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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 Vendor of Sweets Summary
The Vendor of Sweets
by R.K. Narayan 1967 144 pages
3.75
2k+ ratings
India
Indian Literature
Classics
The Diaries of Franz Kafka Summary
The Diaries of Franz Kafka
by Franz Kafka 2023 704 pages
4.31
100+ ratings
Classics
Philosophy
Memoir
Crash Summary
Crash
by J.G. Ballard 1973 224 pages
3.59
27k+ ratings
Science Fiction
Horror
Novels
The Bell Summary
The Bell
by Iris Murdoch 1958 296 pages
3.92
9k+ ratings
Classics
Novels
British Literature
The Return of the Native Summary
The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy 1878 426 pages
3.88
39k+ ratings
Classics
Literature
19th Century
Vathek Summary
Vathek
by William Beckford 1786 180 pages
3.24
6k+ ratings
Gothic
Classics
Horror
We the Living Summary
We the Living
by Ayn Rand 1936 464 pages
3.96
30k+ ratings
Classics
Philosophy
Historical Fiction
Bel-Ami Summary
Bel-Ami
by Guy de Maupassant 1885 416 pages
3.86
45k+ ratings
France
French Literature
Classics
The Jungle Summary
The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair 1906 335 pages
3.77
100k+ ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
Literature
Wait Until Spring, Bandini Summary
Wait Until Spring, Bandini
by John Fante 1938 266 pages
4.10
13k+ ratings
Classics
Novels
American
Early Socratic Dialogues Summary
Early Socratic Dialogues
by Plato 399 pages
4.06
100+ ratings
Philosophy
Classics
Ancient
The House of Hunger Summary
The House of Hunger
by Dambudzo Marechera 1978 160 pages
3.96
1k+ ratings
Africa
Short Stories
Zimbabwe
The Plot Against America Summary
The Plot Against America
by Philip Roth 2004 391 pages
3.81
65k+ ratings
Historical Fiction
Alternate History
Literature
Dogeaters Summary
Dogeaters
by Jessica Hagedorn 1990 272 pages
3.61
2k+ ratings
Historical Fiction
Novels
Literature
History of English literature Summary
History of English literature
by Edward Albert 1923 544 pages
3.91
100+ ratings
History
Literature
Literary Criticism
Imaginary Homelands Summary
Imaginary Homelands
Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
by Salman Rushdie 1991 448 pages
3.98
1k+ ratings
Essays
India
Politics
On the Road Summary
On the Road
by Jack Kerouac 1957 307 pages
3.61
400k+ ratings
Travel
Literature
Classics
Père Goriot Summary
Père Goriot
by Honoré de Balzac 1835 384 pages
3.85
63k+ ratings
Classics
France
French Literature
Crossing to Safety Summary
Crossing to Safety
by Wallace Stegner 1987 335 pages
4.16
48k+ ratings
Classics
Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
The Sheltering Sky Summary
The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles 1949 342 pages
3.89
29k+ ratings
Classics
Africa
Travel
Kokoro Summary
Kokoro
by Natsume Sōseki 1914 256 pages
4.04
37k+ ratings
Japan
Classics
Japanese Literature
The Stoic Summary
The Stoic
by Theodore Dreiser 1947 334 pages
4.35
2k+ ratings
Classics
Novels
American
The Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
by William Shakespeare 1594 245 pages
3.39
16k+ ratings
Classics
Plays
Drama
The Razor’s Edge Summary
The Razor’s Edge
by W. Somerset Maugham 1944 314 pages
4.19
51k+ ratings
Literature
Classics
Philosophy
Sun and Steel Summary
Sun and Steel
by Yukio Mishima 2024 110 pages
3.76
100+ ratings
Philosophy
Literature
Japanese Literature
The Home and the World Summary
The Home and the World
by Rabindranath Tagore 1916 213 pages
3.83
5k+ ratings
Classics
India
Indian Literature
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint Summary
