Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Wistfulness
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
An aging knight's adventures and misadventures, filled with chivalry, honor, and satire.
Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in ... (Goodreads)
Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen
A young woman's journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of high society.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a country clergyman. Although a tomboy in her childhood, by the age of 17 she is "in training for a heroine" and is excessively fond of ... (Wikipedia)
The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy
A story of a man's ill-fated love, set against the wild landscape of rural England.
The novel takes place entirely in the environs of Egdon Heath , and, with the exception of the epilogue, Aftercourses , covers exactly a year and a day. The narrative begins on the evening of Guy ... (Wikipedia)
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
by Henry Fielding
A story of a young man's adventures and misadventures in pursuit of love and fortune.
The novel's events occupy eighteen books. The book opens with the narrator stating that the purpose of the novel will be to explore "human nature". The kindly and wealthy Squire Allworthy and his ... (Wikipedia)
The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Animal characters embark on a series of adventures, learning important lessons along the way.
With the arrival of spring and fine weather outside, the good-natured Mole loses patience with spring cleaning. He has fled his underground home, emerging to take in the air and ends up at the river, ... (Wikipedia)
The World Without Us
by Alan Weisman
A thought experiment exploring how the Earth and its species would fare without the presence of humans.
A penetrating, page-turning tour of a post-human Earth In The World Without Us , Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity's impact on the planet: he asks us to ... (Goodreads)
Tales of the City
by Armistead Maupin
A warm and comedic exploration of 1970s San Francisco and its colorful inhabitants.
San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts ... (Goodreads)
Anne of Avonlea
by L.M. Montgomery
A young girl's coming-of-age in rural Prince Edward Island, full of adventures and misadventures.
Anne is about to start her first term teaching at the Avonlea school, although she will still continue her studies at home with Gilbert, who is teaching at the nearby White Sands School. The book ... (Wikipedia)
A Single Man
by Christopher Isherwood
A man's exploration of life after losing his partner, as he contemplates his own mortality.
George, an English professor, is unable to cope with the despondent, bereaved nature of his existence after the sudden death of his partner, Jim. Throughout the day, he has various encounters with ... (Wikipedia)
The Lions of Al-Rassan
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Epic tale of a legendary kingdom, facing the onslaught of an unstoppable force.
Like most of Kay's novels, this contains a large amount of political intrigue and religious strife. At the opening of the novel, the peninsula of Al-Rassan (formerly known as Esperaña when under ... (Wikipedia)
Under Heaven
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Historical fantasy epic of a young man's rise to power in a vast empire.
In Under Heaven, Kay tells a story of honor and power, this time in a setting that evokes the dazzling Tang Dynasty of eighth-century China. In recognition of his service to the Emperor of Kitai, ... (Goodreads)
Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl
A humorous and heartwarming memoir of Roald Dahl's childhood in Wales and England.
In Boy, Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England. From his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's, Roald Dahl's ... (Goodreads)
A River Runs Through it and Other Stories
by Norman Maclean
A series of stories about the life of a family and the relationship between two brothers.
Just as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing ... (Goodreads)
Skippy Dies
by Paul Murray
A tragicomic story of a group of teenage boys in an Irish boarding school.
Skippy Dies follows the lives of a group of students and faculty members at the fictional Seabrook College, a Catholic boarding school in Dublin . The title character, Daniel "Skippy" Juster, dies ... (Wikipedia)
The Salmon of Doubt
by Douglas Adams
A collection of essays, musings, and unfinished stories, exploring the human condition.
Douglas Adams changed the face of science fiction with his cosmically comic novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its classic sequels. Sadly for his countless admirers, he hitched his own ... (Goodreads)
Super Sad True Love Story
by Gary Shteyngart
A darkly comic exploration of love in a technologically-driven world.
The son of a Russian immigrant , protagonist Leonard (Lenny) Abramov, a middle-aged, middle class, otherwise unremarkable man whose mentality is still in the past century, falls madly in love with ... (Wikipedia)
A Legacy of Spies
by John le Carré
A former spy must confront the consequences of his past actions.
Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of ... (Goodreads)
Dodger
by Terry Pratchett
A street urchin's journey of survival, maturation, and self-discovery through the labyrinthine streets of Victorian London.
One night on the streets of London, a battered young woman leaps from a carriage , followed and assaulted by two men. The protagonist Dodger, a street urchin and tosher , emerging from a sewer drain, ... (Wikipedia)
The Island
by Victoria Hislop
A family's secrets unfold as they grapple with the consequences of the Greek Civil War.
On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before ... (Goodreads)
Snow
by Orhan Pamuk
A man's journey of self-discovery in a politically charged atmosphere in Turkey.
Though most of the early part of the story is told in the third person from Ka's point of view, an omniscient narrator sometimes makes his presence known, posing as a friend of Ka's who is telling ... (Wikipedia)
The Dying Animal
by Philip Roth
A professor reflects on mortality, grappling with romantic relationships and the fear of death.
