France

2015 · Kristin Hannah · 440 pages · Historical Fiction

Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale follows two sisters in occupied France during World War II, each finding different ways to survive and resist. The novel is emotionally devastating in the best possible way, anchored by two protagonists who feel distinct and fully realized. It takes the well-worn subject of wartime Europe and makes it feel urgent again through the specificity of its characters and the relentless momentum of its plot. Some readers find it melodramatic in stretches, but even those critics tend to admit it moved them.

1942 · Albert Camus · 123 pages · Literary Fiction

Camus' spare, disquieting masterpiece about a man who refuses to perform the emotions society expects remains one of the most provocative explorations of absurdity and alienation ever written.

1947 · Albert Camus · 308 pages · Literary Fiction

Camus' allegorical novel about a plague-stricken Algerian city is a quietly powerful exploration of how ordinary people respond to catastrophe, offering wisdom that resonated with new urgency during the COVID-19 era.