Dunne, Catherine: *1954

The Things We Know Now, 2013 - Thematic Parallels: Family Tension

Dunne, Catherine: The Things We Know Now, 2013
The novel is a timely exploration of how a family copes with the aftermath of suicide caused by bullying, highlighting broader themes of love, loss, guilt, and the search for understanding and forgiveness within fractured families. It’s a sensitive narrative that forces readers to reflect on the hidden pressures children face—and the fragile bonds within families.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Hansberry, Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun, 1959, ~150pp
  The play shows intergenerational and familial stress as the family pursues their dreams.
  While "A Raisin in the Sun" is rooted in the specific struggles of a Black family facing racism and economic barriers in mid-century America, and "The Things We Know Now" is a contemporary Irish novel about a family coping with tragedy, both works align in their nuanced exploration of family bonds, generational conflict, and the enduring human need for hope and dignity in the face of adversity.
- Miller, Arthur: Death of a Salesman, 1949, ~110pp
  The book explores family pressure, disillusionment, guilt, and the breakdown of father‐son relationships.
  Both works delve into the emotional cost of societal expectation, the dangers of repression, and the fragile dynamics of family life. Though culturally distinct, Miller and Dunne portray families haunted by what is not said—and devastated by what comes to light too late.
- Ng, Celeste: Everything I Never Told You, 2014, ~290pp
  This novel is explicitly about family secrets, misunderstandings, and the pressure of parental expectations, making it a prime example of family tension.
  Both novels use the framework of a family tragedy to probe the nuances of grief, the dangers of unspoken expectations, and the profound difficulty of truly knowing those closest to us. They align in their nuanced portrayal of how silence, secrets, and idealized visions of children can blind families to painful realities—realities that, when finally confronted, are both devastating and transformative.
- O’Neill, Eugene: Long Day’s Journey into Night, 1941, ~150pp
  The play is a raw portrayal of addiction, guilt, and a family's internal conflicts..
  Both works explore the emotional disintegration of families, though from different cultural and narrative perspectives. They both deal with family trauma, the limits of love, the dangers of silence, and the devastating consequences of unresolved pain. In essence, both works are meditations on what it means to be a parent, a child, and a human being wrestling with grief and truth.
- Strout, Elizabeth: Amy and Isabelle, 1998, ~300pp
  The novel delves deeply into the complex, tense relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter.
  Both are novels that explore mother-daughter relationships, emotional repression, and the slow, often painful unraveling of personal truths within domestic life. They are about the gaps between what is lived and what is said, the damage of miscommunication, and the fragile hope of healing. Each author brings compassion and nuance to the female experience, especially in the domestic and familial realm.
List of general discussion questions on Family Tension (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Family Tension (pdf)