In the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), Styron narrates the story of the 1831 Virginia slave uprising. The novel delves into the impact of slavery on the course of American history.

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness (1990) is Styron’s autobiographical essay on mental depression, triggered by his father’s death and many years of alcohol abuse.

In Stones from the River, Ursula Hegi recounts the life of Trudy Montag, a dwarf living with her father in Burgdorf. Spanning from 1916 to the 1950s, the novel portrays a small German town where ordinary citizens continue their lives amidst the surrounding horrors.

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel’s Night is a piece of creative nonfiction that follows a young Jewish boy’s experiences during the Nazi occupation and the atrocities of the concentration camps. This pivotal work of Holocaust literature examines religious faith, the father-son relationship, the survivor's reconciliation with humanity, and the critical importance of learning from historical atrocities.