Apklub

  Coming in at a close second is another of life and literature’s universal themes:  death . You’ll be hard-pressed to find many books that don’t deal with death in some way or another. Whether it’s an exploration of grief after the loss of a loved one, an existential musing on the nature of the life-and-death cycle, or a question about what, if anything, comes ‘after’, death is a popular topic across many genres. Here are some examples of books that explore this theme: The Book Thief   by Markus Zusak is, in fact, narrated by Death himself, exploring the nature of his role in taking human lives against the backdrop of WWII Germany. In   The Lovely Bones , Alice Sebold explores death through another unusual perspective: that of a girl who has recently been murdered, and who watches over her family in a sort of limbo state while trying to come to terms with her own death. The Fault in Our Stars   features teenage characters coming to terms with their mortality i...

  It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the number one spot on our list goes to the theme of love. One of the most popular topics covered not only in books but in movies and music as well, love is a universal, multi-faceted theme that’s been explored in a number of ways throughout the history of literature. First love, lost love, forbidden love, unrequited love; the love between partners, between parents and children, between siblings, between friends; the power of love to conquer all… You name it – if it’s got anything to do with love, it’s a theme that’s been explored in multiple books. So what are some different love theme examples in literature? Shakespeare’s  Romeo and Juliet   is obviously one of the first stories that come to mind – a tragic tale of forbidden love with terrible consequences. Pride and Prejudice   by Jane Austen is another classic example, exploring the type of love that grows slowly, where there has once been disliking and misunderstanding...