Study guides: books, letter s

Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw

Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw is a play telling the audience about the life of a half-historical half-mythical character of Joan of Arc, a heroine and saint of France. The author follows her story from the moment of her revelation to her execution, canonization and afterlife. Despite Shaw shows Joan as an actual saint, able to create miracles or involuntarily curse people who don’t...

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Jane Austen published her first novel “Sense and Sensibility” anonymously. She even undertook all the costs associated with the publishing of 750 copies. It tells a lot about the morals of the time when the text saw the world (1811) and, particularly, how the society didn’t treat women seriously. Nevertheless, the novel was considered to be a success, sold all copies and...

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Discover yourself and look at the world around you differently with this spiritual book by Herman Hesse. Published in 1922 it still preserves its relevance for those who are looking for something beyond everyday routine life. The novel is about Siddhartha, son of Brahmin, that has all the components for a happy life: he is handsome, he is from a well-respected family, he has means for living a...

Silas Marner by George Eliot

The story of Silas Marner by George Eliot goes all the way through from heartbreaking to heartwarming. The story is full of both realistically depicted issues of the rural society of that time and humor and hope that gradually help Silas (and us) find consolation and rebuild life anew. The story starts at its lowest: Silas Marner is falsely accused of theft and the society ostracizes him...

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown

We all know Don Quixote as the most famous representative of the chivalric irony genre. On the contrary, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is a real chivalry poem written it the 14th century. It is a beautiful and symbolic adventure into the life and morals of the 14th century written by an unknown author. The language of the medieval times might be difficult to read but that only...

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser is considered one of the best urban novels ever written. It tells us the story of a countryside girl who desires to earn fame and fortune in a big city. It isn’t the story of Cinderella: Carrie has to struggle searching for any job and realize that even her relatives see her as an additional source of income, not saying about stranger people, her employers...

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

It’s hard to be satirical about such tragic events as war, especially if it’s the World War II that took lives of millions of people. But Kurt Vonnegut managed to write a marvelous satirical novel that also has elements of fantasy and science fiction.  “Slaughterhouse-Five” is a book about an American soldier named Billy Pilgrim. It is the last years of the WW II and...

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson is primarily a detective story that features the case of a fisherman possibly murdered by his colleague and former friend amidst the storm. Almost everyone is convinced that the suspect, an American Japanese named Kabuo Miyamoto is guilty of it. But as the story unwinds, we understand that there is much more behind the ordinary investigation. We learn the...

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

A dark fantasy novel from the one of the most renowned authors of modern literature - Ray Bradbury. Despite the author is mostly known for his science fiction novels, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” is a real masterpiece that will send chills down your spine. The main characters of the story are thirteen-year-old teenagers living in a small town. Jim Nightshade and William Halloway...

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

“Song of Solomon” is a book by Toni Morrison that talks about the life of Macon “Milkman”. Some might say that it is a story of a privileged child, and others say it’s a story about the symbolic life of a generation of people who have been oppressed for centuries and deserve to have a good life now. Macon “Milkman” Dead III is a son of a rich African...

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse wrote his novel “Steppenwolf” in his typical style: introducing a separate book in a book and combining the literary language with psychoanalytic tricks and real facts. Published in 1927, the text still preserves the signs of the Hesse’s spiritual crisis that he went through in the 1920s. The author begins the story saying that he received Harry Haller’s...

Sula by Toni Morrison

“Sula” is a novel written by Toni Morrison in 1973. Toni came to the literary path from a creative family and her career is a work of art in itself. In "Sula" she created a story about two girls who became women. It is a story about two friends, who turned into fierce enemies over something that wasn’t of their fault. It is also a story about roots and cultural origins...