Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Alienation
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
A teenage boy's journey of self-discovery, navigating complexities of the adult world.
An angry, depressed 16-year-old (Holden Caulfield) lives in an unspecified institution in California after the end of World War II . After his discharge within a month, he intends to go live with his ... (Wikipedia)
The Stranger
by Albert Camus
A man's journey of existentialism, questioning the meaning of life and death.
Meursault learns of the death of his mother, who has been living in a retirement home. At her funeral, he expresses none of the expected emotions of grief. When asked if he wishes to view the body, ... (Wikipedia)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
An introverted woman's journey to finding her voice, opening up to the beauty of life.
Librarian's note: An alternative cover edition can be found, here, No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills ... (Goodreads)
The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka
A man's transformation into an insect and the surreal journey that follows.
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin". He initially considers the transformation to be temporary and slowly ponders the consequences of this ... (Wikipedia)
About a Boy
by Nick Hornby
A man reevaluates his life when he meets an awkward 12-year-old boy.
Set in 1993 London, About a Boy features two main protagonists: Will Freeman, a 36-year-old bachelor, and Marcus Brewer, an incongruous schoolboy described as 'introverted' by his suicidal mother, ... (Wikipedia)
Dhalgren
by Samuel R. Delany
A post-apocalyptic odyssey of a mysterious city and its inhabitants' attempts to rebuild.
In a forest somewhere outside the city, the protagonist meets a woman and they have sex. After, he tells her that he has "lost something"—he cannot remember his name. She leads him to a cave and ... (Wikipedia)
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
A human raised by Martians must find his place in a hostile Earth society.
The story focuses on a human raised on Mars and his adaptation to and understanding of humans and their culture. It is set in a post- Third World War United States, where organized religions are ... (Wikipedia)
The Caves of Steel
by Isaac Asimov
Detective story set in a distant future, where humans and robots coexist.
A faction of Spacers have come to the realization that Spacer culture is effete, stagnating due to negative population growth and longevity. Their solution is to encourage further space exploration ... (Wikipedia)
Dubliners
by James Joyce
Collection of stories about everyday life in Dublin, exploring the Irish psyche.
This work of art reflects life in Ireland at the turn of the last century, and by rejecting euphemism, reveals to the Irish their unromantic realities. Each of the 15 stories offers glimpses into the ... (Goodreads)
The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
An exploration of the human condition, as a couple travel through the Sahara desert.
The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner. The journey, initially an ... (Wikipedia)
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
A humorous and heartwarming tale of an old man's life journey of redemption and second chances.
"Ove is a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People ... (Wikipedia)
The Moviegoer
by Walker Percy
A young man's journey of self-discovery, as he confronts the meaninglessness of life.
The Moviegoer tells the story of Jack "Binx" Bolling, a young stock-broker in postwar New Orleans . The decline of tradition in the Southern United States , the problems of his family and his ... (Wikipedia)
The Snow Child
by Eowyn Ivey
A couple's dream of a child comes true in the Alaskan wilderness, but with unexpected consequences.
Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart–he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she ... (Goodreads)
Marabou Stork Nightmares
by Irvine Welsh
A young man struggles to make sense of the chaotic world around him.
Roy Strang narrates the book from an (at first) unexplained coma, which he has been in for the previous two years. His life in this state is a miserable affair, surrounded by uncaring doctors and his ... (Wikipedia)
Every Day
by David Levithan
A story of love, identity and acceptance, as a person wakes up in a different body each day.
Every Day is about the story of A, a person who wakes up occupying a different body each day. As described by Frank Bruni of The New York Times , "A. doesn't have a real name, presumably because they ... (Wikipedia)
Notes from Underground
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A portrait of the struggles of a troubled man, exploring his inner turmoil.
The novel is divided into two parts. Serving as an introduction into the mind of the narrator, the first part of Notes from Underground is split into nine chapters: The narrator observes that utopian ... (Wikipedia)
Whatever
by Michel Houellebecq
A man's search for purpose in a world of nihilism and alienation.
"Houellebecq captures precisely the cynical disillusionment of disaffected youth."— Booklist "This boy needs serious therapy. He may be beyond help."—,The Washington Post, Just thirty, with a ... (Barnes & Noble)
No Longer Human
by Osamu Dazai
A young man's struggles with emotional turmoil and suicidal ideation.
Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human , this leading postwar Japanese writer's second novel, tells the poignant and fascinating story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a ... (Goodreads)
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories
by Franz Kafka
A collection of surreal stories exploring the depths of the human condition.
