Writers of Color and Writers from Around the World
Please keep in mind that the “writers of color” category includes writers who are African American, Asian American, Latin American, and Native American, or who are non-White and not American. See me if you have any questions about this. In the meantime, please know that there are thousands of great books out there from all around the United States and the world by people of color. Ask a librarian for help.
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie: Junior is a ninth-grader who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation with his family. Early on in the book, Junior transfers from his reservation school to an all-White school 20 miles away -- a move that alienates him from both his best friend and the other Spokane Indians, who resent Junior for leaving. This book is both brilliantly funny and very sad, and it offers a very honest commentary on Indian life in this country. I really loved it. Contains mature language and content. (Posted August 2008)
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen-Mah: When Adeline’s mother dies shortly after giving birth to her, Adeline’s family blames her and treats her badly. Things become worse when Adeline’s father remarries a younger woman who really has it in for Adeline. In spite of incredible verbal and emotional abuse and neglect at the hands of her family, Adeline overcomes the odds – although she never receives the only thing she really wants: her parents’ love. Depressing but interesting.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: This novel is quite different from Marquez’s other works. In this story, the narrator tries to understand the murder of a man who is accused of “deflowering” another man’s bride. The narrator witnessed the murder but now, 25 years or so later, is trying to piece together the reasons why it happened and, more importantly, why no one prevented it. The book is short, but it is complex because of all the characters, and it is violent. Book club had a mixed reaction to it; I liked it. (Posted November 2008)
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac: Code Talker tells the story of 16-year-old Navajo boy Ned Begay who enlists in the Marines during World War Two. He and several other Navajo men eventually become Code Talkers, a top secret group of Marines who send and receive important messages during some of the most crucial fighting of the Pacific arena. Told from the perspective of an elderly man telling about his war experiences to his grandchildren, Code Talker is a fascinating book about World War Two, Navajo culture, and a group of men whose work was classified – and therefore unrecognized and uncelebrated – for more than 25 years. Lots of interesting themes in this book – one of which would make a great essay. (Posted July 2008)
The Color of Water by James McBride: James McBride alternates his life story with his mother’s life story in this bittersweet memoir (his mother, Rachel, is White; McBride is Black). The mother of twelve children, Rachel sees all twelve of her children graduate college, in spite of bigotry, poverty and loss. Interspersed with Rachel’s story is McBride’s tale. Although his mother completely ignores “issues involving race and identity,” McBride’s story focuses on his search for his identity and his mother’s personal history.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker: Celie suffers incredible cruelty and abuse at the hands of her father and husband. Yet through her friends and “conversations” with her sister, Celie finds love and happiness. This novel is unusual in that it is told through letters between the sisters. A great book for mature readers.
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper: This is a terribly sad but beautiful book about Amari, a fifteen-year-old girl from West Africa who is kidnapped by white traders and eventually sold as a slave in South Carolina. The book chronicles Amari’s happy life in Africa, which is smashed by the brutal treatment she receives at the hands of white captors, her miserable passage to South Carolina on a slave ship, her life as a slave (and sex-slave), and her eventual escape to Florida. Inter-mixed with Amari’s tale is the story of Polly, a fifteen-year-old white indentured servant, and the events that cause the two girls to eventually rely on each other for survival. Sharon Draper did years’ worth of research on this novel, and the result is a fascinating account of the slave trade and slavery in the 1730s. Again, this book is very depressing, but I would highly recommend it.
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat: Danticat is a Haitian writer who often writes about Haiti’s tumultuous history. In Bones, Danticat tells the story of two Haitian lovers, Sebastien and Amabelle, who work in the Dominican Republic in 1937. The two are separated during a ghastly massacre of Haitians as issued by the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Danticat’s writing is beautiful and exceptionally sad. Since the story is based on true events, you may want to spend a few minutes doing some background research regarding the 1937 massacre of Haitians to make your understanding of the novel complete. (Posted September 2007)
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas: Through a series of short essays and stories, Mrs. Dumas tells her readers what it was like to grow up as an Iranian-American during the 70s and 80s (a time period that was particularly difficult for Iranians). She also discusses challenges she still faces as an adult – particularly because she is Muslim. Each essay is funny and honest; I enjoyed this book and find that its lessons are both subtle and relevant. (Posted December 2008)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: This wonderful novel is considered an epic because it covers the stories of several generations of the Trueba family, from the unusual love of Esteban and Clara to the forbidden affair of their daughter and her lover. This novel has everything: rape, murder, love, ghosts, complex family relationships, etc.
