AP English Reading List
According to the College Board Advanced Placement program: "The AP English course in
Literature and Composition should engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature.
...Reading in an AP course should be both wide and deep."
The following list of authors and works has been compiled using a variety of sources with a strong emphasis on the authors
suggested by the College Board. In order to provide students with reading that is "both wide and deep," the selections range
in age from early Greek drama to contemporary works. They also range in genre, ethnicity, and original language. Please
refer to the College Board's AP Central for additional information.
Drama
A, C, D
Antigone by Sophocles The curse placed on Oedipus lingers and haunts a younger generation in this new and brilliant translation of Sophocles’
classic drama. The daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Antigone is an unconventional heroine who pits her beliefs against the King of Thebes in a bloody
test of wills that leaves few unharmed. Emotions fly as she challenges the king for the right to bury her own brother. Determined but doomed, Antigone
shows her inner strength throughout the play. Antigone raises issues of law and morality that are just as relevant today as they were more than two
thousand years ago. Whether this is your first reading or your twentieth, Antigone will move you as few pieces of literature can.
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard Arcadia takes us back and forth between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ranging over the nature of truth and
time, the difference between the Classical and the Romantic temperament, and the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its gothic American story of
brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the Cat. The play also daringly
showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt.
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Checkhov Classic of world drama concerns the passing of the old semifeudal order in turn-of-the-century
Russia, symbolized in the sale of the cherry orchard owned by Madame Ranevskaya.
The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman's 1930's play of two boarding school teachers accused of being lesbians is not for the
faint of heart or closed of mind.
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen “You have never loved me. You have only thought it pleasant to be in love with me.” A DOLL'S HOUSE is a
three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879. The play is significant for
its critical attitude toward 19th century marriage norms.
F, G, H
Fences by August Wilson
The protagonist of Fences (part of Wilson’s ten-part “Pittsburgh Cycle” plays), Troy Maxson, is a strong man, a hard
man. He has had to be to survive. Troy Maxson has gone through life in an America where to be proud and black is to face pressures that could crush
a man, body and soul.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Amanda Wingfield, the matriarch of "The Glass Menagerie," always tells her daughter, Laura,
that she should look nice and pretty for gentleman callers, even though Laura has never had any callers at their St. Louis apartment. Laura, who limps
because of a slight physical deformity, would rather spend her time playing with the animals in her glass menagerie and listening to old phonograph
records instead of learning shorthand and typing so she can be employable. When she learns Laura has only been pretending to go to secretarial school,
Amanda decides Laura must have a real gentleman caller and insists her son Tom, who works at a shoe factory, find one immediately. After a few days,
Tom tells Amanda he has invited a young man named Jim O'Connor home for dinner and at long last Laura will have her first gentleman caller.
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen This dark psychological drama was first produced in Norway in 1890 and depicts the evil machinations of a
ruthless, nihilistic heroine: the infamous Hedda Gabler. Readers will discover a masterly exploration of the nature of evil, along with the potential for
tragedy that lies in human frailty.
Homecoming by Harold Pinter In an old and slightly seedy house in North London there lives a family of men: Max, the aging but still
aggressive patriarch; his younger, ineffectual brother Sam; and two of Max's three sons, neither of whom is married -- Lenny, a small-time pimp, and
Joey, who dreams of success as a boxer. Into this sinister abode comes the eldest son, Teddy, who, having spent the past six years teaching philosophy in
America, is now bringinghis wife, Ruth, home to visit the family she has never met. As the play progresses, the younger brothers make increasingly
outrageous passes at their sister-in-law until they are practically making love to her in front of her stunned but strangely aloof husband.
I, K, L
The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill
The Iceman Cometh focuses on a group of alcoholics and misfits who endlessly discuss but never act
on their dreams, and Hickey, the traveling salesman determined to strip them of their pipe dreams.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest is a tour de force of comedy, misidentifications, and
farce. Algernon and Jack are friends, and each has invented an imaginary person as an excuse of getting out of engagements. Jack's person is Ernest, a
brother with a wild past. The two conspire to woo the ladies that they love, and through a series of happenstances, must gently deceive to get want they
want.
Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill The play presents the story of the Tyrone family. James Tyrone is a famous stage actor,
now aging; his wife Mary is a delicately beautiful but sadly worn woman named Mary. Their two sons are studies in contrast: Jamie, in his late 30s, is
wild--fond of wine, women, and song--and seen as a bad influence on younger Edmund, who is physically frail but intellectually sharp. The action takes
place at their summer home, and begins in the morning; the family seems happy enough--but clearly there is something we do not know, something
working under the surface that gives an unnatural quality to their interaction.
M, O, P
The Misanthrope by Moliere Spotlighting the absurdities of social and literary pretension, The Misanthrope shows us a man who is quick to
criticize the hypocrisies, inconsistencies and faults of others, yet remains blind to his own. As "the misanthrope" grows more and more irritable with
others, the play becomes more and more entertaining, even as a happy ending for the hero seems less and less likely.
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Catastrophe ensues when King Oedipus discovers he has inadvertently killed his father and married his mother.
Othello by William Shakespeare
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
In Greek legend, Prometheus was the Titan who, against the will of Zeus, stole fire from the gods for the
benefit of man. His terrible punishment by Zeus, and his continuing defiance of Zeus in the face of that punishment, remain universal symbols of man's
vulnerability in any struggle with the gods.
R, S, T
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry The plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the
Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's
insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other
plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard R&G Are Dead has much to recommend it. It is the story of two of the bit
players from Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. If you haven't read or seen Hamlet, the book will probably not be of much interest, but, in a
nutshell, R&G are Hamlet's school chums who are called to Denmark by Hamlet's uncle, the King of Denmark, given the task of cheering him up and,
when this fails, and the King realizes that Hamlet is a threat to his life, are given the task of sending Hamlet to his death. Hamlet turns the tables on this
plot and has R&G killed instead.
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith A young lady poses as a serving girl to win the heart of a young gentleman too shy to court ladies
of his own class. Many delightful deceits, hilarious turns of plot must be played out before the play concludes happily.
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello's masterpiece, "Six Characters in Search of an Author", presents
the playwright's views about the isolation of the individual from society and from himself. This play within a play chronicles six characters as they seek an
author to tell their story, and to present their real lives on stage. But do their realities make better tales than fiction?
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed
over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.
Tartuffe by Moliere Teeming with lively humor and satirical plot devices, this timeless comedy by one of France's greatest playwrights follows the
outrageous activities of a penniless scoundrel and religious pretender. Invited to live in his benefactor's house, he wreaks havoc among family members
by breaking off the daughter's engagement, attempting to seduce his hostess, and resorting to blackmail and extortion.
W, Z
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
A dark comedy, it portrays husband and wife George and Martha in a searing night of
dangerous fun and games. By the evening’s end, a stunning, almost unbearable revelation provides a climax that has shocked audiences for years.
The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen The idealistic son of a corrupt merchant exposes his father's duplicity, but in the process destroys the very
people he wishes to save. Gregers Werle forces his friends, the Ekdals, to confront the truth about their lives — but the truth only serves to wound them
further.
Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez
Fiction (Novel & Short Story)
A
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow The Adventures of Augie March blends street language with literary elegance to tell the story
of a poor Chicago boy growing up during the Great Depression. A "born recruit," Augie makes himself available for hire by plungers, schemers, risk
takers, and operators, compiling a record of choices that is—to say the least—eccentric.
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas
Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life
sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I.
Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches.
And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of
the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.
The American by Henry James Christopher Newman, a 'self-made' American millionaire in France, falls in love with the beautiful aristocratic
Claire de Bellegarde. Her family, however, taken aback by his brash American manner, rejects his proposal of marriage. When Newman discovers a
guilty secret in the Bellegardes' past, he confronts a moral dilemma: Should he expose them and thus gain his revenge?
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer,
Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner As I Lay Dying is Faulkner’s harrowing account of the Bundren family’s odyssey across the Mississippi
countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Narrated in turn by each of the family members—including Addie herself—as well as others the novel
ranges in mood, from dark comedy to the deepest pathos.
The Aspern Papers by Henry James With a decaying Venetian villa as a backdrop, an anonymous narrator relates his obsessive quest for the
personal documents of a deceased Romantic poet, one Jeffrey Aspern. Led by his mission into increasingly unscrupulous behavior, he is ultimately
faced with relinquishing his heart's desire or attaining it at an overwhelming price.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin Poignant and lyrical, it tells the story of a New Orleans wife who attempts to find love outside a stifling marriage.