Virtually unknown during his lifetime, Franz Kafka is now one of the world’s most widely read and discussed authors. His nightmarish novels and short stories have come to symbolize modern man’s ... (Goodreads)
Goodbye to Berlin
by Christopher Isherwood
A portrait of the vibrant Weimar-era Berlin, with its array of characters and cultural clashes.
Here, meine Damen und Herren, is Christopher Isherwood's brilliant farewell to a city which was not only buildings, streets, and people, but was also a state of mind which will never come around ... (Goodreads)
The Man Who Fell to Earth
by Walter Tevis
An alien arrives on Earth seeking a way to save his dying planet, but becomes trapped in human vices and struggles to complete his mission.
Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth seeking to construct a spaceship to ferry others from his home planet, Anthea, to Earth. Anthea is experiencing a terrible drought after ... (Wikipedia)
The Fall
by Albert Camus
A man's journey into alienation and despair, driven by a sense of absurdity in life.
The Fall, ( French :, La Chute, ) is a philosophical novel by Albert Camus . First published in 1956, it is his last complete work of fiction. Set in Amsterdam , The Fall consists of a series of ... (Wikipedia)
Lilith's Brood
by Octavia E. Butler
Humanity's struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, amongst a new species of aliens.
Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected – by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an ... (Goodreads)
Kokoro
by Natsume Sōseki
Story of an elderly man's search for companionship and solace amid loneliness and heartache.
Part I – “Sensei and I” As the novel opens, the narrator has been left on his own in Kamakura after his friend, who invited him to vacation there, is called home by his family. One day, after ... (Wikipedia)
The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A diplomat's mission to a distant planet, exploring themes of gender and identity.
The protagonist of the novel is Genly Ai, a male Terran native, who is sent to invite the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen, a coalition of humanoid worlds. , Ai travels to the Gethen planetary system ... (Wikipedia)
Molloy
by Samuel Beckett
A fragmented narrative of a man's journey to find his mother and his own identity.
On first appearance the book concerns two different characters, both of whom have interior monologues in the book. As the story moves along the two characters are distinguished by name only as their ... (Wikipedia)
Letter to His Father
by Franz Kafka
Kafka's exploration of his strained relationship with his father and his own identity.
This is the bilingual edition with German verso, English recto. ... (Goodreads)
A Hunger Artist
by Franz Kafka
A unique artist's exploration of suffering, as he strives to make his art ever more extreme.
"A Hunger Artist" is told retrospectively through third-person narration. The narrator looks back several decades from "today", to a time when the public marveled at the professional hunger artist. ... (Wikipedia)
Under the Skin
by Michel Faber
A mysterious woman's journey of self-exploration and recognition of her own humanity.
The novel begins with Isserley picking up hitchhikers. Gradually, it is revealed she is an alien, originally somewhat canine in form, who has been surgically altered to look like a human woman, thus ... (Wikipedia)
The Best We Could Do
by Thi Bui
A family's journey of remembrance, reflecting on the immigrant experience.
National bestseller 2017 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Finalist, ABA Indies Introduce Winter / Spring 2017 Selection, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Spring 2017 Selection, ALA 2018 ... (Barnes & Noble)
Kingdom Come
by Mark Waid
An exploration of a dystopian future, and the heroes who struggle to save it.
In this Elseworlds story, Superman and the Justice League abandon their roles as superheroes after the rise and strong public support of a superhero named Magog , who has no qualms about ... (Wikipedia)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers
Exploring the lives of diverse characters in a small Southern town, unearthing secrets and desires.
The book begins with a focus on the relationship between two close friends, John Singer and Spiros Antonapoulos, deaf-mutes who have lived together for several years. Antonapoulos becomes mentally ... (Wikipedia)
The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories: The Great Short Works of Franz Kafka
by Franz Kafka
A collection of Kafka's most famous short stories, exploring themes of alienation, absurdity, and the human condition.
Translated by PEN translation award-winner Joachim Neugroschel, The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories has garnered critical acclaim and is widely recognized as the preeminent ... (Goodreads)
The Member of the Wedding
by Carson McCullers
A young girl's struggles to find her identity and connection in the face of life-changing events.
The novel takes place over a few days in late August. It tells the story of 12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams, who feels disconnected from the world; in her words, an "unjoined person." Frankie's ... (Wikipedia)
The Complete Fiction
by H.P. Lovecraft
A collection of horror fiction stories exploring the unknown.
Another excellent edition in the Knickerbocker Classic series, The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft collects the author's novel, four novellas, and fifty-three short stories. Written between the ... (Goodreads)
The House of Unexpected Sisters
by Alexander McCall Smith
A woman's journey of self-discovery, as she uncovers secrets and finds new connections.
Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: A woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from ... (Goodreads)
All the Birds in the Sky
by Charlie Jane Anders
Two childhood friends, a witch and a scientist, grapple with an impending apocalypse.
All the Birds in the Sky is set in the near-future and is about Patricia and Laurence, a witch and a techno-geek . Patricia discovers, when she is six, that she has magical abilities, like talking to ... (Wikipedia)
Adulthood Rites
by Octavia E. Butler
A tale of two alien species, their struggles and conflicts, and the coming of age of one of the species.
In this sequel to Dawn, Lilith Iyapo has given birth to what looks like a normal human boy named Akin. But Akin actually has five parents: a male and female human, a male and female Oankali, and a ... (Goodreads)
City
by Clifford D. Simak
An exploration of the future where technology, nature and the human species must co-exist.
As the tales unfold, they recount a world where humans, having developed superior transportation, have abandoned the cities and moved into the countryside. Hydroponic farming and decentralized power ... (Wikipedia)
The Book of Strange New Things
by Michel Faber
Intergalactic missionary journeys to an alien planet, facing challenges of faith and morality.
A monumental, genre-defying novel over ten years in the making, Michel Faber's The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, ... (Goodreads)
Nausea
by Jean-Paul Sartre
A philosophical exploration of the nature of existence and human freedom.
Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogues his every feeling and sensation about the ... (Goodreads)
Sputnik Sweetheart
by Haruki Murakami
A surreal exploration of love and longing, as two people struggle to come to terms with their feelings.
Sumire is an aspiring writer who survives on a family stipend and the creative input of her only friend, the novel's male narrator and protagonist, known in the text only as 'K'. K is an elementary ... (Wikipedia)
Journey to the End of the Night
by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
A darkly comic, nihilistic journey of self-discovery, following a man into the heart of an absurd world.
Céline’s masterpiece—colloquial, polemic, hyper-realistic, boiling over with black humor Céline’s masterpiece—colloquial, polemic, hyper realistic—boils over with bitter humor and revulsion at ... (Barnes & Noble)
Hunger
by Knut Hamsun
The story of a man's battle against poverty and his descent into near-madness.
The novel's first-person protagonist, an unnamed vagrant with intellectual leanings, probably in his late twenties, wanders the streets of Norway's capital, Kristiania ( Oslo ), in pursuit of ... (Wikipedia)
Citizen of the Galaxy
by Robert A. Heinlein
A young slave's journey to find his place in a chaotic galaxy, discovering the power of friendship and freedom.
The novel is set in the future when the human race has developed interstellar spaceflight and is engaged in trade with a number of alien races. However human slavery has reappeared on some planets. ... (Wikipedia)
The Disconnected
by Oğuz Atay
Explorations of the inner self and the everyday life of a group of university students.
Türk edebiyatının en önemli eserlerinden biri olan Tutunamayanlar'ı Berna Moran, "hem söyledikleri hem de söyleyiş biçimiyle bir başkaldırı" olarak niteler. Moran'a göre "Oğuz Atay'ın mizah gücü, ... (Goodreads)
The Word for World Is Forest
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A sci-fi novella set on a planet where an alien species is exploited by humans.
The Word for World is Forest begins from the point of view of Captain Davidson, who is the commander of a logging camp named Smith camp. Many native Athsheans are used as slave labor at the camp, and ... (Wikipedia)
The Cement Garden
by Ian McEwan
A family of siblings grapple with the death of their parents and the secrets they keep.
In this tour de force of psychological unease - now a major motion picture starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sinead Cusack - McEwan excavates the ruins of childhood and uncovers things that most ... (Goodreads)
The Elementary Particles
by Michel Houellebecq
Story of two half-brothers, exploring the depths of humanity and the emptiness of modern life.
Despite the essentially elaborate scope of the plot revealed in the novel's conclusion, the narrative focuses almost exclusively on the bleak and unrewarding day-to-day lives of the protagonists, two ... (Wikipedia)
Amerika
by Franz Kafka
A young man's surreal journey through a bizarre and dystopian version of America.
The story describes the bizarre wanderings of sixteen-year-old European immigrant Karl Roßmann, who was forced to go to New York City to escape the scandal of his seduction by a housemaid. As the ... (Wikipedia)
The Wasteland, Prufrock and Other Poems
by T.S. Eliot
A poetic exploration of loneliness and despair in the modern world.
