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Unlock the more straightforward side of Madame Bovary with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, which tells the story of Emma and her desperate attempts to find excitement and passion to fuel her miserable life. The novel is now considered to be the author's greatest masterpiece, perfectly showcasing his love for a free indirect style and the inner monologue....
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Unlock the more straightforward side of King Lear with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of King Lear by William Shakespeare, a tragic tale about the consequences of betrayal and ambition. The titular character, King Lear, makes the mistake of dividing his entire kingdom between his scheming elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, who are actively plotting against him, while disinheriting his...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of 1984 with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of 1984 by George Orwell, a dystopian novel which presents an uncomfortably realistic portrayal of the future, a future where the government controls everything and residents are kept under constant surveillance. In a society where dissidence is brutally punished and history is altered to suit the State, Winston...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Their Eyes Were Watching God with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which follows the beautiful, intelligent Janie as she attempts to find love and freedom in the Southern USA of the early 20th century. Her first two marriages, to the much older and determinedly unromantic Logan Killicks and the...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Replay with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Replay by Marc Levy, which follows the New York Times journalist Andrew Stilman, who is stabbed and left for dead by a mystery assailant while out jogging one morning. When he wakes up, he realizes that he has gone back in time to two months earlier, and resolves to use the second chance he has been granted...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of NW with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of NW by Zadie Smith, which is set in north-west London and takes its name from the area's postcode. The experimental narrative follows four characters from working-class backgrounds whose lives continue to intersect even as they pursue very different paths, resulting in a vivid and immersive portrait of modern...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of The Kite Runner with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which tells the story of the young Amir and his journey through life as he learns the meaning of redemption, family and loyalty, against the background of the political unrest in Afghanistan. It is the author's first novel, and has topped bestseller lists around...
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This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Merchant's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, which centers on marriage, a common theme running through The Canterbury Tales, as the old Januarie weds — and is eventually cuckolded by — the young and beautiful Maye. The Tale shares many features with the bawdy, humorous fabliau, although it also stands out from this genre with its refined setting, noble characters and sophisticated style. Geoffrey Chaucer...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Wuthering Heights with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, which centres on the passionate, destructive love of its two main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff. Despite the intensity of their feelings for one another, fate conspires to keep them apart, which ultimately destroys the lives of both the two lovers...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of A Midsummer Night's Dream with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a light-hearted comedy centred on two couples whose romantic lives go awry due to a mischievous magical being. When he accidentally gives a love potion to the wrong person, chaos ensues and the result is an action-packed and comical play, which has been enticing...
11) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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This engaging summary presents an analysis of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells the story of his experiences in one of the European colonies in Africa. As a young man, he travelled to the colony for work, where he met the ivory trader Kurtz, who had been driven mad by the unremittingly harsh climate and was ruling over the indigenous inhabitants as a bloodthirsty, god-like tyrant. Heart of Darkness's exploration...
12) Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Against Nature with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans, which traces the protagonist Duc Jean Floressas des Esseintes' attempts to escape what he sees as the mediocrity and materialism of the society he lives in. However, his self-imposed isolation does not give him the freedom he hoped for, and his declining...
13) The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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Unlock the more straightforward side of The Mill on the Floss with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, a coming-of-age story which traces the progression of its intelligent, impetuous protagonist Maggie Tulliver from childhood to early adulthood. In the course of the novel, she must navigate turbulent family relationships, the effects of her family's...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of The Book Thief with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which follows nine-year-old Liesel as she leaves her mother forever to go and live with her new foster parents. On the way to her new home, she steals a book from the graveyard where her younger brother is buried; this marks the beginning of her discovery of the...
15) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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Unlock the more straightforward side of The Things They Carried with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a series of interconnected short stories set during the Vietnam War. O'Brien was drafted to fight in Vietnam when he was in his early 20s, and he has written extensively about the conflict in both fiction and nonfiction pieces. In The Things They...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Veronika Decides to Die with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho, which tells the emotional story of a suicidal woman who is determined to end her life and follows her journey to discovering her true self and the meaning of life. The novel has inspired various films, songs and albums due to its careful representation...
17) City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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Unlock the more straightforward side of City on Fire with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg, one of the most talked-about books of the 2015 literary season and the most expensive first novel ever published. This sprawling book follows an extensive cast of characters, from wealthy real estate magnates to destitute musicians, living in New York in the...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Rhinoceros with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco, which tells the story of a small town that is suffering from a 'rhinoceritis' epidemic. One by one, the inhabitants all turn into rhinoceroses until only one man remains, determined to fight for his humanity. It is often considered to be a response to the rise of communism,...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Phaedra with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Phaedra by Jean Racine, which tells the story of its eponymous heroine, whose unrequited love causes the misfortune of all those around her. A gripping illustration of the power of words based on a story of Greek mythology, Phaedra remains as successful today as it was several centuries ago. Racine's...
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Unlock the more straightforward side of Kim with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Kim by Rudyard Kipling, which tells the story of the title character's adventures in India alongside Teshoo lama, an elderly Buddhist holy man. Kim is an English orphan, but is intimately familiar with India, having grown up there, and feels himself to be a native of the country. In the course of his travels,...
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