“The factory was like a living thing. It breathed, it pulsed, it grew.” Chapter 1: The Hiring Process The novel opens with an unnamed protagonist, a recent graduate […]
Japanese literature
The Goddess Chronicle
“In the beginning, there was only the sea. And then the islands appeared, and the gods descended.” Part 1: The Sisters The story begins on a remote island […]
Japanese literature
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
“I think I’m afraid of being truly happy. Because whenever I get too happy, something bad always happens.” Chapter 1: Tsukuru Tazaki’s Past Tsukuru Tazaki, a 36-year-old railway […]
German literature
Bricks and Mortar
“Everything was different back then, but everything was the same.” Chapter Summaries Bricks and Mortar by Clemens Meyer is a fragmented, multi-perspective novel set in an unnamed German […]
Russian literature
Telluria
“The world is a needle, and we are the thread.” Telluria by Vladimir Sorokin is a fragmented, surreal novel set in a post-apocalyptic future where Europe has collapsed […]
French literature
Camille
“Justice is a luxury reserved for those who can afford it.” Part One The novel opens with Anne Forestier, a successful art dealer, being brutally attacked in her […]
French literature
The Great Swindle
“The war had turned them into thieves, liars, and killers. Now peace would make them something worse.” Chapter 1: The Aftermath of War The novel opens in 1918, […]
American literature
Allegiant
“I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last.” Allegiant, the third book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy, follows Tris Prior and Tobias Eaton […]
American literature
Fangirl
“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you.” Part One: Freshman Year Cath Avery, a shy and introverted college freshman, […]
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 […]