This dystopian novel is one of the earliest works of science fiction and discovers time travel, the progress of technology and the decline of civilisation between equality and inequality. A Victorian scientist develops a device which enables him to travel to the far future. After arriving in a post-apocalyptic time, he is horrified, when he […]
This popular coming of age movie was published in Germany under the title Kick It Like Beckham and features a young woman’s struggle for equal treatment: Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra is the daughter of British Indian Sikhs living in London and also very much in love with football. Her conservative parents do not want her to play though […]
J. R. R. Tolkien’s children’s fantasy adventure novel on greed, trust, fellowship and heroism follows the magical quest and personal growth of a hobbit: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends or worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy, […]
Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s debut novel on adoption, mistrust, solitude, lack of parental relationship and dysfunctional families, abuse, forgiveness, and passion for flowers. It follows the perspective of 18-year-old Victoria Jones, who has been handed from foster home to foster home all her childhood. When she turns eighteen, she becomes a flower arranger because flowers are the […]
Both a psychological thriller and an essential critique of contemporary capitalist society on consumerism, perfection, masculinity and rebellion. Fight Club’s narrator lives a regular life, working for an insurance company and collecting Ikea furniture in his free time. Suffering from insomnia, he visits support groups at night so he can experience other people’s suffering. When […]
A postcolonial short story by the award winning author Salman Rushdie on international relations, gender and power, cultural differences, and the many-sided nature of human nature. Miss Rehana visits a British consulate in India, to be reunited with her fiancée who is living in England. A man named Mr. Ali approaches her in front of […]
A collection of poetry and prose originally published in 1970 that critically reflects the past, present and future of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. The lines of Oodgeroo – also known as Kath Walker – problematise Australia’s colonial history, demand for Aboriginal rights, respect, justice and offer hope and reconciliation. The […]
An insightful essay about equality, self-esteem and treating people with respect: In this epistolary manifesto Adichie addresses a friend of hers who just had a baby – the question posed to the author is: How do you raise a to be a feminist? Her answer touches upon education, oppression, sex and many more aspects of […]
This Romantic novel of manners follows the charming Elizabeth Bennet and her character development. It portrays the complicated love story of Elizabeth and the aloof Mr Darcy. Mr Bennet has five daughters but his estate can only be bequeathed to a male heir, hence at least one of his daughters has to marry well to […]
This holocaust novel explores loss, nationalism, anti-Semitism and the power of friendship across borders and fences. The readers follow nine-year-old Bruno, who lives with his parents and sister Gretel in Berlin in 1943. As Bruno’s father, who works as a commanding officer, gets promoted, his family moves to a new house in the middle of […]
A Gothic novel of moral depth about mental health, social pressure, belonging and a family dream that turns into a dark nightmare. The birth of Ben, the fifth and rather unusual child of Harriet and David, threatens and disrupts their ordinary and happy family life. Ben’s violent, aggressive and reckless behaviour, which is due to […]
Winterson showcases a new Christmas story, drawing pastiche-like on themes of love, myth and healing in the festive season. The narrator Mrs Snow one day suddenly finds a tall fairy standing in her garden, claiming to be the Christmas Fairy herself. In the rather unusual dialogue which ensues, hard-won truth waits after every twist and […]
A Christmas poem on peace, faith and diversity written for the tree-lighting ceremony of the USA’s White House in 2005. It paints the festive season as a time of harmony, an absence of hatred and calls on people from all kinds of backgrounds to take part in the peaceful calm of this special time of […]
A coming-of-age-novel about slavery and racism, hypocrisy in society and freedom set along the Mississippi River: a white outsider and an African American slave emancipate themselves in pursuit of the American Dream. Tying in with the prequel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, who once was a homeless boy, now leads a civilised life […]
This graphic novel does not need a single written word to tell its story about migrating from one country to another. Using the outside form of an old picture book, it depicts the story of a man journeying to a strange country to find a new home for his family. On the way, he encounters […]
A classic rhyming tale about the meaning of Christmas and commerce. The sheer thought of the nearing festivities so enrages the green monster everyone knows as simply the Grinch that he plans to steal the whole celebration in the middle of the night.
A story about an unforeseen Arctic adventure. Girl is the name of a Labrador made of fibreglass, whose job it is to raise money for the Royal Guard Dogs. Then one day she is dognapped, renamed Stay and finds herself on board the ship Aurora Australis on a trip to Antarctica. How is a fibreglass […]
This Victorian Gothic novel is about moral decay and the evanescence of beauty and youth. Young Dorian Gray meets the charismatic Lord Henry Wotton at Basil Hallward’s studio by whom he is currently being painted. Basil sees Dorian as his new muse, infatuated by his beauty. Dorian is enthralled by the Lord’s hedonistic world view […]