This volume brings together three of T. S. Eliot's powerful collections into one. It includes such classic poems as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "Portrait of a Lady," "Preludes," ... (Goodreads)
Ice
by Anna Kavan
A surreal and haunting tale of addiction, obsession, and a woman's search for escape in a frozen, apocalyptic world.
In this haunting and surreal novel, the narrator and a man known as the warden search for an elusive girl in a frozen, seemingly post-nuclear, apocalyptic landscape. The country has been invaded and ... (Goodreads)
The Secret Scripture
by Sebastian Barry
A woman's life story, told through her own words, as she reflects on her life journeys.
The main character is an old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to write an ... (Wikipedia)
The Society of the Spectacle
by Guy Debord
A critical analysis of the commodification of society and the power of the media.
Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative as Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960s up to the ... (Goodreads)
Liar & Spy
by Rebecca Stead
A young boy's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of bullies and friendships.
The day that Georges (with a silent s, named for Georges Seurat ) moves from a house to an apartment with his family, he sees a boy walking two dogs, disappearing into a locked door under the lobby ... (Wikipedia)
Mrs. Caliban
by Rachel Ingalls
A housewife's mundane life is turned upside down when she falls in love with a sea monster. A surreal and poignant exploration of loneliness and connection.
In the quiet suburbs, while Dorothy is doing chores and waiting for her husband to come home from work, not in the least anticipating romance, she hears a strange radio announcement about a monster ... (Goodreads)
The Box Man
by Kōbō Abe
A man abandons his life to live in a cardboard box, observing society from the outside.
Kobo Abe, the internationally acclaimed author of Woman in the Dunes , combines wildly imaginative fantasies and naturalistic prose to create narratives reminiscent of the work of Kafka and Beckett. ... (Goodreads)
The Rebel
by Albert Camus
Philosophical meditation on the individual's search for meaning in an absurd world.
By one of the most profoundly influential thinkers of our century, The Rebel is a classic essay on revolution. For Albert Camus, the urge to revolt is one of the "essential dimensions" of human ... (Goodreads)
Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1
by Karl Marx
Analysis of capitalism, exploring its economic and social systems.
Capital , one of Marx's major and most influential works, was the product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode of production in England, the most advanced industrial society of his day. ... (Goodreads)
Tell Me Three Things
by Julie Buxbaum
A high school student's journey to find comfort and understanding in a new town and school.
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about ... (Goodreads)
Shadows over Innsmouth
by Stephen Jones
A collection of horror stories set in the fictional town of Innsmouth, where dark secrets and ancient evils lurk.
Librarian Note,: Please do not confuse this anthology with the original novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft. Although "Shadows Over Innsmouth" includes the said novella, the book is ... (Goodreads)
The Lost Thing
by Shaun Tan
A boy discovers a strange, lost creature and tries to find its rightful place in a world that doesn't seem to have a place for it.
Set in the near future, in dystopian Melbourne , Australia, The Lost Thing is a story about Shaun who enjoys collecting bottle tops for his bottle top collection. One day, while collecting bottle ... (Wikipedia)
The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories
by Carson McCullers
Collection of stories exploring the complexities of the human condition.
A classic work that has charmed generations of readers, this collection assembles Carson McCullers’s best stories, including her beloved novella “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” A haunting tale of a ... (Goodreads)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect
by Linda Urban
Zoe dreams of playing piano at Carnegie Hall, but instead gets an organ and competes in the Perform-O-Rama.
Ten-year-old Zoe Elias has perfect piano dreams. She can practically feel the keys under her flying fingers; she can hear the audience's applause. All she needs is a baby grand so she can start her ... (Goodreads)
Shine
by Lauren Myracle
A high school student struggles to come to terms with a hate crime that occurred in her small town.
In Black Creek, North Carolina , 16-year-old Cat Robinson's gay best friend, Patrick Truman, is left temporarily comatose from a brutal and discriminatory act of violence. Cat feels guilty for having ... (Wikipedia)
Men Without Women
by Ernest Hemingway
Collection of short stories exploring the lives of men and their struggles with love, loss, and loneliness.
CLASSIC SHORT STORIES FROM THE MASTER OF AMERICAN FICTION First published in 1927, Men Without Women represents some of Hemingway's most important and compelling early writing. In these fourteen ... (Goodreads)
Remember
by Karen Kingsbury
A heartwarming story of love, loss, and second chances. A woman must choose between her past and present love.
Book 2 in the bestselling 5-book Christian fiction series that has sold nearly 2 million copies! A story about tragedy, healing, and the importance of remembering, from Karen Kingsbury, the #1 New ... (Barnes & Noble)
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