B
Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald A story of an alcoholic father trying to regain custody of his young daughter, trying to prove to his sister
in law and her husband that he is sober and is up to the task. As the story goes on we find out what happened to the mother and you'll notice parallels
between the story and his own life where he tried (and failed) to get his children back and overcome his alcoholism.
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino Cosimo, a young eighteenth-century Italian nobleman, rebels by climbing into the trees to remain
there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an arboreal existence and even has love affairs.
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg Eliza Naumann, a seemingly unremarkable nine-year-old, expects never to fit into her gifted family: her autodidact
father, Saul, absorbed in his study of Jewish mysticism; her brother, Aaron, the vessel of his father's spiritual ambitions; and her brilliant but distant
lawyer-mom, Miriam. But when Eliza sweeps her school and district spelling bees in quick succession, Saul takes it as a sign that she is destined for
greatness.
Beloved by Toni Morrison Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as
Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too
many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened.
Billy Budd by Herman Melville "Billy Budd, Sailor," a classic confrontation between good and evil, is the story of an innocent young man unable
to defend himself from wrongful accusations.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy An epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, Blood
Meridian brilliantly subverts the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the "wild west." Based on historical events that took place on
the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world
where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Brave New World is set in a dystopian future which anticipates developments in reproductive technology,
biological engineering, and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The world the novel describes is a utopia, though an ironic one: humanity is
carefree, healthy and technologically advanced. Warfare and poverty have been removed and everyone is permanently happy. The irony is that all of
these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity — family, culture, art, literature, science,
religion, and philosophy.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn
Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities.
C
Cane by Jean Toomer Rich in imagery, Toomer’s impressionistic, sometimes surrealistic sketches of Southern rural and urban life are permeated
by visions of smoke, sugarcane, dusk, and fire; the northern world is pictured as a harsher reality of asphalt streets.
Cathedral by Raymond Carver "A dozen stories that overflow with the danger, excitement, mystery and possibility of life...Carver is a writer of
astonishing compassion and honesty...his eye set only on describing and revealing the world as he sees it. His eye is so clear, it almost breaks your
heart."—
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis DeBernieres The place is the Greek island of Cephallonia, where gods once dabbled in the affairs of men and the
local saint periodically rises from his sarcophagus to cure the mad. Then the tide of World War II rolls onto the island's shores in the form of the
conquering Italian army.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Supreme masterpiece recounts in feverish, compelling tones the story of Raskolnikov, an
impoverished student tormented by his own nihilism, and the struggle between good and evil. Believing that he is above the law, and convinced that
humanitarian ends justify vile means, he brutally murders an old woman — a pawnbroker whom he regards as worthless. Overwhelmed afterwards by
guilt and terror, Raskolnikov confesses to the crime and goes to prison. There he realizes that happiness and redemption can only be achieved through
suffering.
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton "Cry, the Beloved Country" is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor
Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s.
D, F
Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee Mukherjee follows the diverging paths taken by three extraordinary Calcutta-born sisters as they
come of age in a changing world. Moving effortlessly between generations, she weaves together fascinating stories of the sisters' ancestors, childhood
memories, and dramatic scenes from India's history.
Dubliners by James Joyce Declared by their author to be a chapter in the moral history of Ireland, this collection of 15 tales offers vivid, tightly
focused observations of the lives of Dublin's poorer classes. A fine and accessible introduction to the work of one of the 20th century's most influential
writers, it includes a masterpiece of the short-story genre, "The Dead."
Dune by Frank Herbert Dune is set far in the future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by noble
Houses that owe allegiance to the Imperial House Corrino. The novel tells the story of young Paul Atreides as he and his family relocate to the planet
Arrakis, the only source of the spice melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe.
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud Set in Kiev in 1911 during a period of heightened anti-Semitism, the novel tells the story of Yakov Bok, a Jewish
handyman blamed for the brutal murder of a young Russian boy. Bok leaves his village to try his luck in Kiev, and after denying his Jewish identity, finds
himself working for a member of the anti-Semitic Black Hundreds Society. When the boy is found nearly drained of blood in a cave, the Black
Hundreds accuse the Jews of ritual murder. Arrested and imprisoned, Bok refuses to confess to a crime that he did not commit.
