MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

Abe, Kobo.
The Woman in the Dunes.
1964. 239 pages.

An amateur entomologist arrives in Japan to collect special insects among the sand dunes, only to be �collected� himself. Accepting an offer of lodging, he finds himself held captive with a young woman in a sand pit, where they struggle daily to fight back the sand that threatens to envelop them. A surreal psychological novel about hope, powerlessness, acceptance, and freedom. (SLC)

Ali, Monica.
Brick Lane.
2003. 369 pages.

Eighteen-year-old Nazneen is sent from Bangladesh to London for an arranged marriage to a long-winded, middle-aged man with big dreams. Nazneen lives the secluded life of housewife and mother in a public housing complex until becoming a working woman who must adapt to a post-September 11th London. When she becomes involved with a group of Islamic activists and finally experiences life outside of her house, Nazneen takes control of her fate.  (BK)

Allende, Isabel.
Daughter of Fortune.
1999.  399 pages.

In 1800s Chile, Eliza Summers is adopted by British spinster Rose and her bachelor brother Jeremy. When she becomes pregnant at 16, she follows her lover to California as a stowaway on a ship to San Francisco. After the Chinese shipboard cook helps her through her miscarriage, Eliza begins dressing as a boy and is able to travel freely and safely on her journey of personal discovery. (DB)

Conway, Jill Ker.
The Road from Coorain.
1989. 238 pages.

In this memoir, Conway chronicles her idyllic early childhood on her family�s Australian sheep station. Years of drought, hardship, and family troubles followed. After her father�s death, the family moved to a Sydney suburb where Conway became absorbed in her studies and experienced the heady pleasure of discovering and using her talent as a scholar and historian. An elegantly told story of the heroic girlhood of the first woman president of Smith College. (SLC)

Coelho, Paulo.
The Alchemist.
1993. 197 pages.

In this fable about following one�s dreams, an Andalusian shepherd boy journeys from Spain to Egypt in search of treasure that has been appearing in his dreams. He encounters many detours and colorful characters �some out to help him find his dream and some out to steal his dream away. As he completes the last leg of his journey, the shepherd meets an alchemist who teaches him a valuable lesson. (BK)

Dai, Sijie.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.
2001. 197 pages.

Two young men caught in the vise of Mao�s Cultural Revolution are shipped to a remote village to perform menial labor in the name of re-education. The discovery of a cache of literary treasures turns their exile into an opportunity for self-education and demonstrates the power of literature to transcend political oppression. A book group favorite, this slim novel explores the resiliency of the human spirit. (DTW)

Davidar, David.
House of Blue Mangoes.
2002. 421 pages.
Set against the backdrop of India�s struggle for independence, this expansive saga follows the Dorai family in southern India from 1899-1947, years that saw the fall of the British Raj, Ghandi�s rise to political power, and two world wars. Fascinating, complex characters and provocative issues�religious, political, and social�dominate this exploration of Indian life and culture during these tumultuous decades.  (JS)

Fugard, Lisa.
Skinner�s Drift. 
2006.  287 pages.

After living in New York for ten years, Eva van Rensburg returns  to Johannesburg to care for her dying father. She immediately sees the many political changes her birthplace has gone through. She also faces the past�her  mother�s death; her father�s erratic behavior�that made her leave South Africa at eighteen. Amidst the stark plotline of drought, money troubles and infidelity, are charming details of lush vegetation, monkeys playing in the backyard and exotic local foods.   (VM)

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel.
One Hundred Years of Solitude.

1970. 458 pages.

Observe 100 years in the life of Maconda, a village founded by Jose Arcadio Buendia and occupied by his descendants (all of whom share his name.) The book is the history of the world and all those in it, their joys and sorrows, loves and losses. This surreal tale embraces �magical realism� and invites the reader to take his or her time exploring the lushly detailed setting and swirling cast of characters. (DB)

Ghosh, Amitav.
The Glass Palace.
2001. 474 pages.

