Bildungsroman

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The MacGuffin that unites the thriller with the bildungsroman is a fiddle once played by PopPop, Ray’s enslaved great-great-grandfather, probably the son of the master of the Marks plantation.

From Los Angeles Times

Silvia: Jumping from science fiction to fantasy, Sofia Samatar’s “A Stranger in Olondria” tackles one of my favorite genres: the bildungsroman, which is a fancy way to say coming of age.

From Washington Post

“What was once a bildungsroman about a rowdy, independent-minded tomboy whose moral education involves coming to terms with the hypocrisies and willful blindness of the adults around her in Depression-era Alabama is now the story of an idealistic attorney forced to confront the limitations of the law as an instrument of justice in a racist society.”

From Los Angeles Times

Part thriller, part bildungsroman, part Dickensian tear-jerker and — most startlingly — part western, the novel centers on 13-year-old Duchess Day Radley, a self-described “outlaw” who has been forced to grow up quickly by her troubled mother, Star.

From New York Times

The first part, a bildungsroman, introduces DelGaudio’s family, his mother’s lesbian lover, Jill, and then Ryan, the boy next door.

From New York Times