Wide Reading List - Craigslea State High School

Craigslea State High School
English Faculty
Senior English – 2015
Wide Reading List
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austin
Rich in wit and wisdom, humour and humanity, this classic novel takes a probing, entertaining look at the
nature of love, money, and power in Georgian England.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte
This novel is the story of an intellectual and passionate young woman, who refuses to surrender her strong
sense of principles and proves herself equal to all challenges.
Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
Wuthering Heights is a novel of revenge and romantic love. It tells the stories of two families: the Earnshaws
who live at the Heights, at the edge of the moors, and the genteel and refined Lintons who live at Thrushcross
Grange. When Mr. Earnshaw brings home a foundling to live in the family, complex feelings of jealousy and
rivalry as well as a soulful alliance between Heathcliff and Catherine develop
Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
This novel depicts the experiences of Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner,
who must use every means at her disposal to come out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's
"March to the Sea".
A Town like Alice
Neville Shute
Nevil Shute’s most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the Malayan
jungle during World War II to the rugged Australian outback
The Old Man and the Sea
Earnest Hemingway
One of Hemingway’s most famous works, it centres upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who struggles with a
giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. This novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and was
cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in
1954
Rebecca
Daphne Du Maurier
"Last Night I Dreamt
I Went To Manderley Again."
So the second Mrs Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past
the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated grey stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a
husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the
life of the first Mrs de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten.
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
Since his debut in 1951, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates
the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school. His
constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not
mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novel by George Orwell, published in England on 17 August 1945.
According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into
the Stalin era in the Soviet Union.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Set in the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is simply about black and
white. It is a gentle portrayal of the extremes of racism suffered by black people, and the way that white
liberals like lawyer Atticus Finch negotiate the criss-cross of fine lines through their society
Lord of the Flies
William Golding
A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and
wait to be rescued. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into
something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a numerous, savage significance.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
This story tells the tale of Arthur Dent, an earthling with no intention of being anywhere else but his house. Yet,
one morning he finds himself in a spot of trouble and the next thing he knows, his planet is destroyed. He,
luckily enough, has a clever alien friend, Ford Prefect who hitches a ride on many dangerous, galactic spaceships.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden
This is a rare and utterly engaging story. It tells the extraordinary tale of a geisha - from 1929 to the post-war
years of Japan's dramatic history and opening a window onto a half-hidden world of eroticism and
enchantment, exploration and degradation.
Bridget Jones Diary
Helen Fielding
The diary of a 30 something, single London woman on an optimistic but doomed quest for self-improvement.
Cheered by ranting with her friends, humiliated at Smug Marrieds' dinner parties, crazed by parental attempts
to fix her up with a rich divorcee in a diamond-patterned sweater, Bridget lurches through life, convinced that if
she could just get down to 8st 7lb, stop smoking and develop inner poise, all would be well
The Memory Keepers Daughter
Kim Edwards
This stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr David Henry to deliver his own
twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognises that his daughter has
Down syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a split-second decision that will haunt all
their lives forever.
God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy’s debut novel is a modern classic that has been read and loved worldwide. Equal parts
powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama, it is the story of an affluent Indian
family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969.
12 Edmondstone Street
David Malouf
Beginning with his childhood home, David Malouf moves on to show other landmarks in his life, and the way
places and things create our private worlds. Written with humour and uncompromising intelligence, this book is
an unforgettable portrait of one man's life.
We need to talk about Kevin
Lionel Shriver
Two years ago, Eva Khatchadourian's son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a
cafeteria worker and a popular English teacher. Now, in a series of letters to her absent husband, Eva
recounts the story of how Kevin came to be Kevin.
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hossani
Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to gain the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-making
tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hossani
Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years
her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who
must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an
unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love.
The Bone People
Kerry Hulme
In a tower on the New Zealand sea lives Kerewin Holmes, part Maori, part European, an artist estranged from
her art, a woman in exile from her family. One night her solitude is disrupted by a visitor—a speechless,
mercurial boy named Simon, who tries to steal from her and then repays her with his most precious
possession.
Zig Zag Street
Nick Earls
A comic masterpiece that covers six weeks of Richard's life in Brisbane's Red Hill. Six weeks of rumination,
chaos, poor judgement, interpersonal clumsiness...and, eventually, hope.
The Girl Most Likely
Rebecca Sparrow
At 17, Rachel Hill was the girl most likely to succeed. At 27, with an Honours degree and a career as a travel
writer, she wonders if marriage is the only thing missing from this perfect trifecta. But one disastrous life
decision changes everything. Suddenly she is living back at home in her childhood bedroom - a room still
celebrating 1987.
Q and A
Vikras Swarup
Former tiffin boy Ram Mohammad Thomas has just got twelve questions correct on a TV quiz-show to win a
cool one billion rupees. But he is brutally slung in prison on suspicion of cheating. Because how can a kid from
the slums know who Shakespeare was, unless he is cheating.
