Life Lessons from Literature

Joseph Piercy selects over a 100 classic literary pieces of fiction which he posits offer the possibility of learning life lessons, where stories may differ, particularly as it covers global literature, but the points of learning can be universal. He structures his work around the themes of Love and Relationships, People and Society, Oppression and Conflict, Psychology and Identity, and History and Memory. The specifics of a piece of fiction here is necessarily concise and simplified, necessary since this is a relatively short piece of work, this has its advantages, such as the range of fiction covered, but its problems too. However, it may be that a book here may snag the interest of the reader, who if looking for more indepth information, can opt to seek it out from other sources available.

Literary fiction covered includes Jane Eyre, where the life lessons identified are 'In matters of the heart people often fail to see what is best for them. Money cannot buy happiness, and vengeance does not conquer torment and pain.', this is followed by a brief look at what the book is about. Other works covered include The Bell Jar, David Copperfield, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Brave New World, Remains of the Day, and Lord of the Flies. American fiction includes Beloved, The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, The Color Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby. Others books include Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Love in the Time of Cholera, Lolita, The God of Small Things, and Midnight's Children.

I can see this book being used to arouse sufficient curiosity to want to read one of the novels identified, and there may be a myriad of reasons as to why a a specific choice is made. This may include the following, I can see some readers seeing this as useful push to motivate reading a book they may have previously seen as too high brow, knew nothing of previously, and for identifying fiction for specific life lessons they are interested in. Of course, I am but touching the tip of the iceberg here, and provided the caveats are heeded, I think this book could serve many a purpose for readers, including building on their normal reading repetoire. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.