Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Provocative
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
An exploration of the Obama years, and the racial injustices that still plague America.
"We were eight years in power" was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. ... (Goodreads)
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
by Angela Carter
A collection of subversive, darkly fantastical tales exploring the power of femininity.
Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural ... (Goodreads)
The Portable Nietzsche
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A collection of Nietzsche's most influential works, exploring themes of morality, power, and the human condition.
The works of Friedrich Nietzsche have fascinated readers around the world ever since the publication of his first book more than a hundred years ago. As Walter Kaufmann, one of the world's leading ... (Goodreads)
The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction
by Michel Foucault
Examination of the power dynamics and social constructions of sexual behavior.
Michel Foucault offers an iconoclastic exploration of why we feel compelled to continually analyze and discuss sex, and of the social and mental mechanisms of power that cause us to direct the ... (Goodreads)
A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
A teenage gang's journey of rebellion, exploring the nature of morality and personal choice.
In Anthony Burgess's influential nightmare vision of the future, criminals take over after dark. Teen gang leader Alex narrates in fantastically inventive slang that echoes the violent intensity of ... (Goodreads)
The Possibility of an Island
by Michel Houellebecq
Exploration of existential questions in a dystopian future, through the eyes of an immortal.
There are three main characters - Daniel and two of his clones. Daniel is a successful comedian who can't seem to enjoy life despite his wealth. He gets bored with his hedonist lifestyle, but can't ... (Wikipedia)
The Atrocity Exhibition
by J.G. Ballard
A collection of interconnected stories exploring the dark side of modernity, technology, and human psychology.
Easily one of the 20th century's most visionary writers, J. G. Ballard lived far ahead of his time. Called his "prophetic masterpiece" by many, The Atrocity Exhibition practically lies outside of any ... (Goodreads)
Beyond Good and Evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A philosophical exploration of morality and truth, challenging conventional morality and religious beliefs.
Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil is translated from the German by R.J. Hollingdale with an introduction by Michael Tanner in Penguin Classics. Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's ... (Goodreads)
On the Genealogy of Morals / Ecce Homo
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Philosophical examination of power, morality, and the history of human values.
The Genealogy of Morals consists of three essays exploring morality and its origins where Nietzsche makes ample use of his training as a philologist. These works contain Nietzsche's most thorough and ... (Goodreads)
The Inhuman Condition
by Clive Barker
A collection of horror stories that explore the darkest corners of human nature and the supernatural.
A master storyteller and unrivaled visionary, Clive Barker has mixed the real and unreal with the horrible and wonderful in more than twenty years of fantastic fiction. The Inhuman Condition is a ... (Goodreads)
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
Examining how small changes can produce dramatic effects and how ideas spread through society.
An alternate cover edition exists, here,. The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick ... (Goodreads)
The Island of Dr. Moreau
by H.G. Wells
A shipwrecked man's encounters with a mad scientist's experiments in animal-human hybridization.
The Island of Doctor Moreau is the account of Edward Prendick, an Englishman with a scientific education who survives a shipwreck in the southern Pacific Ocean. A passing ship called Ipecacuanha ... (Wikipedia)
I Spit on Your Graves
by Boris Vian
A young black man seeks revenge on a small town in the American South after his brother is lynched.
Boris Vian was a novelist, jazz musician, jazz critic, poet, playwright, a friend of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Raymond Queneau, Jean Cocteau, Louis Malle, Jean Paul Sartre, and numerous others of ... (Goodreads)
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
by Philip Pullman
A retelling of the story of Jesus and his twin brother Christ, exploring the nature of faith and religion.
This is a story. In this ingenious and spell-binding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told. Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, ... (Goodreads)
Transmetropolitan, Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard
by Warren Ellis
A dystopian journey of a journalist, uncovering the darkness of power and corruption.
Investigative reporter Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of the 23rd Century surroundings while working for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by ... (Goodreads)
Authority
by Jeff VanderMeer
A biologist explores an eerie, surreal wilderness in search of the truth behind a mysterious government project.
John "Control" Rodriguez takes over as the new director of the Southern Reach, a government agency formed to manage a coastal region named Area X. The public is led to believe that the region ... (Wikipedia)
Submission
by Michel Houellebecq
A French professor's struggle to come to terms with the growing power of an extreme right-wing political party.
In 2022, François, a middle-aged literature professor at Paris III and specialist in Huysmans , feels he is at the end of his sentimental and sexual lives – composed largely of year-long liaisons ... (Wikipedia)
Bluebeard
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
A woman's exploration of her husband's dark past, uncovering secrets and shocking truths.
At the opening of the book, the narrator, Rabo Karabekian , apologizes to the arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen..." He describes himself as a ... (Wikipedia)
Tampa
by Alissa Nutting
A teacher's descent into depravity as she attempts to fulfill her twisted desires.
Celeste Price is a beautiful 26-year-old woman who is unhappily married to Ford, an alcoholic police officer with a wealthy family. She is secretly a hebephile , and has constructed her life to ... (Wikipedia)
In the Miso Soup
by Ryū Murakami
A tour guide leads a mysterious foreigner through the neon-lit nightlife of Tokyo.
