Everything is Illuminated

Schindler’s List

Thomas Keneally1982

A German industrialist uses his factory and fortune to protect Jewish workers from the Holocaust. It is based on historical testimony.

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The Tin Drum

Günter Grass1963

A boy in 1920s Danzig decides to stop growing at age three. He observes the rise of Nazism and the war while screaming and playing a toy drum.

elegiac → sardonic, still magical realism

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Doktor Faustus

Thomas Mann1948

A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

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No Archive Will Restore You

Julietta Singh2018

The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

elegiac → meditative

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On Dublin Street

Samantha Young2012

An American woman in Scotland enters a sex-only arrangement with her roommate's brother to avoid emotional intimacy. It is a contemporary romance.

elegiac → warm

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Night Pleasures

Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.

elegiac → playful

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Honeysuckle Summer

Sherryl Woods2010

A woman with severe anxiety and agoraphobia after an abusive marriage finds support from a local deputy. He helps her re-enter the world.

elegiac → warm

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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

elegiac → playful

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Steal Like an Artist

Austin Kleon2012

A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

elegiac → playful

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Poke the Box

Seth Godin2011

A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

elegiac → earnest

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Fugitive Pieces

Anne Michaels1996

A Jewish boy rescued from Nazi-occupied Poland is raised in Greece and Canada. The prose follows his life and the lives of those he touches.

Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

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Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

elegiac → meditative

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Doktor Faustus

Thomas Mann1948

A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

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Mila 18

Leon Uris1961

Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto organize an armed uprising against Nazi occupiers during World War II.

elegiac → propulsive, still historical fiction

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This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

Tadeusz Borowski1967

Short stories based on the author's time in Auschwitz. The narrator describes the daily logistics of the Holocaust with detached indifference.

elegiac → cold, still historical fiction

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Every Man Dies Alone

Hans Fallada2010

A working-class couple in WWII Berlin leaves anonymous postcards against the Nazi regime while a Gestapo inspector hunts them down the source.

elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction

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