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Literature

Great books shape how we see ourselves and our world, whether through timeless stories or illuminating reflections on the craft of writing itself. These transformative works explore life's deepest questions while teaching us to read between the lines of human experience.

Literature Book Summaries

The Iliad Summary
The Iliad
by Homer 614 pages
3.92
487.5K ratings
Classics
Poetry
Mythology
The Journey to the West, Volume 1 Summary
The Journey to the West, Volume 1
by Wu Cheng'en 1592 544 pages
4.25
2.0K ratings
Classics
Fantasy
China
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Summary
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami 1994 607 pages
4.14
303.2K ratings
Magical Realism
Fantasy
Japanese Literature
Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters Summary
Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters
Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization
by Michael Tierno 2002 191 pages
3.83
622 ratings
Writing
Film
Philosophy
The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray
A Graphic Novel
by Ian Edginton 2008 122 pages
4.17
59.0K ratings
Classics
Graphic Novels
Comics
Doctor Faustus Summary
Doctor Faustus
by Thomas Mann 1947 535 pages
4.08
13.3K ratings
Classics
German Literature
Literature
The Red Badge of Courage Summary
The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane 1895 149 pages
3.29
108.1K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
War
Macbeth Summary
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare 1623 249 pages
3.89
979.6K ratings
Classics
Plays
School
Dubliners Summary
Dubliners
by James Joyce 1914 352 pages
3.84
167.9K ratings
Classics
Short Stories
Ireland
Journey to the End of the Night Summary
Journey to the End of the Night
by Louis-Ferdinand Céline 1932 453 pages
4.19
45.6K ratings
France
Literature
French Literature
Women Summary
Women
by Charles Bukowski 1978 291 pages
3.80
83.4K ratings
Novels
Poetry
Literature
How Proust Can Change Your Life Summary
How Proust Can Change Your Life
by Alain de Botton 1998 208 pages
3.76
18.2K ratings
Philosophy
Self Help
Biography
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Summary
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce 1916 329 pages
3.64
159.6K ratings
Classics
Literature
Irish Literature
The Sorrows of Young Werther Summary
The Sorrows of Young Werther
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 149 pages
3.69
146.4K ratings
German Literature
Classics
Literature
Death of a Salesman Summary
Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller 1949 144 pages
3.58
250.3K ratings
Classics
Plays
Drama
Steppenwolf Summary
Steppenwolf
by Hermann Hesse 1927 256 pages
4.13
203.5K ratings
Classics
Philosophy
German Literature
The Black Book Summary
The Black Book
by Orhan Pamuk 1990 466 pages
3.92
12.8K ratings
Turkish Literature
Turkish
Mystery
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler Summary
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino 1979 260 pages
4.02
106.7K ratings
Classics
Italian Literature
Magical Realism
Oil! Summary
Oil!
by Upton Sinclair 1926 528 pages
3.74
7.1K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Literature
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Summary
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
by Victor Hugo 1831 510 pages
4.02
211.3K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
France
King Lear Summary
King Lear
by William Shakespeare 1605 339 pages
3.91
230.5K ratings
Plays
Classics
School
Invisible Man Summary
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison 1952 581 pages
3.92
197.0K ratings
Classics
Literature
Historical Fiction
سمفونی مردگان Summary
سمفونی مردگان
by Abbas Maroufi 1989 352 pages
4.25
19.8K ratings
Novels
Iran
Literature
Walden or, Life in the Woods Summary
Walden or, Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau 1854 352 pages
3.78
199.1K ratings
Classics
Philosophy
Nature
Things Fall Apart Summary
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe 1958 215 pages
3.74
398.3K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Africa
Underworld Summary
Underworld
by Don DeLillo 1997 827 pages
3.95
32.8K ratings
Novels
Literature
Literary Fiction
The Sun Also Rises Summary
The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway 1926 189 pages
3.79
474.6K ratings
Classics
Literature
Novels
Samarkand Summary
Samarkand
by Amin Maalouf 1988 304 pages
4.24
30.3K ratings
Historical Fiction
Novels
Literature
How Fiction Works Summary
How Fiction Works
by James Wood 2008 265 pages
3.99
7.9K ratings
Writing
Literary Criticism
Books About Books
Aesop’s Fables Summary
Aesop’s Fables
by Aesop 352 pages
4.05
128.1K ratings
Classics
Short Stories
Childrens
Leaves of Grass Summary
Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman 1855 624 pages
4.12
113.7K ratings
Poetry
Classics
Literature
Of Human Bondage Summary
Of Human Bondage
by W. Somerset Maugham 1915 684 pages
4.15
59.8K ratings
Classics
Literature
Novels
The Castle Summary
The Castle
by Franz Kafka 1926 328 pages
3.92
70.7K ratings
Literature
Philosophy
German Literature
Love Is a Dog from Hell Summary
Love Is a Dog from Hell
by Charles Bukowski 1977 312 pages
3.96
37.6K ratings
Classics
Poetry
Literature
The Foundation Trilogy Summary
The Foundation Trilogy
by Isaac Asimov 1953 679 pages
4.42
106.6K ratings
Science Fiction
Classics
Science Fiction Fantasy
The White Castle Summary
The White Castle
by Orhan Pamuk 1985 145 pages
3.48
16.2K ratings
Historical Fiction
Turkish Literature
Turkish
Ulysses Summary
Ulysses
by James Joyce 1922 783 pages
3.77
137.3K ratings
Classics
Literature
Ireland
How to Read Literature Like a Professor Summary
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster 2003 314 pages
3.59
32.7K ratings
School
Books About Books
Writing
Four Great Tragedies Summary
Four Great Tragedies
Hamlet / Othello / King Lear / Macbeth
by William Shakespeare 1606 592 pages
4.42
17.9K ratings
Classics
Plays
Drama
The Prince of Tides Summary
The Prince of Tides
by Pat Conroy 1986 679 pages
4.26
213.1K ratings
Classics
Romance
Southern
Lord of the Flies Summary
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding 1954 182 pages
3.70
3.1M ratings
Classics
Young Adult
School
Moby-Dick or, The Whale Summary
Moby-Dick or, The Whale
by Herman Melville 1851 720 pages
3.56
596.8K ratings
Classics
Literature
Adventure
Letters to a Young Poet Summary
Letters to a Young Poet
by Rainer Maria Rilke 1929 80 pages
4.29
110.1K ratings
Poetry
Classics
Philosophy
Lord Jim Summary
Lord Jim
by Joseph Conrad 1900 455 pages
3.61
32.2K ratings
Classics
Literature
Adventure
The Namesake Summary
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri 2003 304 pages
4.02
278.4K ratings
Book Club
Literary Fiction
Contemporary
Wuthering Heights Summary
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë 1847 464 pages
3.90
1.9M ratings
Gothic
Historical Fiction
Literature
1984 Summary
1984
George Orwell
by SparkNotes 2014 80 pages
4.30
9.8K ratings
Classics
Science Fiction
Dystopia
Amerika Summary
Amerika
by Franz Kafka 1927 336 pages
3.74
32.6K ratings
Classics
German Literature
Literature
The Merchant of Venice Summary
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare 1596 249 pages
3.78
197.7K ratings
Classics
Plays
Drama
Thank You for Smoking Summary
Thank You for Smoking
by Christopher Buckley 1994 272 pages
3.94
12.9K ratings
Humor
Contemporary
Politics
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