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint
by William Shakespeare 1609 458 pages
4.19
2k+ ratings
Poetry
Classics
Romance
Potiki Summary
Potiki
by Patricia Grace 1986 192 pages
3.88
2k+ ratings
Indigenous
Classics
Magical Realism
Far From the Madding Crowd Summary
Far From the Madding Crowd
by Thomas Hardy 1874 433 pages
3.97
100k+ ratings
Classics
Romance
Historical Fiction
Blue Bamboo Summary
Blue Bamboo
Japanese Tales of Fantasy
by Osamu Dazai 1993 184 pages
3.73
2k+ ratings
Short Stories
Japan
Japanese Literature
Thank You for Smoking Summary
Thank You for Smoking
by Christopher Buckley 1994 272 pages
3.94
12k+ ratings
Humor
Contemporary
Politics
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Summary
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
by Fyodor Dostoevsky 1877 32 pages
4.03
35k+ ratings
Classics
Short Stories
Russian Literature
The Written World Summary
The Written World
The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization
by Martin Puchner 2014 537 pages
3.92
1k+ ratings
History
Books About Books
Literature
Second Class Citizen Summary
Second Class Citizen
by Buchi Emecheta 1974 174 pages
4.09
4k+ ratings
Africa
Nigeria
African Literature
Brisbane Summary
Brisbane
by Eugene Vodolazkin 2018 343 pages
3.98
1k+ ratings
Russia
Historical Fiction
Literature
Benito Cereno Summary
Benito Cereno
by Herman Melville 1855 160 pages
3.53
9k+ ratings
Classics
Short Stories
School
Lazarillo de Tormes and The Swindler Summary
Lazarillo de Tormes and The Swindler
Two Spanish Picaresque Novels
by Francisco de Quevedo 1969 240 pages
3.62
1k+ ratings
Classics
Spanish Literature
Spain
Shakespeare Summary
Shakespeare
The Invention of the Human
by Harold Bloom 1998 745 pages
4.03
3k+ ratings
Literary Criticism
Literature
Criticism
The Prelude Summary
The Prelude
by William Wordsworth 1850 704 pages
3.88
4k+ ratings
Poetry
Classics
Romanticism
Men Without Women Summary
Men Without Women
by Ernest Hemingway 1927 153 pages
3.59
14k+ ratings
Classics
Short Stories
Literature
How to Read and Why Summary
How to Read and Why
by Harold Bloom 2000 288 pages
3.60
3k+ ratings
Literary Criticism
Books About Books
Literature
Devil on the Cross Summary
Devil on the Cross
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1980 256 pages
3.93
1k+ ratings
Africa
Classics
Kenya
The Shadow of a Great Rock Summary
The Shadow of a Great Rock
A Literary Appreciation of the King James Bible
by Harold Bloom 2011 320 pages
3.47
100+ ratings
Religion
Literary Criticism
History
The Anatomy of Influence Summary
The Anatomy of Influence
Literature as a Way of Life
by Harold Bloom 2011 368 pages
3.93
100+ ratings
Literary Criticism
Literature
Poetry
The Awakening Summary
The Awakening
by Kate Chopin 1899 195 pages
3.68
200k+ ratings
Classics
Feminism
School
Allah Is Not Obliged Summary
Allah Is Not Obliged
by Ahmadou Kourouma 2000 215 pages
3.68
2k+ ratings
Ivory Coast
African Literature
War
The Lords of Discipline Summary
The Lords of Discipline
by Pat Conroy 1980 512 pages
4.34
29k+ ratings
Historical Fiction
Military Fiction
Southern
White Noise Summary
White Noise
by Don DeLillo 1985 320 pages
3.86
100k+ ratings
Classics
Literature
Novels
The First Circle Summary
The First Circle
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1968 580 pages
4.24
8k+ ratings
Classics
Russia
Russian Literature
The War of the End of the World Summary
The War of the End of the World
by Mario Vargas Llosa 1981 568 pages
4.25
11k+ ratings
Historical Fiction
Literature
Novels
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