Realism Movement Literature

My mother hated me, to the point that she wished I were dead. I knew I deserved to die. Sixteen years ago, if I hadn’t insisted on going out, my brother wouldn’t have died while trying to save me. Eventually, both of us got what we wished for. I got brain cancer. She had become a stranger to me as I forgot everything and went to die in blissful ignorance. Then, she went mad.

On our first wedding anniversary, I took the day off from work and left early, only to find that my wife had probably cheated on me. One day I arrived at home, I found a shocking display where my wife was engaging in some intense activities…

When the village chief delivered the items for my wedding, my fiancé's adopted sister, who was the apple of his eye, suddenly burst into tears. She cut my wedding dress and smashed the wardrobe that my older brother made for me. Every time I was about to lose my temper, my fiancé, who was also my childhood sweetheart, would immediately side with her. He claimed that she was still young and did not understand jealousy; she was just insecure. Even my own brother defended her, saying I had a birth brother who doted on me. It would not hurt to give in to her. When an earthquake happened, they both ran to her and protected her tightly beneath their bodies. Meanwhile, I was trapped under the ruins for three days and three nights. My brother and fiancé tried every possible way to cheer up her, leaving the villagers to rescue me instead. When they looked at me with wounds all over my body, they only said, "Don't overthink it. Jenn is timid and frightened. We couldn't leave her alone." I was on bed rest for a month, but not once did I see them. Only the village chief came to see me. He tried to persuade me, saying, "You're the first college student in our village. Are you really going to give up on your studies just to get married? This—" I interrupted him, "I made my decision before you came. I'll report to the college on time!"

After his dream career as a footballer comes to a tragic end before it even got started, Twenty-three-year old Samuel Cartwright is forced to pursue a lackluster job as a high school substitute Literature teacher when his father gets into a bad accident. With no real interest in teaching, he is less than enthused to face the spoiled rich kids than run the elite school where he’s been hired on a whim. It is no mystery to him that he doesn’t belong there and that the Principal intends to fire his father at the first opportunity that she gets. With his Dad’s job on the rocks, Samuel does the unthinkable – he gets into an affair with a man two years younger than him. Of course, Ryan isn’t just any student. He’s the Principal's out-of-control son. It seems that both teacher and son have an ax to grind with the Principal. What better way than by having an illicit affair right under her nose?

I return to my hometown after becoming the wealthiest person in the world. I stand beside a luxury car I bought for my father and call him—I want him to be surprised when he picks me up. However, this backfires on me. I joke with him and tell him my company has gone bankrupt. My debtors are coming after me, so I'm home to flee from them. I end up standing under the sweltering sun until the sky goes dark and it starts to pour—my father never shows up to see his gift. I brave the rain as I head home. Before I even enter the house, I can sense my sister-in-law's panic. "Listen to me—don't tell that jinx that Dad has just won a million dollars!" My mother says, "I knew having a daughter was a bad decision. It's bad enough that she doesn't have money for us—why is she coming home when she's in trouble? She should just die out there!" My father sneers. "Well, we can sell her off to that cripple in the village. Maybe she'll fetch a good price!"

Red Wine for Breakfast stars Jenny Reed, a 34 year old Californian from New York, who plays macho Monopoly by her own rules. Winner take all. And she had it all: the number one morning radio show on KKTM FM in Los Angeles, a wonderful best friend, and a nice noncommittal affair with the station owner, Brian Allen. Her career was all she needed. Success was all she ever wanted. Until Johnny King became her on air partner and challenged her to play his own game. The day she beat him was the day she gained his respect. It was also the day she lost her best friend in an apparent suicide ... or was it murder? Real life radio personalities and a front page drug scandal bring realism to a fictional novel set in Los Angeles where radio stations change formats like socks, and jobs are as secure as houses built on the San Andreas Fault. In a business drowning in testosterone, Red Wine for Breakfast is the story of strong, determined New Yorker who has to shake off the laid back attitude of LA to overcome the challenges of an industry that threatens to turn her off and a man who only wants to turn her on.

My husband's parents are dead. He says I'm now his sister's mother figure and need to care for her like she's my daughter. I work myself to the bone to feed her and pay for her expenses, but she's not happy with that. "My classmates drive to school and have trips abroad, Lorey. Can't you work a little harder?" She takes my car away and treats me like a maid. That's still not enough for her, though. When she finds out that I'm pregnant, she threatens to take her life. "You said you would care for me like I'm your daughter. I won't let you give someone else what's supposed to be mine!" I curse her in my heart. Who gave her the nerve to act like this?

After being missing for 18 years, Mom and Dad finally found me. Jillian Swain, the fake heiress, crumples to the floor and starts sobbing. "Goodbye, Mom and Dad. Thanks for taking care of me all these years. But now that Wanda is home, I'm sure you don't have any use for me anymore." Mom and Dad hug her, completely heartbroken. "Sweetheart, don't talk like that! You're our only real daughter, now and always!" Even Harvey Schumer, the guy I was promised to as a kid, declares his love for her. "Forget who you really are. You're the only one I love." They're all tripping over each other to fuss over Jillian. They even throw a birthday celebration for her dog while I'm barely hanging on after a car crash. So I pack up my things, accept the space agency's offer, and slip away into a five-year confidential satellite research project. But the whole family freaks out the second I'm gone, turning the country upside down, searching for me.

Anna, a girl in her twenties, decides to start anew after having lost a brother due to a fatal disease and broken up with a girlfriend, Monica. Her constant arguments and the fact that Monica hid the relationship to their parents, along with certain rumours about her family are to blame. For this reason, she moves from London to Dublin, where she's been granted a scholarhip to study Literature at Trinity College. As Anna tries to make a living in the new city looking after a child, she befriends her boss's son, Jack, who confesses to be in love with her. However, not only is she unsure about her feelings. Besides this, an unexpected arrival is bound to make things worse. How will she solve all of her conflicts and become a balanced adult?

When the flood came, my father, who was the captain of the rescue team, immediately rescued my cousin and cut my rescue rope. "Vivian can't swim, and there's not enough space on the helicopter. You won't die even if we rescue you a little later." I was rushed to the hospital while hanging onto a thread, but my mother, who was a doctor, gave the last bag of rare blood to my cousin, who was not even seriously injured. I begged with a weak voice, but my mother pried my fingers apart and said, "Your cousin is anemic and has always been in poor health. Must you fight for attention at such a time?" My parents had no idea that I stopped breathing when they abandoned me.