G
The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield These 15 stories are typical Mansfield slice-of-life glimpses into human
relationships: parent-child, wife-husband, friend-friend, all recognizable, all vivid in their gentleness and sensitivity.
Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the
Danish throne; she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John
Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond
intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince.
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford From one of the 20th century's major writers — a story of deception and betrayal, of conventional
appearances and bitter truth. Highly innovative for its time, this powerful novel tells of 2 married couples whose long, ongoing friendship is severely
disrupted when one husband learns that his wife has been the mistress of his British friend.
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is
at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister
of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral
struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the
forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great
expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict;
Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness; and the embittered Miss Havisham, an eccentric jilted bride.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels describes the four fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a kindly ship's surgeon. Swift
portrays him as an observer, a reporter, and a victim of circumstance. His travels take him to Lilliput where he is a giant observing tiny people. In
Brobdingnag, the tables are reversed and he is the tiny person in a land of giants where he is exhibited as a curiosity at markets and fairs. The flying
island of Laputa is the scene of his next voyage. The people plan and plot as their country lies in ruins. It is a world of illusion and distorted values. The
fourth and final voyage takes him to the home of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses who rule the land. He also encounters Yahoos, filthy bestial creatures
who resemble humans.
H
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies? Offred is a Handmaid in the
Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead
of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant,
because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable.
Heart of Darkeness by Joseph Conrad A short novel written by Joseph Conrad, presented as a frame narrative, about Charles Marlow’s job as
an ivory transporter down the Congo River in Central Africa. This river is described to be “... a mighty big river, that you could see on the map,
resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the
land.” In the course of his commercial-agent work in Africa, the seaman Marlow becomes obsessed by Mr. Kurtz, an ivory-procurement agent, a man of
established notoriety among the natives and the European colonials.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The series follows the adventures of Arthur Dent, a hapless Englishman who,
with his friend Ford Prefect, an alien from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, escapes the demolition of Earth by a bureaucratic
alien race called the Vogons.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Wharton's first literary success, set amid fashionable New York society, reveals the hypocrisy and
destructive effects of the city's social circle on the character of Lily Bart. Impoverished but well-born, Lily must secure her future by acquiring a wealthy
husband; but her downfall — initiated by a romantic indiscretion — results in gambling debts and social disasters.
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne Greedy, piratical Colonel Pyncheon builds his mansion on ill-gotten ground,
setting the stage for generations of suffering. Years later, a country cousin and an enigmatic young boarder attempt to reverse the tide of misfortunes
surrounding the house in Hawthorne's evocative blend of mystery and romance.
I, J
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky After his great portrayal of a guilty man in Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky set out in The Idiot to portray a
man of pure innocence. The twenty-six-year-old Prince Myshkin, following a stay of several years in a Swiss sanatorium, returns to Russia to collect an
inheritance and “be among people.” Even before he reaches home he meets the dark Rogozhin, a rich merchant’s son whose obsession with the
beautiful Nastasya Filippovna eventually draws all three of them into a tragic denouement.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were
savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no
clues.
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at
the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not
mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship.
Invisable Cities by Italo Calvino Imaginary conversations between Marco Polo and his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, conjure up cities of
magical times.
The Invisable Man by Ralph Ellison The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a
Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and
retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre is the story of a small, plain-faced, intelligent, and passionate English orphan. Jane is abused by her aunt
and cousin and then attends a harsh charity school. Through it all she remains strong and determinedly refuses to allow a cruel world to crush her
independence or her strength of will. A masterful story of a woman's quest for freedom and love.
Jazz by Toni Morrison In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-todoor salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At the funeral, Joe’s wife, Violet, attacks the girl’s corpse.
L, M
Libra by Don DeLillo In this powerful, eerily convincing fictional speculation on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Don DeLillo chronicles
Lee Harvey Oswald's odyssey from troubled teenager to a man of precarious stability who imagines himself an agent of history. When "history" presents
itself in the form of two disgruntled CIA operatives who decide that an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the president will galvanize the nation against
communism, the scales are irrevocably tipped.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and
controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze.
The Magus by John Fowles A young Englishman, Nicholas Urfe, accepts a teaching position on a Greek island where his friendship with the
owner of the islands most magnificent estate leads him into a nightmare. As reality and fantasy are deliberately confused by staged deaths, erotic
encounters, and terrifying violence, Urfe becomes a desperate man fighting for his sanity and his life.
