Recommended Texts for Personal Study of Literature for Higher English
Please note this lists only a sample of recommended texts and plot outlines.
Enjoy reading some of the best literature known to man!
P.S. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list! For more plot summaries and reviews
by other readers I suggest you visit the “Amazon” and “Good Reads” websites.
Thanks, Ms Pusram
Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart – Tells the story of Okonkwo, a proud member
of the Ibo tribe, and how the culture of this people becomes threatened by the
emergence of white colonialism in his country.
William Golding - Lord of The Flies. A group of boys try to govern themselves once
finding themselves stranded on a deserted island.
Toni Morrison-The Bluest Eye: Set in America’s Midwest during the Great
Depression. This is a controversial book, and there have been many attempts to
ban it. Pecola just doesn’t want to look the way she does: she differs so much from
her white contemporaries. The novel challenges the reader to think about social
acceptance, the need to break through racial prejudice, freedom and our
perceptions of what is ‘beautiful’.
Toni Morrison – Beloved. Beloved is a Pulitzer prize winning novel, based on a true
story set during the American Civil War. This is a powerful tale of slavery and the
pursuit of freedom. Not to be missed.
William Faulkner – The Sound and the Fury. The “stream of consciousness” style
makes this a difficult, but rewarding read. The book requires concentration of the
highest level in order to fully appreciate it.. Set in America’s deep south during the
Great Depression, the decline of the Compsons, former aristocrats is charted
through the perspectives of four characters.
Margaret Atwood-The Handmaid’s Tale: Feminist Dystopian novel takes the point
of view of a concubine (handmaid) kept for reproductive purposes by the ruling
class, after the US government is overthrown and taken over by a military
dictatorship. One of my all time favourites.
Alice Walker-The Colour Purple: The horrors of racism are confronted in 1960s
deep south America. A truly amazing read.
Oscar Wilde-The Picture of Dorian Gray. Society boy Dorian Gray’s portrait ages
while he himself remains of youthful appearance to those around him. Classic
drama in which narcissism, the quest for eternal youth and self-preservation
feature.
Maya Angelou-I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Racism in 1930s American
south. Covers American Civil Rights Movement, and the struggle for racial equality.
Ken Kesey-One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Kesey’s hard hitting novel still
affects after all these years. The story takes place in a psychiatric hospital, in which
the infamous Nurse Ratched assumes complete power over the patients, chiefly,
the defiant and dangerous prisoner McMurphy.
Muriel Spark-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. 1930s Edinburgh. Six ten-year-old
girls are assigned teacher Miss Jean Brodie. Miss Brodie gives her students lessons
on art history or her love life and travels. The girls begin to resemble in their
behaviours the traits of Miss Brodie, each embarking on a series of life changing
events and self discovery.
Jeanette Winterson-Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. (Adapted into BBC TV
drama). A young girl, who’s growing up in a deeply religious household, struggles to
come to terms with her sexual orientation.
Roddy Doyle-The Woman Who Walked Into Doors-INT2/Higher. Paula is told in
chapter one, that her violent husband has been shot dead. The story is told
through Paula’s memories of their turbulent marriage, her coping mechanisms and
her sense of love for him despite his violent ways. Doyle thoughtfully captures the
emotions of a broken woman, who despite her battle with alcoholism, tries to raise
a family and live a decent life.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez – One Hundred Years of Solitude.
John Steinbeck-Of Mice and Men
Robin Jenkins-The Changeling
Jean Rhys-Wide Sargasso Sea.
Monica Ali-Brick Lane. Booker prize winning novel. Nazneen is a teenage girl who
moves from a Bangladeshi village to London’s east end following an arranged
marriage.
Arthur Golden-Memoirs of A Geisha
Joanne Harris-Chocolat
Khaled Hosseini-A Thousand Splendid Suns; The Kite Runner
Anthony Burgess-A Clockwork Orange. Told from the point of view of Alex, a
violently disposed teenager who leads a gang of fellow “droogs” in terrorising an
unnamed fictional city of the near future, where all the action takes place. After
being imprisoned for murder, Alex endures treatment in prison to re-program him
into a ‘model citizen’. Burgess explores themes of free will and morality.
Graham Greene-Brighton Rock
Patrick White-A Fringe of Leaves
Virginia Woolf-To The Lighthouse
Pre-Twentieth Century Authors
Charlotte Bronte-Jane Eyre
Emily Bronte-Wuthering Heights
Jane Austen-Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen-Emma
Charles Dickens-Hard Times; A Tale of Two Cities; Bleak House; Oliver Twist
Joseph Conrad-Heart of Darkness. A revealing portrait of European colonialism.
Thomas Hardy-Tess of the D’Urbervilles. 1891 classic. Tess is the beautiful daughter
of uneducated rural parents. Her life changes drastically as she goes to work for an
unknown relative, and she embarks on an emotional journey in the quest for
survival. Her life is considerably influenced by the emphasis society places on
traditional female roles. An important feminist novel of the Victorian era.
George Eliot-Silas Marner
Scottish Authors
Iain Crichton Smith-Consider the Lilies. Set at the time of the Highland Clearances,
Mrs Scott is one of the victims of this cruel policy.
George Mackay Brown-Greenvoe. The culture of a rural Orkney community is
threatened by “Black Star”, a sinister top secret uranium enterprise.
