Plot summary (with spoilers): At some unspecified point in the future, books are banned and firemen, instead of being called to put out fires, are called to ignite them. This is Ray Bradbury’s vision of a dystopic United States in his 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451.
The protagonist in the story is Guy Montag, a fireman [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): This story is told in the form of a letter from Gilbert Markham to his brother-in-law Halford. It tells the particulars of how Gilbert came to fall in love with Mrs. Graham, a widow who recently moved into the neighborhood as a tenant at Wildfell Hall, a dark and gloomy [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Dombey and Son is the name of a powerful shipping house in London. The owner of the house is Paul Dombey, who, at the beginning of the story is elated because his wife has just given birth to a son, thus fulfilling the name of the house. To be sure, [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): The plot centers on two young men who are the best of friends but who are haunted by a murderous history involving their fathers. Only one of the friends knows of this history. Both of the young men are named Allan Armadale, as were both of their fathers. They are [...]
Summary (with spoilers): The Screwtape Letters is an epistolary novel in which author C.S. Lewis presents his ideas of the Christian faith. He writes from the point of view of Screwtape, who is a senior demon in the “Lowerarchy” of Hell. One of Screwtape’s duties is to mentor junior demons, including Wormwood, whom Screwtape [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Winterbourne is a rich American expatriate who spends most of his time “studying” in Switzerland or traveling around the continent. This really means that he goes to parties, drinks too much Scotch, and smokes too many Black and Mild cigars. While at Vevey, he meets a fellow American, a young [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): The novel begins with Kitty Fane engaging in an adulterous tryst with the older Charles Townsend, an assistant colonial secretary in Hong Kong where Kitty and her husband Walter have been living since they were married a few years ago. Kitty senses that Walter has come home early for some [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Hazel Motes has just left the Army after World War II and is on his way to Taulkinham, TN. He’s simply wandering around, as he couldn’t find his family when he returned to his hometown. Hazel doesn’t have firm plans for the immediate future. This is evidenced by his impulsive [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): This is an ambitious novel that seeks to experiment with a lot of different literary devices. On one hand, If on a winter’s night a traveler is an ode to reading, as one of the main characters, indeed, is called Reader. Author Italo Calvino describes the pure pleasure one receives [...]