Study guides: popular books
George Orwell isn’t an easy author to read. His style is heavy, concepts are multidimensional and characters are oftentimes disgusting. You’d never have though that the boy attended the most prestigious schools in the UK – his writing screams anarchy and oppression. Having lived among the most poor of London and served as a policeman in Burma, all of Orwell’s works are...
The Contender is a debut novel by Robert Lipsyte that tells us the story of a black young man who lives in Harlem with his aunt and cousins. His harsh life is urging him to take the easiest way of criminal life and becoming a thug, but the main character named Alfred Brooks struggles and tries to use his destructive impulses for good. The story of Alfred Brooks is the story of silent rebellion...
Richard II by William Shakespeare is a historical drama, the first one in the epic tetralogy that is called Henriade by some researches. It tells us the tragic story of the aforementioned King Richard II, from the pinnacle of his power to the downfall, imprisonment and, finally, murder. The author deliberately shows us Richard as the magnificent King on his throne at the very beginning of his...
The Day of the Locust is an interesting example of portraying the realistic events through the eyes of the main character - an artist, who sees them as an inspiration for his painting. The novel plays with Hollywood stereotypes, showing the full range of them: from young starlets who appear to be gold-diggers and to greedy and lusty producers. The painting that the protagonist - a young graduate...
George Orwell has always been a loud critic of the social wrongdoings and worrying tendencies around the globe. No wonder he took a strong position about the Soviet Union regime and openly criticized Stalin. In 1945 George wrote a dystopian novella about evolution of animals that expel their human master, Manor Farm owner Mister Jones. The fight for independence from cruel farmer ends up with...
Despite the intriguing name, the Grim Reaper himself doesn’t feature in the book. It is the story based on the real biography of the Archbishop John-Baptiste Lamy and sheds light at his mid-to-later age and his legacy. The protagonist of the story, John Latour repeats the steps of his real-life counterpart, though maybe in a little bit more heroic way. John Latour leaves France to travel...
As other famous works of Erik Larson, “The Devil in the White City” is based on the real historical events that the author studied carefully. He filled them with a new sense and perspective and turned the dry historical facts and personalities into living, breathing characters. Two plotlines - one of the Devil and the other of the main architect of the White City are tightly...
“Don Juan” is traditionally portrayed as a satirical poem, but it also can be seen as a tragedy. The author presents the story of a legendary lover from the unusual angle, showing him not as a selfish seducer who breaks the hearts of the countless women and then forgets their names, but as a victim of his own love, passion and stunning appearance. We see Don Juan as a person capable...
This non-fiction novel is the memories of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston about her family, imprisoned and sent to the concentration camp of Manzanar. The story starts from her parents, who had their own issues even before the bombing of Pearl Harbor that caused the repressions against American Japanese people. The family of Jeanne are the immigrants of first generation, who fled from war. They are...
Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare is considered one of the best comedies of the Bard, but from the modern point of view this comedy has rather dark undertones. Despite some classical plot turns used in it like cross-dressing and double wedding in the end, Two Gentlemen of Verona takes the theme of love, friendship and betrayal much more serious than most of the comedies by...
The story of Oedipus is one of the most famous in the European literature. There are few people who haven’t heard of it or of a well-known Oedipus complex. Sometimes it seems that the plot of the story is so preeminent that it’s not worth spending the time to read it. But a very familiar story opens up with fascinating details, additional plot lines, rich characters and many more...
American literary history wouldn’t be the same if Toni Morrison didn’t write this legendary “Beloved” novel. It is partially based on a real story of an enslaved woman who fled Kentucky to escape to freedom, not without terrible sacrifices and consequences. It’s a fascinating plot that will keep you reading for hours. The setting of the book is symbolic: right...
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles is a postmodern historical fiction that tells us the story of the aforementioned woman, abandoned by the French lieutenant who returned to France and married there. The woman named Sarah was left disgraced and shun from the society, spending most of her time on the beach and looking at the sea, grieving about her loss and shame. The story starts...