A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton The Goodwins live on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, but their peaceful life is shattered one day when a
neighbor's two-year-old daughter drowns in the Goodwins' pond while under Alice's care. Tormented by the accident, Alice descends even further into
darkness when she is accused of sexually abusing of a student at the elementary school.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a large,
monstrous insect-like creature. The novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents
and sister, who are repulsed by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.
Middlemarch by George Eliot It was George Eliot’s ambition to create a world and portray a whole community—tradespeople, middle classes,
country gentry—in the rising fictional provincial town of Middlemarch, circa 1830. Vast and crowded, rich in narrative irony and suspense, Middlemarch
is richer still in character and in its sense of how individual destinies are shaped by and shape the community.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville This thrilling maritime adventure and epic saga pits Ahab, a brooding and vengeful sea captain, against the great
white whale that crippled him and came to dominate his life. But more than just the tale of a hair-raising voyage, Melville's riveting story passionately
probes the human soul. A literary classic first published in 1851, Moby-Dick remains among the most highly acclaimed novels of the sea and a powerful
account of the ultimate human struggle.
N, O, P
Native Son by Richard Wright Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by
chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in
a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness
experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
The Natural by Bernard Malamud The Natural, Bernard Malamud’s first novel, published in 1952, is also the first—and some would say still the
best—novel ever written about baseball. In it Malamud, usually appreciated for his unerring portrayals of postwar Jewish life, took on very different
material—the story of a superbly gifted “natural” at play in the fields of the old daylight baseball era—and invested it with the hardscrabble poetry, at once
grand and altogether believable, that runs through all his best work.
No Exit by JeanPaul Sartre Two women and one man are locked up together for eternity in one hideous room in hell. The windows are bricked
up; there are no mirrors; the electric lights can never be turned off; and there is no exit. The irony of this hell is that its torture is not of the rack and fire,
but of the burning humiliation of each soul as it is stripped of its pretenses by the cruel curiosity of the damned.
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky Considered by many to be the first existentialist novel. It presents itself as an excerpt from
the rambling memoirs of a bitter, isolated, unnamed narrator (generally referred to by critics as the Underground Man) who is a retired civil servant
living in St. Petersburg.
Obasan by Joy Kogawa Based on the author's own experiences, this award-winning novel was the first to tell the story of the evacuation, relocation,
and dispersal of Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry during the Second World War.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and
death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family.
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather This powerful early Cather novel, a landmark of American fiction, tells the story of the young Alexandra Bergson,
whose dying father leaves her in charge of the family and of the Nebraska lands they have struggled to farm.
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty This story of a young woman's confrontation with death and her past is a poetic study of human
relations.
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster A Passage to India tells of the clash of cultures in British India after the turn of the century. In exquisite
prose, Forster reveals the menace that lurks just beneath the surface of ordinary life, as a common misunderstanding erupts into a devastating affair.
The Plague by Albert Camus A haunting tale of human resilience in the face of unrelieved horror, Camus' novel about a bubonic plague ravaging
the people of a North African coastal town is a classic of twentieth-century literature.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, Mr. and Mrs.
Bennet -- a country squire of no great means and his scatterbrained wife -- must marry off their five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this allconsuming enterprise are the headstrong second daughter Elizabeth and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy, two lovers in whom pride and
prejudice must be overcome before love can bring the novel to its magnificent conclusion.
R, S
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, New York, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday
afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. And almost magically, the line between
fantasy and historical fact, between real and imaginary characters, disappears.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army, runs away from the field of war. Afterwards, the
shame he feels at this act of cowardice ignites his desire to receive an injury in combat—a “red badge of courage” that will redeem him. Stephen Crane’s
novel about a young soldier’s experiences during the American Civil War is well known for its understated naturalism and its realistic depiction of battle.
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day is a profoundly compelling portrait of the perfect English butler and of his
fading, insular world postwar England. At the end of his three decades of service at Darlington Hall, Stevens embarks on a country drive, during which
he looks back over his career to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving “a great gentleman.” But lurking in his memory are doubts
about the true nature of Lord Darlington’s “greatness” and graver doubts about his own faith in the man he served.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse With parallels to the enlightenment of the Buddha, Hesse's Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin's quest
for the ultimate reality. His quest takes him from the extremes of indulgent sensuality to the rigors of ascetism and self-denial.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim’s odyssey through time reflects the
mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most.
