Brightsummaries: 385 books

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!The Red and the Black tells the tale of Julien Sorel, a young seminarian sent to tutor the children of a bourgeoisie family in a small village. He is caught up in this new lifestyle and learns to seduce these rich women,...

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is a dazzling play centered on the larger-than-life character of Cyrano de Bergerac, a poet, soldier, lover, and champion. He begins an elaborate deception with his friend Christian de...

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Girl with the Golden Eyes with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honoré de Balzac, a novella about passion, jealousy and love. Henri de Marsay, a young dandy who...

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Fortune of the Rougons with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Fortune of the Rougons by Émile Zola, the origin story of the Rougon-Macquart family which go on to feature in many of his books....

Unlock the more straightforward side of Bouvard and Pécuchet with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Bouvard and Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert, who died before completing the novel. It was published posthumously in 1881, the year...

Unlock the more straightforward side of Suite française with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary tells an analysis of Suite française by Irène Némirovsky, which describes the lives of various French families from different social classes as they flee Paris, searching...

Unlock the more straightforward side of Benny and Shrimp with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti, a laugh-out-loud romance novel which tells the story of the unlikely love affair that blooms between...

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Princess of Clèves with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Princess of Clèves by Madame de La Fayette, a psychological novel which examines the questions of duty, fidelity and passion in marriage....

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!Bel Ami is a realist novel depicting the bourgeois society of the nineteenth century. It tells the story of Georges Duroy and his quest to achieve social status using his charm and intelligence and with the help of wealthy...

Unlock the more straightforward side of Cousin Bette with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, which tells the story of a woman driven by jealousy to try and destroy her cousin’s family by any means possible....

Unlock the more straightforward side of Other Lives But Mine with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of Other Lives But Mine by Emmanuel Carrère, a semiautobiographical novel about death, mourning and writing. Through an unnamed narrator, Carrère...

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Slow Waltz of Turtles with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Slow Waltz of Turtles by Katherine Pancol, the sequel to the hit novel The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles. This new instalment...

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol, which tells the story of Joséphine, whose husband has just left her,...

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!Father Goriot tells the story of Eugène de Rastignac, an ambitious yet honest young man who becomes disillusioned by his surrounding Parisian society. In this realistic tale of initiation and fatherly love, Balzac gives...