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 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 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 […]
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 Gothic short story about the inevitability of death, emphasising that in death everyone is equal. The fearless and happy prince Prospero celebrates opulent masquerade balls with many other nobles while outside his thick castle walls the Red Death rages and carries off the less fortunate. In the story, Prospero set up seven different coloured […]
A classic children’s novel about poverty and wealth, humility, kindness and greed. Charlie is an eleven-year-old boy who loves chocolate and lives with his parents and grandparents in a little hut close to a big city. They do not have a lot of money, but Charlie and his family live a happy life until Charlie’s […]
A dystopian movie drama about power, subversion and the lengths some people will go to protect their family: In Katniss’ world, survival is everything. She lives in a poor, rural district of a future version of the North-American continent re-shaped by a disaster. For the meagre support provided by the Capitol, all the districts have […]
A coming-of-age movie about family, rootlessness and uncovering who you really are: The viewer is invited into three stages of protagonist Chiron’s life. As a kid nicknamed “Little”, Chiron is picked on by his peers while he has to grow up without a father. As a teenager trying to survive school, he has to realize […]
This gothic tale tells a scary but humourous story of greed, marriage and the power of imagination. Coming from New York, the main character and poor schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane attempts to win the heart and hand of Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of the richest farmer in Sleepy Hollow. The small, quiet and somehow enchanted […]
A humourous coming-of-age graphic novel about love, friendship, teenage troubles (alcohol, sexuality, violence…) and intercultural contact. Junior is a 14-year old Native-American teenager who grows up in the Spokane Indian Reservation in the State of Washington. Being bullied because of his special needs, he decides to visit an all-white public high school off the reservation, […]
A modern ‘from rags to riches’ tale about believing in both fate and love against all odds. In Q & A, the inspiration for the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, Swarup tells the story of Ram Muhammed Thomas, who participates in India’s game show “Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?”. When Ram answers question after question […]
A coming-of-age novel about patriarchy, racism, social injustices and rape. Esperanza is a teenage girl living with her family in Chicago. In short episodes she tells the reader about her life, growing up on Mango Street in a poor Mexican-American community. Esperanza grows up, makes friends, falls in love and endures sexual assault. Through all […]
This young adult novel set in a small town in Pennsylvania explores themes such as racism, loss, inequality and homelessness. Jeffrey Magee is a young, homeless drifter and ends up in Two Mills, a town that is strictly divided into a white and a black community. Jeffrey visits both communities, experiences racial tensions and tries […]
A family saga about migration, destiny, gender relations and intersexuality. Cal was born as Calliope, the daughter of a Greek-American family in Michigan. But during puberty, the girl develops more and more male features and Cal finds out that he is intersexual and feels more male than female. He retells the story of his family. […]