Leo Tolstoy famously begins the novel Anna Karenina with the sentence: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In this thematic collection, we have gathered noteworthy texts that navigate the joyous and sorrowful emotional terrain of the family unit.
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: War, Relationships: Fathers
Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, American Civil War, Race / Racism, History: U.S., Military / War, History: World
Publication year 2002
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
“October in the Chair” by Neil Gaiman is a supernatural short story published in his 2006 collection Fragile Things. The story won the 2003 Locus Award for Best Short Story, and the collection won the 2007 Locus Award for Best Collection. Along with earning these awards, Gaiman is a widely read, critically acclaimed author of comics, short stories, novels, and screenplays, mostly in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. Other works by this author... Read October in the Chair Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Disability, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Children's Literature, Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure
Publication year 60
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Education, Education, Classical Period, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, Ancient Greece, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy
Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex, first performed in the early-to-mid 400s BCE, is one of the most famous and influential tragedies left to us from the ancient Greek tradition. Based on the myth of Oedipus, whose cursed fate was to marry his mother and kill his father, the play explores themes of destiny, free will, and literal and metaphoric vision and blindness. This guide uses the 1984 Penguin edition of The Three Theban Plays, translated by... Read Oedipus Rex Summary
Publication year 1902
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Race / Racism, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Natural World: Space & The Universe
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Immigration, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration / Refugee, Gender / Feminism, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family
Tags Class, Modern Classic Fiction, Relationships
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
This is an overview of the first edition of Okay for Now, a humorous Young Adult novel by award-winning author, Gary D. Schmidt. Published in 2011, this children’s novel was nominated for the National Book Award for Young People’s literature. Other works by Schmidt include Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2004), The Wednesday Wars (2007), and The Labors of Hercules Beal (2023).Plot SummaryDoug Swieteck, a middle schooler, is the child of an abusive, alcoholic father... Read Okay for Now Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Colonialism, Society: Economics
Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: U.S., Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship
Tags Love / Sexuality, Grief / Death, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family
Tags Modern Classic Fiction
Published in 2008, Olive Kitteridge is an unconventional novel by Elizabeth Strout that interlinks 13 tales about the people of Crosby, Maine. The novel is a collection of short stories tied together by the unifying element of titular character Olive Kitteridge. The novel won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and HBO created a mini-series of the book in 2014. Because of its construction, Strout’s novel is less about its plot than it is about... Read Olive Kitteridge Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Relationships
Kevin Henkes is the author of Olive’s Ocean, a 2001 coming-of-age chapter book for young readers. Kevin has written and illustrated several books for children and young readers, including Waiting (1991) and The Year of Billy Miller (2013). Henkes was born in Wisconsin, and this Midwest state is the home of his character Billy Miller, as well as Martha Boyle, the 12-year-old protagonist in Olive’s Ocean. In the novel, Martha grapples with the sudden death... Read Olive's Ocean Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Aging, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Midlife, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Education, Identity: Femininity, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags British Literature, Race / Racism, Modern Classic Fiction
On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Biography, Politics / Government, Science / Nature, History: World, Health / Medicine
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Natural World: Animals, Relationships: Family
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Animals, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Science / Nature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1990
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Community
Tags Historical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Classic Fiction
Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff is the first installment of a historical fiction trilogy originally published in 1990 that explores the lives of a Māori family in early 1990s New Zealand. In the first year of its publication, it won the PEN Best First Book award and was the runner-up for the Goodman Fielder Wattie Award. In 1994, Once Were Warriors was optioned and made into a movie of the same name, which won... Read Once Were Warriors Summary