Kepesh is fascinated by the beautiful young Consuela Castillo, a student in one of his courses. An erotic liaison is formed between the two; Kepesh becomes obsessively enamored of his lover's ... (Wikipedia)
A Quiver Full of Arrows
by Jeffrey Archer
A masterful collection of short stories, weaving together the lives of its characters.
Ordinary Heros, Extraordinary Deeds The bestselling author of Kane & Abel, The Prodigal Daughter and Honor Among Theives once again astonishes, delights, and electrifies his legions of fans. From ... (Goodreads)
Vinegar Girl
by Anne Tyler
A retelling of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" set in modern day Baltimore.
Pulitzer Prize winner and American master Anne Tyler brings us an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies. Kate Battista feels stuck. How did ... (Goodreads)
Death and the Penguin
by Andrey Kurkov
A Ukrainian journalist's surreal journey of self-discovery and moral soul-searching.
Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see ... (Goodreads)
The Mothers
by Brit Bennett
An exploration of motherhood, faith, and identity in a close-knit Black community.
Living in Southern California, 17-year-old Nadia, grieving her mother's suicide, becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Luke, a local pastor's son. She has an abortion and leaves her hometown to attend ... (Wikipedia)
Fables, Vol. 9: Sons of Empire
by Bill Willingham
A collection of stories of war, morality, and power, delving into the human condition.
Winner of Fourteen, Eisner, Awards The best-laid plans. The free Fables living in the mundane world have struck a decisive blow against the Adversary, destroying one of his most valuable assets at ... (Goodreads)
Entwined with You
by Sylvia Day
A passionate romance between two people with a painful past and uncertain future.
From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn't resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. ... (Goodreads)
The Vampire Armand
by Anne Rice
A powerful vampire's exploration of his past, and struggle to find a place in the world.
With Lestat still in slumber , the vampire coven is reunited around the "brat prince" and the vampire David Talbot asks Armand tell his life story. Born somewhere in the Kievan Rus in the late 15th ... (Wikipedia)
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
by J.R. Moehringer
An intimate look at an unconventional family and the power of storytelling.
In the grand tradition of landmark memoirs - a classic American story of self-invention and escape, of the fierce love between a single mother and an only son, it's also a moving portrait of one ... (Goodreads)
Esio Trot
by Roald Dahl
An elderly man's efforts to win the affection of his neighbor, employing the help of an unlikely pet.
Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but her heart belongs to Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr. Hoppy is too shy to approach Mrs. Silver, until one day he comes up with a brilliant idea to win her ... (Goodreads)
Trout Fishing in America
by Richard Brautigan
A poetic and humorous exploration of the American experience.
Richard Brautigan was a literary idol of the 1960s and 1970s whose comic genius and iconoclastic vision of American life caught the imagination of young people everywhere. He came of age during the ... (Goodreads)
No One Here Gets Out Alive
by Danny Sugerman
Biography of Jim Morrison, exploring the life and legacy of the legendary singer-songwriter.
Here is Jim Morrison in all his complexity - singer, philosopher, poet, delinquent-the brilliant, charismatic, and obsessed seeker who rejected authority in any form, the explorer who probed "the ... (Goodreads)
Take the Cannoli
by Sarah Vowell
Humorous and insightful reflections on the American experience, told through personal stories.
Take the Cannoli is a moving and wickedly funny collection of personal stories stretching across the immense landscape of the American scene. Vowell tackles subjects such as identity, politics, ... (Goodreads)
The Complete Short Novels
by Anton Chekhov
A collection of short stories and novellas exploring the complexity of human nature.
Anton Chekhov, widely hailed as the supreme master of the short story, also wrote five works long enough to be called short novels. Here, brought together in one volume for the first time, in a ... (Goodreads)
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
by Jeanne Birdsall
Four sisters embark on a summer vacation full of adventure and unexpected surprises.
With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for ... (Goodreads)
The House of Sleep
by Jonathan Coe
Exploring the lives of interconnected individuals as dreams and reality intertwine.
Like a surreal and highly caffeinated version of The Big Chill , Jonathan Coe's new novel follows four students who knew each other in college in the eighties. Sarah is a narcoleptic who has dreams ... (Goodreads)
The Glass Room
by Simon Mawer
A story of a family living through the turbulent years of early 20th century Europe.
High on a Czechoslovak hill, the Landauer House has been built for newlyweds Viktor and Liesel Landauer, a Jew married to a gentile. But, when the storm clouds of WW2 gather, the family must flee, ... (Goodreads)
How We Are Hungry: Stories
by Dave Eggers
An anthology of stories exploring universal themes of love, loss, and longing.
"Another" "What It Means When a Crowd in a Faraway Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him from His Vehicle and Then Mutilates Him in the Dust" "The Only Meaning of ... (Goodreads)
Undermajordomo Minor
by Patrick deWitt
A young man's strange and humorous adventures in a distant land.
Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in his bucolic hamlet of Bury, a weakling and compulsive liar in a town famous for producing brutish giants. ... (Barnes & Noble)
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