“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, […]
French literature
Memoirs of Hadrian
“I have reached the age when life, for every man, is a defeat accepted.” Memoirs of Hadrian is a fictional autobiography of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, written as […]
French literature
The Three Musketeers
“All for one, one for all!” Chapter 1: The Young D’Artagnan Leaves Home D’Artagnan, a poor but ambitious Gascon, leaves his home to join the Musketeers in Paris. […]
American literature
Malibu Rising
“The water was warm, but the world was cold.” Part One: June 1956 – August 1983 The novel opens with the backstory of Mick Riva, a famous singer […]
American literature
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, […]
American literature
Underworld
“He speaks in your voice, American, and there’s a shine in his eye that’s halfway hopeful.” Prologue: The Triumph of Death (1951) The novel opens with the famous […]
American literature
Libra
“What has become unthinkable is the act not of destruction but of assent.” Part One: The Assassin The novel opens with Lee Harvey Oswald’s troubled childhood, marked by […]
American literature
The Nickel Boys
“Even in death the boys were trouble.” Chapter 1: Elwood Curtis Elwood Curtis, a bright and idealistic Black teenager in 1960s Florida, is inspired by the words of […]
American literature
The Underground Railroad
“The whites came to this land for a fresh start and to escape the tyranny of their masters, just as the freemen had fled theirs. But the ideals […]
English literature
The Paying Guests
“She had thought she was done with all that. But here it was again: desire, like a tap left running somewhere, impossible to ignore.” Part One Frances Wray, […]