent Nature of... Read Tennessee's Partner Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Satire, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World

Tenth of December: Stories (2013) is American author George Saunders’s fourth short story collection. Saunders is widely regarded as one of the modern masters of the short story form, and this collection features stories written between 1995 and 2012, some of which were previously published in various literary outlets. The book was a bestseller and was widely praised on release, winning both the Story Prize and the Folio Prize. This guide refers to the 2013... Read Tenth of December Summary


Publication year 1817

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment

Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature, Grief / Death, Romanticism / Romantic Period, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, LGBTQ


Publication year 1945

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Latin American Literature


Publication year 1835

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fame

Tags Classic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, American Literature

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1835 short story “The Ambitious Guest” was originally published in The New-England Magazine. Hawthorne based his story on the Willey family tragedy of August 1826. The Willeys owned a tavern and inn at Crawford Notch in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. That August, a severe rainstorm in the area led to a massive landslide. While the Willey House Inn and Tavern were left intact after the landslide, the family disappeared overnight and... Read The Ambitious Guest Summary


Publication year 1895

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, Science / Nature, Class, WWI / World War I


Publication year 1994

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Mental Health, Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Birth, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Family

Tags Philosophy, Animals, Modern Classic Fiction

Published in 2008, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a New York Times bestselling novel by Garth Stein. It follows the life of race car driver Denny Swift and is told from the perspective of his dog, Enzo. Stein was inspired to write the book after watching the 1998 Mongolian documentary State of Dogs about a dog who is reincarnated as a human after death, and after seeing the poet Billy Collins read... Read The Art of Racing in the Rain Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: New Age, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Relationships, Science / Nature, Social Justice, Education, Philosophy


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Community, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Magical Realism, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 1975

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez debuted in Spain in 1975. The English translation published in 1976. Márquez’s most notable work, One Hundred Years of Solitude, earned him a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 and reflects his distinct magical realist style, an artistic genre first recognized in literature in predominantly Latin American writing during the 1940s. The Autumn of the Patriarch, published seven years later, also features Márquez’s magical style and... Read The Autumn of the Patriarch Summary