The Beauty of the Fall
Tragedy is the highest form of drama because it tells the truth we most want to ignore: that we are not in control. In these stories, great characters are brought low by their own flaws or by an indifferent universe. Yet, in their fall, they achieve a kind of nobility.
Reading tragedy is a cathartic experience. It allows us to confront our own mortality and vulnerability. By witnessing the suffering of others—from the madness of Lear to the suicide of Anna Karenina—we learn compassion and humility. We see that even in defeat, the human spirit can be magnificent.
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A slim, perfect novel set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties. It peels back the glittering surface of the Jazz Age to reveal a hollow core of obsession and moral decay. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the life of his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws lavish parties in a desperate bid to win back his former love, Daisy Buchanan, now married to the wealthy but brutish Tom. As the summer unfolds, the novel explores the collision between Gatsby's romantic dreams and the brutal reality of class and money in America. It is a story about the American Dream—the belief that one can reinvent oneself—and the tragedy of trying to repeat the past.
The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
A tragedy of biblical proportions set in the decaying American South. Faulkner peels back the layers of time to reveal a family poisoned by history, sexuality, and the loss of honor. The novel focuses on the Compson family, former aristocrats who are spiraling into financial and moral ruin. The story is told through four distinct sections, each with a different narrator and style. The first is told by Benjy, a cognitively disabled man for whom time has no meaning; the second by Quentin, a suicidal Harvard student obsessed with his sister's purity; the third by Jason, a cruel and bitter cynic; and the fourth by an omniscient narrator focusing on Dilsey, the family's black servant who is the only source of love and stability. It is a radical experiment in perspective.
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
The greatest novel ever written about the human heart. A panoramic exploration of marriage, society, and the destructive power of desire set against the backdrop of Imperial Russia. The novel weaves together two major plotlines: the tragic, passionate affair of the married Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky, and the spiritual awakening of the socially awkward landowner Levin. While Anna's story is a downward spiral of jealousy, isolation, and eventual suicide, Levin's story is an upward climb toward family, faith, and meaning. Tolstoy uses these parallel lives to explore the different ways we seek happiness. The novel is famous for its psychological realism; every character, no matter how minor, feels fully realized and alive.
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
A love story closer to a horror story. On the savage, wind-battered moors of Yorkshire, the foundling Heathcliff and the wild Catherine Earnshaw share a bond that is primal, violent, and utterly destructive. When they are separated by class and circumstance—Catherine marries the wealthy Edgar Linton—Heathcliff sets out on a path of cold-blooded revenge. The novel spans two generations, showing how Heathcliff's bitterness poisons everyone around him. It is a radical departure from the polite Victorian novels of its time, featuring characters who are cruel, selfish, and driven by raw emotion. It challenges the idea that love is always a force for good, suggesting it can also be a haunting and a possession.