Twenty-year-old Kenji is a Japanese "nightlife" guide for foreigners—he navigates, gaijin, men around the sex clubs and hostess bars of Tokyo . On December 29 he receives a phone call from an ... (Wikipedia)
Debt: The First 5,000 Years
by David Graeber
A history of money and debt, exploring the roots of our current financial system.
Before there was money, there was debt Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems—to relieve ancient people from having to haul ... (Goodreads)
Exit to Eden
by Anne Rampling
A steamy BDSM romance set on a private island resort.
Welcome to the club to satisfy all your desires. In the Caribbean sun, the champagne flows and the games of pain and pleasure never stop. Lisa is the perfectionist. Elliot, the client. In their ... (Goodreads)
The Book of Genesis
by Robert Crumb
Graphic novel adaptation of the first book of the Bible, depicting the creation of the world and the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, and more.
Envisioning the first book of the bible like no one before him, R. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally ... (Goodreads)
Story of the Eye
by Georges Bataille
A surrealist exploration of transgression, sex, and violence.
Story of the Eye consists of several vignettes, centered around the sexual passion existing between the unnamed late adolescent male narrator and Simone, his primary female partner. Within this ... (Wikipedia)
Crash
by J.G. Ballard
A dystopian novel exploring the surreal and chaotic landscape of a near-future Los Angeles.
The story is told through the eyes of narrator James Ballard, named after the author himself, but it centers on the sinister figure of Dr. Robert Vaughan, a "former TV-scientist, turned nightmare ... (Wikipedia)
The Second Sex
by Simone de Beauvoir
A philosophical exploration of the history, struggles and oppression of women in society.
Newly translated and unabridged in English for the first time, Simone de Beauvoir’s masterwork is a powerful analysis of the Western notion of “woman,” and a groundbreaking exploration of inequality ... (Goodreads)
The Punisher, Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank
by Garth Ennis
Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, returns to New York City to clean up the streets and take down the criminal underworld.
Frank, still depicted as a Vietnam War veteran, reestablishes himself in New York City by taking on the Gnucci crime syndicate. Detective Soap is assigned to "catch" the Punisher; it is purely a P.R. ... (Wikipedia)
The Anti-Christ
by Friedrich Nietzsche
An exploration of morality and its relationship to religion, with a focus on the concept of nihilism.
The reference to the Antichrist is not intended to refer to the biblical Antichrist but is rather an attack on the "slave morality" and apathy of Western Christianity. Nietzsche's basic claim is that ... (Goodreads)
Ecce Homo
by Friedrich Nietzsche
A philosophical treatise on the meaning of life and the power of the individual.
In late 1888, only weeks before his final collapse into madness, Nietzsche (1844-1900) set out to compose his autobiography, and Ecce Homo remains one of the most intriguing yet bizarre examples of ... (Goodreads)
Adultery
by Paulo Coelho
An exploration of the consequences of infidelity and its effects on relationships.
I want to change. I need to change. I'm gradually losing touch with myself., Adultery, the provocative new novel by Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes, explores the ... (Goodreads)
Queer
by William S. Burroughs
A semi-autobiographical novel exploring the underground gay culture of 1950s America, with a focus on drug use and criminality.
Originally written in 1952 but not published till 1985, Queer is an enigma - both an unflinching autobiographical self-portrait and a coruscatingly political novel, Burroughs' only realist love story ... (Goodreads)
Les Infortunes de La Vertu
by Marquis de Sade
A woman's descent into depravity, through a series of misfortunes in a society full of immorality and cruelty.
The plot concerns Justine, a 12-year-old maiden ("As for Justine, aged as we have remarked, twelve") who sets off to make her way in France. It follows her until age 26 in her quest for virtue. She ... (Wikipedia)
Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange
by Stanley Kubrick
A dystopian tale of a violent gang leader who undergoes a controversial psychological experiment to cure him of his criminal tendencies.
In a futuristic Britain, Alex DeLarge is the leader of a gang of "droogs": Georgie, Dim and Pete. One night, after getting intoxicated on drug-laden "milk-plus", they engage in an evening of ... (Wikipedia)
The Medium is the Massage
by Marshall McLuhan
Examining how media shapes and influences society.
The Medium is the Massage is Marshall McLuhan's most condensed, and perhaps most effective, presentation of his ideas. Using a layout style that was later copied by Wired , McLuhan and ... (Goodreads)
Pulp Fiction: A Quentin Tarantino Screenplay
by Quentin Tarantino
A collection of interconnected stories featuring hitmen, robbers, and other colorful characters in the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.
Quentin Tarantino - director of "Reservoir Dogs" and writer of "True Romance" - won the Palme d'Or for best film at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival for "Pulp Fiction, " his unique vision of the ... (Goodreads)
Sin City: Una Dura Despedida, #1 de 3
by Frank Miller
Sin City es la ciudad del pecado, donde sólo los más duros pueden sobrevivir. Una Dura Despedida, la primera de las historias ambientadas en esta sórdida ciudad, presenta a los personajes más ... (Goodreads)
Listen, Little Man!
by Wilhelm Reich
A scathing critique of the authoritarian mindset and its impact on society, written in a direct and confrontational style.
Listen, Little Man! is a great physician's quiet talk to each one of us, the average human being, the Little Man. Written in 1946 in answer to the gossip and defamation that plagued his remarkable ... (Goodreads)
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