The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a collection of interconnected short stories that revolve around the experiences of American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Through his stories, O’Brien explores the physical and emotional burdens that the soldiers carried with them during the war and how it affected them. However, the book is more …

“The Testament of Mary” is a novel written by Colm Tóibín that tells the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she reflects on her son’s life and the events that led to his crucifixion. The story is set in the ancient town of Ephesus, where Mary lives alone, still seeking to understand the …

“The Summer Book” by Tove Jansson is a novel that explores the relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter Sophia. The story is set on a small island in the Gulf of Finland where the two spend their summer together. The novel is written as a series of vignettes that capture the simplicity and beauty …

The Metamorphoses by Ovid is a classic work of literature that has been studied and analyzed for centuries. The poem is a collection of myths and legends from Greek and Roman antiquity, each involving a transformation of some kind. The work is divided into fifteen books and contains over 250 individual stories, ranging from the …

The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang, is a novel that has captured the attention of readers worldwide. The book, published in 2007, is a story of a woman named Yeong-hye who decides to become a vegetarian. The novel is divided into three parts, each narrated by a different character, and explores themes such as mental …

The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad is a science fiction novel that tells the story of a post-apocalyptic adventure tale entitled Lord of the Swastika. The novel was published in 1972 and has a nested narrative that tells a story within a story. On the surface, it presents an alternate-history Adolf Hitler who wrote the …

“The Night Land” is a novel written by William Hope Hodgson that was first published in 1912. The novel is a work of fantasy that belongs to the subgenre of Dying Earth. The plot of the novel is set in the far future, where the sun has died, and the world is covered in darkness. …

Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita is a magical realism novel that takes place primarily in Los Angeles and Mexico. The story begins on the longest day of the year and spans the course of a week, covering a magical event that begins in Mexico on the Tropic of Cancer and spreads north to …

Denis Johnson’s novella, Train Dreams, is a haunting and beautifully written tale of a man’s life in the early 20th century American West. The story follows Robert Grainier, a laborer on the railroad, as he navigates a world that is rapidly changing around him. Through Grainier’s experiences, Johnson explores the themes of loss, memory, and …

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth is a novel set in 11th-century Lincolnshire during and after the Norman invasion. The book tells the story of Buccmaster of Holland, an Anglo-Saxon freeman forced to come to terms with the effects of the Norman Conquest of 1066, during which his wife and sons were killed. The novel is …