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri: This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is a collection of short stories by an Indian writer who weaves stories about Indians – both in India and in the United States. The stories are very touching and beautifully written, and some are downright haunting. I particularly liked “Sexy,” “The Interpreter of Maladies,” “Mrs. Sen’s,” and “The Third and Final Continent,” which I thought was the sweetest and most uplifting tale in the collection. One of the features of this book, in my mind, is its questions about love – what is love, how do we fall in love, and how does one overcome the absence of love? (Posted July 2008)
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez: Based loosely on a true story, Alvarez’s novel is about the Mirabel sisters, four women who fought to overthrow Dominican dictator Turjillo. This is a lovely book, but sad because at the beginning of the book we learn that three of the sisters will die as a result of their freedom fighting.
Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet by Kashmira Sheth: Jeeta is a teenaged girl in India whose mother is intent on marrying off her three girls (Jeeta is the youngest girl). But Jeeta would rather go to college – and she’d rather find her own husband, too. This is a really lovely story about Jeeta’s relationships with her domineering mother, her loving sisters, her intelligent and motivated best friend, and her attentive father. It was a bit slow at first, but I finished most of the book in a few hours. A great read about another culture.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel: Tita and Pedro are deeply in love, but Tita’s mother refuses to let them marry. Rather, Tita becomes a kind of servant in her mother’s home while Pedro marries Tita’s sister so that he can always be near to Tita. A great love story, with some amazing recipes to boot.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah: In this true story, Beah recalls his life as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone before he is rescued by United Nations peace-workers. At the beginning of the book, Beah and his friends travel to another village but find themselves unable to return to their home because of civil war. Beah runs away from the violence for a long time until he must become a soldier himself in order to save his own life. This memoir is very violent, and, therefore, I found it difficult to read. But the book is interesting in that it sheds light on a common worldwide problem: children being made to fight in wars. (Posted November 2008)
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich: In this novel, Erdrich presents the stories of two Native American families in Minnesota during the last half of the 20th century. The story focuses heavily on the love triangle that exists between Marie and Nector Kashpaw and Lulu Lamartine. I really liked the women in this story – Erdrich always depicts strong, unique women. This book is fairly complex in that it weaves multiple storylines and often changes narrator; I would recommend it for advanced readers.
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson: Boy Willie and his sister Berniece are the descendants of slaves. Boy Willie wants to sell a family heirloom – a piano carved with images of his family – in order to pay for a plot of land owned by the family’s former owner. Berniece refuses to sell. This is a great play.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Hands down, this is the best book I have read in ages. Daniel Sempere is a young boy when he finds a book called The Shadow of the Wind. Enthralled with the book, Daniel tries to locate other books by the author, Julian Carax. But Daniel’s search seems futile because someone is burning every one of Carax’s books. It turns out that Daniel might have the only Carax book left in the world, and a mysterious, horribly disfigured man is trying to take the book from Daniel. This book has everything: romance, terror, memorable characters, a Spanish setting, and a terrifying mystery – I couldn’t put it down. (Posted March 2008)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See: This novel traces the friendship of Snow Flower and Lily, two 19th-century Chinese girls with bound feet who become friends in a laotong relationship – a contractual friendship that is meant to last a lifetime. Throughout the book, the girls grow up, get married, have children, and suffer through countless losses and difficulties – including misunderstandings and jealousies in their own lifelong friendship. See has done considerable research in putting together this novel, but I am troubled by Lily’s selfish character. Read it and let me know what you think. (Posted November 2008)
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