Have You Ever Seen an Optimist with Gray Hairs On His Head?

Sophie's Choice

By William Styron

Three stories are told: a young Southerner wants to become a writer; a turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in that woman's past--one that impels both Sophie and Nathan toward destruction.

Close Range

By Annie Proulx

A collection of short stories, which includes the short story, Brokeback Mountain.

The Heart of the Matter

By Graham Greene

An assistant police commissioner in a West African coastal town lets passion overrule his honor.

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Gilead

By Marilynne Robinson

In 1956, toward the end of his life, Reverend John Ames begins a letter to his young son, sharing the story of his life and explaining how his faith influenced his choices and actions.

The Optimist's Daughter

By Eudora Welty

This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel tells the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South and returns, years later, to New Orleans, where her father is dying. After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. Along in the old house, Laurel finally comes to an understanding of the past, herself, and her parents.