Recently I asked my blog readers for suggestions for blog topics. One of the requests I got was for my favorite books by diverse authors, and I thought this was a great idea. I know many people in the last year have stepped up their reading of non-fiction and memoirs about racism and anti-racism. That’s very important, and I’ve been doing a little of that too, but I think there’s also a lot you can get out of reading fiction by and about people of different backgrounds. Good fiction helps you really see the world through other eyes which makes for not just a good reading experience but food for thought as well, not to mention supporting diverse authors as well.
First, I’ll suggest some modern classics - these are books and/or authors you’ve probably heard of already, not to mention books that for the most part I read 10 or 20 years ago or more. So I won’t give you plot summaries of them, but I have to include them on this list - and hope that I’d still feel they’re that good if I read them today:
The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
Beloved - Toni Morrison
House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros
In the Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
And now, for some books I’ve read more recently that I would recommend - these are generally serious books that really take on issues of race, diversity, immigration, foreign culture, etc. Interestingly, I read pretty much all of them with either my book club or my book club of two with my friend Sarah, so they are also books that make for good discussions.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - This novel, a Reese Witherspoon book club selection, alternates perspectives between Emira, a young African-American woman working as a nanny, and Alix, the rich white woman she works for. This book just grabbed me right from the start. The story is compelling, the two main characters (plus especially 3 year old Briar) came vividly to life and felt so real, and there is a lot of interesting stuff in this book about race, class, privilege, childcare and motherhood, friendship, relationships, and more.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - This is a young adult novel, but I’m going to include it here rather than with lighter books below because it takes on some pretty heavy stuff. This powerful novel is about a teenage girl named Starr living in the inner city who is in the car when her friend is unjustifiably shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. In addition to grappling with this, she's also dealing with other issues with family and friends, and the duality of living where she does but attending a fancy white private school in the suburbs. A moving and thought provoking book, recommended for both teenagers and adults.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - A historical novel about slavery in America, realistic fiction except in that the underground railroadin this book is a literal actual railroad. A harrowing book that was at times hard to read, but thoroughly engrossing, moving, and beautifully written.
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré - This novel is the story of a 14 year old Nigerian girl named Adunni who goes from one difficult situation to another, but despite her circumstances wants to better herself and her education. Most of the book is extremely sad, but Adunni is such a wonderful character that you can't help but root for. I will say that I found this book extremely difficult to get into, because it is written in a very strong dialect. I'm sure this is accurate for the character, but when a book is written that way I just find it harder to get lost in the book. However, this improved as I read on and the ending was powerful.
The Leavers by Lisa Ko - This novel is about a poor 11 year old Chinese-American boy in NYC, whose mother goes to work one day, and never comes home and he has no idea what happened to her. He ends up adopted by a white professor couple living in upstate New York. The book takes place mostly at that time, and ten years later, with flashbacks, and eventually we find out what happened to the mother as well. Sad but beautifully written.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - This book starts in Africa in the 1700s, first with the perspective of a young woman named Effia who ends up married to a white British officer, then the perspective of another young woman named Esi who ends up in captivity and then shipped to America to be a slave. Each chapter after that tells a story about a descendant of one or the other in alternating chapters, all the way up to the present. This book was a little hard to get into and slow at first, but also very interesting, especially stuff that I didn't really know about like the involvement of Africans in selling other Africans into slavery, or the forced work of convicts into practically slavery in America post-Civil War. Then in the last few chapters, the book really came together for me, tying together and elevating everything that had come before into a truly moving exploration of both the African and African American experience.
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan - This novel is set primarily in present day Shanghai, and told from 3 alternating perspectives - Sunny, a maid in a fancy expat building, and Lina and Wei, the couple she works for, who grew up in rural China and then lived in America for a number of years before returning to China. It was a bit of a slow starter, but once it got going it was really good, with interesting flawed characters and a great setting in China that really came to life.
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See - Lisa See has written a number of well-written and interesting books about Asian characters both in the US and abroad. This one is one of her most recent - a lovely and fascinating novel about a girl who is a member of a Chinese ethnic minority group living in a remote village where they grow tea, and what happens to and her family as the years pass. It was a bit of a slow starter, and definitely a slow and quiet novel over all, but it was a very enjoyable and interesting read and I found the end quite moving.
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue - Interesting, well-written novel about an immigrant husband and wife from Western Africa living in NYC with the husband working as a chauffeur for a Lehman Brothers executive starting a year before the financial crisis. A different take on both immigrant life and the wealthy NYC lifestyle, both funny and sad.
Finally, here are a few I recommend that are written by diverse authors but are on the lighter side with diverse characters that give it a different take than other books of their genres.
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory - I have been recommending this one a lot as light fiction - this is the first in a series of 5 books (so far) about interrelated characters. This one is about African-American woman Alexa and white guy Drew who meet in a stalled elevator, and he spontaneously asks her to pretend to be his wedding date for the wedding he’s attending the next day. Really cute and fun chick lit with heart, and I’ve enjoyed all the other books tremendously as well.
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - Sweet young adult novel about two teenagers who meet cute and spend one special day together. Natasha’s family came from Jamaica when she was 8 and she is a firm believer in science, and her family is being deported that night; Daniel is a Korean-American, a dreamer and poet and believer in fate and chafing at the expectations his family has put on him. Very adorable book and it made me cry too. Also fun fact, Nicola Yoon is married to David Yoon (who wrote Frankly In Love, described below), and just like the characters in The Sun Is Also a Star, she’s Jamaican-American and he’s Korean.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon - This young adult novel is told from the perspective of Frank, who is juggling his identity as the first generation American son of Korean immigrants, and trying to date. Endearing characters and kind of a Korean John Green vibe, a sweet and entertaining read.
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang - Enjoyable novel about a Chinese-American family, who, when the family patriarch loses all his considerable wealth, embarks with his second wife, college-age son, and teenage daughter on a road trip across America to the home of the eldest daughter. Funny and poignant, I really enjoyed all the quirky characters and it had an original feel to it even though it is in the not uncommon genre of dysfunctional family novels.
Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal - This novel is a retelling of "Pride and Prejudice," set in modern day Pakistan, with the Binat family (instead of the Bennet family) and Mr. Darsee (Mr. Darcy), etc. The early 19th century novel actually translates really well to this setting, where societal norms are still pretty traditional and focused on marriage, plus the book offers an interesting look at life in another country. A really enjoyable read, definitely recommended to anyone who is a "Pride and Prejudice" fan.
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