The joy luck club The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect

and guide each other.

The Decameron (Italian: Decameron [deˈkaːmeron; dekameˈrɔn;

dekameˈron] or Decamerone [dekameˈroːne]), subtitled Prince Galehaut (Old Italian: Prencipe
Galeotto [ˈprentʃipe ɡaleˈɔtto; ˈprɛntʃipe]), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian
author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100
tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa
just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio
probably conceived the Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The
various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical
jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread
influence (for example on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the
time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of
classical early Italian prose.[1]

The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress is a travel book by American
author Mark Twain published in 1869 which humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great
Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered vessel Quaker City (formerly USS Quaker City)
through Europe and the Holy Land with a group of American travelers in 1867. It was the best-
selling of Twain's works during his lifetime,[2] as well as one of the best-selling travel books of all
time.[3]

Things Fall Apart is a novel written in English by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The novel depicts
the life of Okonkwo, a leader and local wrestling champion in Umuofia - one of a fictional group of
nine villages in Nigeria inhabited by the Igbo people. It focuses on his family and personal history,
the customs and society of the Igbo and the influence of British colonialism and Christian
missionaries on the Igbo community during the late nineteenth century.
Through Achebe's use of language, it is apparent how unique the Igbo's culture is. By
using traditional Igbo words, folktales, and songs into English sentences, the author
shows us that African languages are comprehensible. Achebe is noted for his inclusion
of proverbs from Igbo oral culture into his writing:
"The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said
he would praise himself if no one else did."
Okonkwo, explains his capacity for hard work before Nwakibie, his sons and neighbors.