“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.” Prologue The novel opens with Richard Papen, the narrator, confessing his involvement in the murder of his […]
American literature
The Goldfinch
“—and I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and the next.” Part 1: The Bombing The novel opens with Theo […]
American literature
Big Little Lies
“She didn’t want to die. She just didn’t want to live like this anymore.” Chapter 1: The Aftermath The book opens with a chaotic scene at Pirriwee Public […]
English literature
The Night Circus
“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, […]
American literature
Where the Crawdads Sing
“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” Part 1: The Marsh Girl The story begins in 1969 with the discovery of Chase […]
American literature
Little Fires Everywhere
“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground and start over. After the burning, the soil is richer, and new things can grow.” Chapter 1 The Richardson […]
American literature
Everything I Never Told You
“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” Chapter 1 The Lee family awakens to the realization that Lydia, their middle child, is missing. Marilyn and James […]
American literature
Blood Meridian
“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” Chapter Summaries The Kid’s Early Life (Chapters 1-4) The novel […]
American literature
No Country for Old Men
“You can’t stop what’s coming. It ain’t all waiting on you. That’s vanity.” Chapter 1 Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam veteran, stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong in […]
American literature
The Road
“Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire.” The novel follows an unnamed father and son […]