Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse Harry Haller is a sad and lonely figure, a reclusive intellectual for whom life holds no joy. He struggles to reconcile the wild primeval wolf and the rational man within himself without surrendering to the bourgeois values…
The Bean Trees Barbara Kingsolver It is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting pregnant. She succeeds, but inherits a three-year-old Native American girl named…
Life & Death & Giants Ron Rindo Gabriel Fisher was born an orphan, weighing eighteen pounds and measuring twenty-seven inches long. No one in Lakota, Wisconsin, knows what to make of him. He walks at eight months, communicates with animals,…
Such a Fun Age Kiley Reid Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter,…
A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley When the youngest daughter objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. Ambitiously conceived and stunningly written, A…
Before You Know Kindness Chris Bohjalian For ten summers, the Seton family—all three generations—met at their country home in New England to spend a week together playing tennis, badminton, and golf, and savoring gin and tonics on the wraparound porch…
Oliver Twist Charles Dickens Follow Oliver’s unforgettable struggle for survival, from the grim workhouse to the gritty London underworld, in a story that blends heart-wrenching drama, sharp social critique, and moments of enduring hope.
Martyr! Kaveh Akbar Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America…
The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazementresurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China’s last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive growth of…
Girl’s Burn Brighter Shobha Rao Poornima and Savitha have three strikes against them: they are poor, they are ambitious, and they are girls. After her mother’s death, Poornima has very little kindness in her life. She is left to care…