White Teeth
Zadie Smith
Epic and intimate, hilarious and poignant, this is the story of two North London families—one headed by
Archie, the other by Archie's best friend, a Muslim Bengali named Samad Iqbal. Pals since they served
together in World War II, Archie and Samad are a decidedly unlikely pair.
Strange Objects
Gary Crew
On a school field trip to the outback, 16-year-old Steven Messenger discovers a 17th-century iron pot
containing a leather-bound diary and a mummified human hand. These artefacts are turned over to the
authorities, but an antique ring from the hand becomes Steven's prized possession and results in out-of-body
experiences and dabblings in aboriginal religion.
Scarecrow
Matthew O’Reilly
Majestic-12, a group of the world’s richest men, make up a bounty list of fifteen targets that have to be
eliminated before 12 noon of October, 26th. Among the names on the target list, one stands out. An enigmatic
Marine named Shane Schofield, call-sign: Scarecrow.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Mark Haddon
Christopher is a fifteen-year-old boy with an autistic spectrum condition who discovers the dead body of
Wellington, the neighbour's dog, speared by a garden fork. Mrs Shears, Wellington's owner, calls the police,
and Christopher comes under suspicion. He decides to investigate the dog's death, despite his father's orders
to stay out of other people's business
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch
workers, who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in
California, USA.
A Passage to India
E.M. Forster
Set against the backdrop of the British Raj in the 1920s, the story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz,
his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the Marabar Caves
Adela finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves, panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz had
attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring out all the racial tensions and
prejudices between indigenous Indians and the British colonists who rule India.
Life of Pi
Yann Martel
A boy of many faiths. A 450-pound Bengal tiger. A shipwreck. A lifeboat. The Pacific Ocean. With more than
six million copies in print, Life of Pi has become a modern classic.
My Sister’s Keeper
Jodi Picoult
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries,
transfusions and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukaemia that has plagued her
since childhood.
The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
More than fifty years on, Iris Chase is remembering Laura's mysterious death. And so begins an extraordinary
and compelling story of two sisters and their secrets. Set against a panoramic backdrop of twentieth-century
history, The Blind Assassin is an epic tale of memory, intrigue and betrayal.
Brooklyn
Colm Toikin
In a small Irish town in the 1950s, Eilis Lacey is one among many of her generation who cannot find work. So
when she is offered a job in America, it is clear she must go
The Book Thief
Marcus Zusak
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become
busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially
hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident and it is her first act of book
thievery.
Schindler's Ark
Thomas Keneally
The book tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi Party member who turns into an unlikely hero by saving
1,200 Jews from concentration camps all over Poland and Germany.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Ken Kesey
In this classic of the 1960s, Ken Kesey's hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving
rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy
rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched.
1984
George Orwell
In a dystopian future where nuclear war has divided the world into three repressive superstates, middle-aged
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in the superstate of Oceania, in the city called Airstrip One
(formerly London).
Lovesong
Alex Miller
Chez Dom is a small Tusisian cafe in Paris run by the widow Houria and her niece, Sabiha. When an
Australian tourist, Jon Patterner, seeks shelter in the cafe from a sudden rainstorm, a tragic love story begins
to unfold
The Colour Purple
Alice Walker
This book is made up of letters written by a young black girl named Celie and her sister, Nettie. Celie was
sexually abused by her father, had two children by him, and then married an abusive husband. This novel
documents her life over about 40 years.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
The events of the story follow Tess as she moves through a series of farms and small villages populated by
two distinct classes of people - the rural poor and the wealthy gentry.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Muriel Barbery
Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building on the Left Bank. To the residents she is
honest, reliable and uncultivated - an ideal concierge. But Renee has a secret. Beneath this conventional
facade she is passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her selfimportant employers.
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
In 1959, evangelical Baptist preacher Nathan Price takes his family to the Belgian Congo as missionaries.
Nathan travels to Africa intent upon saving souls, but his wife, Orleanna, and four daughters (Rachel, Leah,
Adah, and Ruth May) are more concerned with what supplies they should take to live comfortably there for the
next year.
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens
The novel centres on a poor young man by the name of Pip, who is given the chance to make himself a
gentleman by a mysterious benefactor. Great Expectations offers a fascinating view of the differences
between classes during the Victorian era, as well as a great sense of comedy and pathos.
The Inheritance of Loss
Kiran Desai
In a crumbling, isolated house at the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas lives an embittered judge
who wants only to retire in peace, when his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, arrives on his doorstep.
The White Tiger
Aravind Adiga
Set in a raw and unromanticised India, The White Tiger—the first-person confession of a murderer—is as
compelling for its subject matter as it is for the voice of its narrator: amoral, cynical, unrepentant, yet deeply
endearing.