Iain Banks-Espedair Street. A former rock star attempts to return to normality after
the wild excesses of his touring days.
Iain Banks-The Crow Road. Prentis, the son of a wealthy Scottish family, attempts
to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of his uncle.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Sunset Song. The first of a trilogy, this charts the decay of an
isolated rural community in north east Scotland at the time of the first world war,
centering on Chris Guthrie, a strong and resilient character that is depicted
beautifully. Grassic Gibbon’s short stories are also recommended.
Robin Jenkins – The Cone Gatherers. See War.
A.L. Kennedy : Looking for the Possible Dance. Margaret’s relationships with three
men (her father, brother and boyfriend) depend on her in different ways.
Robert Louis Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; Weir of Hermiston. Both explore the
theme of good and evil in human nature. Louis Stevenson’s short stories contain a
supernatural element e.g. Markheim.
William McIlvanney: Docherty. A miner encounters conflict through his religion and
relationship with his sons.
War
Graham Greene: Our Man in Havana. A vacuum cleaner salesman pretends to be a
spy but matters become serious when his inventions are taken seriously. Espionage
and intrigue feature.
Joseph Heller: Catch 22. Surreal black comedy describing lives of American pilots
during World War II.
Erich Maria Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front. The harrowing experiences
of a young German private in World War I who realises all too clearly that the
Germans are losing.
Louis de Bernieres: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Captain Corelli is an Italian
occupying the Greek island of Cephalonia. There he falls in love with a Greek girl,
Pelagia.
Robin Jenkins – The Cone Gatherers. A bleak story, yet brilliant read. Set in the
second world war, two brothers, Calum and Neil, the former of which is considered
mentally disabled, are commissioned to clear the forests of Scottish country house.
The gamekeeper develops a profound and initially inexplicable hatred for Calum.
The novel challenges how we treat people from various social backgrounds, and
how we perceive people different than ourselves.
Sebastian Faulks: Birdsong. Set in France, tells the story of a young Englishman’s
relationship with a married French woman, and his subsequent service as a
lieutenant during WW1, namely he and his company’s experiences during the
Battle of the Sommes and the Battle of Ypres. I read this a year ago, and I could
not put it down. We feel the full weight of Stephen’s emotions during these
horrific wartime experiences.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Sunset Song
Society
Alexander Solzhenitsyn-One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The story of
hardships suffered by an internee in a bleak Soviet labour camp and his struggle for
survival.
Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. The exuberant Jay Gatsby, whose origins are
humble, is obsessed with the beautiful but shallow Daisy, a girl from a wealthy
upper class family. Told through the eyes of his neighbor Nick Caraway, Gatsby’s
doomed attempts to Daisy’s exclusive, materialistic world are revealed.
Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird. A little girl is forced to confront the evils of
racism in 1930s Alabama when her lawyer father is asked to defend a black man on
a charge of raping a white woman.
George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty Four. A forbidden love affair in a world where
every thought is “policed” and “Big Brother” is always watching you.
Edith Wharton: The House of Mirth. Lily longs for the good things in life but she
cannot quite bring herself to abandon the man she loves in favour of a financially
stable marriage. Excellent social observation of New England society where
emphasis is placed on wealth, the elite and strong morality.
Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence. Late 19th century upper class New York.
Esteemed Newland Archer feels imprisoned within a society that places emphasis
on social class, wealth and morality. When he falls in love with his quirky and
carefree cousin Ellen Ollenska, he is already married to the beautiful yet mundane
May Welland.
Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Feminist novel set in 19th century New Orleans.
Edna Pontelier struggles when she develops a strong attraction for Robert Lebrun,
in a society where women are expected to adhere to traditional roles as wives and
mothers.
J.D Salinger-The Catcher In The Rye. A true cult classic, written about a teenager
who just cannot tolerate the “phony” aspects of society.
Evelyn Waugh-Brideshead Revisited. During the war, Charles Ryder “revisits” a
stately home, Brideshead. The novel then tells in flashback of his former
relationship with his son and daughter.
Truman Capote-Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Set in New York 1940s, this is a tragic story
of a young society girl, Holly Golightly, a fragile, sweet girl who innocently casts a
spell on everybody she meets (INT 2/Higher).
E.M Forster–A Room With A View; Howards End; A Passage to India
Kate Atkinson-Behind The Scenes At The Museum; Human Croquet
Janice Galloway-The Trick is To Keep Breathing. Galloway uses wry humour to
explore the story of a woman battling mental illness and failed relationships.
Theodore Dostoevsky – Crime and Punishment. As poor Russian student
Roskolnikov plans to commit murder, he believes he will be doing society a great
favour, and that he will have fulfilled some moral objective. However, after he hits
the old pawnbroker over the head with an axe, he realizes his philosophy to be
greatly flawed. His internal struggles are charted with great insight, as Roskolnikov
gradually realizes the full effects of his actions.
Other
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley.
Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451
Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse 5
Anthony Burgess – A Clockwork Orange
DRAMATISTS (plays etc.)
Alan Ayckbourn
Henrik Ibsen
William Shakespeare
Terrence Rattigan
George Bernard Shaw
R.C. Sherriff
Oscar Wilde
Tennesee Williams
Arthur Miller
Compiled by A Pusram (Librarian)