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence This semi-autobiographical novel explores the emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and
the suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers. It is a pre-Freudian exploration of love and possessiveness.
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury is the tragedy of the Compson family, featuring some of the most
memorable characters in literature: beautiful, rebellious Caddy; the manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey,
their black servant.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein Tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians on the planet Mars,
upon his return to Earth in early adulthood. The novel explores his interaction and transformation of Earth culture.
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence In The Stone Angel, Hagar Shipley, age ninety, tells the story of her life, and in doing so tries to come
to terms with how the very qualities which sustained her have deprived her of joy. Mingling past and present, she maintains pride in the face of senility,
while recalling the life she led as a rebellious young bride, and later as a grieving mother.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel
introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the
hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age
of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood Surfacing is the story of a talented woman artist who goes in search of her missing father on a remote island in
northern Quebec. Setting out with her lover and another young couple, she soon finds herself captivated by the isolated setting, where a marriage begins
to fall apart, violence and death lurk just beneath the surface, and sex becomes a catalyst for conflict and dangerous choices.
T, U, V
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy A ne'er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter's beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of
tragic fiction. Hardy's 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his
sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston The novel follows the fortunes of Janie Crawford, a woman living in the black
town of Eaton, Florida. Hurston sets up her characters and her locale in the first chapter, which, along with the last, acts as a framing device for the story
of Janie's life.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo
village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the
tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world with the arrival of
aggressive European missionaries.
The Time Machine by H G Wells Considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, this book coined the term
“Time Machine” which is almost exclusively used to refer to any device that allows humans to move through time. The book’s main character is an
amateur inventor who lives in London. He is never identified, instead being referred to simply as “The Time Traveller”. Having demonstrated to
friends that time is a fourth dimension, and that a suitable device can move back and forth in this fourth dimension, he completes the building of a
larger machine capable of carrying himself. He immediately sets off on a journey into the future.
Time's Arrow by Martin Amis In Time's Arrow the doctor Tod T. Friendly dies and then feels markedly better, breaks up with his lovers as a
prelude to seducing them, and mangles his patients before he sends them home. And all the while Tod's life races backward toward the one appalling
moment in modern history when such reversals make sense.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding At the center of one of the most ingenious plots in English fiction stands a hero whose actions were, in 1749, as
shocking as they are funny today.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Dickens unfolds a masterpiece of drama, adventure,
and courage featuring Charles Darnay, a man falsely accused of treason. He bears an uncanny resemblance to the dissolute, yet noble Sydney Carton —
a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once. Brilliantly plotted, the novel culminates in a daring prison escape in the shadow of
the guillotine.
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf The serene and maternal Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and assorted
guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. From the seemingly trivial postponement of a visit to a nearby lighthouse, Woolf constructs a remarkable,
moving examination of the complex tensions and allegiances of family life and the conflict between men and women.
W
Waiting by Ha Jin Ha Jin portrays the life of Lin Kong, a dedicated doctor torn by his love for two women: one who belongs to the New China of
the Cultural Revolution, the other to the ancient traditions of his family's village. Ha Jin profoundly understands the conflict between the individual and
society, between the timeless universality of the human heart and constantly shifting politics of the moment.
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates The Mulvaneys of High Point Farm in Mt. Ephraim, New York, are a large and fortunate
clan, blessed with good looks, abundant charisma, and boundless promise. But over the twenty-five year span of this ambitious novel, the Mulvaneys will
slide, almost imperceptibly at first, from the pinnacle of happiness, transformed by the vagaries of fate into a scattered collection of lost and lonely souls.
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor Focused on the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his
innate, desperate fate, this tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdoms gives us one of the most riveting characters
in twentieth-century American fiction.
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her
California childhood that have shaped her identity.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Classic novel of consuming passions, played out against the lonely moors of northern England, recounts
the turbulent and tempestuous love story of Cathy and Heathcliff. A masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the story remains as poignant and compelling
today as it was when first published in 1847.
2001 – A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke In the background to the story, an ancient and hidden alien race uses a mechanism with the
appearance of a large crystal Monolith (black in the film) to investigate worlds all across the galaxy and to encourage the development of intelligent life.