Mandalay, 1885.  The royal family of Burma is exiled during the country�s takeover by the British. Townspeople enter the palace, and it is then that the boy, Rajkumar, encounters a servant girl that he can never forget. Finding her in India years later Rajkumar sets in motion the circumstances that tie three families together. Set in Burma, India and Malaya, the story follows the lives of these three families during the political upheaval of the Depression and two world wars. (MLM)

Gordimer, Nadine. 
My Son�s Story. 
1990. 277 pages.

Set in segregated South Africa, this eloquently written, emotional novel explores the damaging effects of apartheid on one black family.  A schoolboy skips class to attend a movie and encounters his father, a local political hero, as he emerges from the theater with a white woman.  Gordimer draws the reader into an intense personal drama and reveals the disturbing political conflicts that surround her characters.  (TB)

Gur, Batya. 
Murder in Jerusalem.
2006. 400 pages.

When the well-loved Israeli television set designer Tirzah Rubin is found crushed under a pillar, everyone assumes that this is a tragic accident.  However, as Jerusalem Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon and his team investigate, they discover that Tirzah wasn�t as well loved as everyone thought.  Several more violent deaths occur before the team discovers that all the murders relate to a past horrific crime that will shake Ohayon�s faith in the ideals upon which Israel was founded. (MJ)

Iweala, Uzodinma.
Beasts of No Nation.
2005. 142 pages.

As a child Agu is forced to become a soldier in the civil war of an unnamed African nation. Despite inhumane treatment and the unspeakable acts he is required to perform, Agu holds onto a dream of his future. Graphic descriptions of violence illustrate the horrors of war. (MLM)

Khadra, Yasmina.
The Swallows of Kabul.
2004. 195 pages.
Set in Afghanistan, this novel explores the experiences of two couples whose lives intersect. Mohsen was a successful shopkeeper until the Taliban stripped him of his livelihood, and his once-progressive wife is confined to their home because she refuses to wear a burka.  Atiq is a prison guard watching over prisoners awaiting public execution while, at home, his wife is dying. Repression ultimately gives way to rage and one pivotal event sets the stage for a chilling denouement. (MCB)

Kundera, Milan.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 

1984. 314 pages.

During the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Tomas meets Tereza. They fall in love and marry. They are able to escape the country, but Tereza, uncomfortable in Zurich, ultimately returns to Prague.  When Tomas joins his wife he regrets his �unbearable weightlessness� because he must make choices without knowing the outcome. (JE)

Mahfouz, Naguib. 
Palace Walk.
1990. 512 pages.

Praised as a masterful character study, this first volume in the Nobel Prize winner�s �Cairo Trilogy� focuses on the family of a middle-class merchant living in post-World War I Egypt. The father is tyrannical, the mother is submissive, and the children (three sons and two daughters) are all struggling to find their identities in different ways. The novel is notable for its leisurely pace, rich accumulation of detail, and penetrating psychological insights. (TB)

Makine, Andrei.
Dreams of My Russian Summers.
1997. 241 pages.

Dreams of My Russian Summers is Andre Makine�s beautiful tribute to his French-born grandmother, Charlotte Lemonnier. Each summer the author abandons grim Russian city life,  and spends the season visiting his grandmother�s home overlooking the Siberian steppes. Charlotte regales him with fantastic tales of her life in Paris as a young woman and the horrors of Stalinist purges. Years later, the narrator returns to Paris and he recalls her stories of courage and sacrifice. (MC)

Malladi, Amulya.
Mango Season.
2003. 229 pages.

Priya returns to India after living in the US for seven years.  Her mother wants to arrange a marriage to a "nice Indian boy," unaware that Priya is engaged to a very American accountant. Her family is set on tradition and what the neighbors will think, while Priya is more concerned with happiness and control of her own life. A strong sense of place (Southern India) and insight into the workings of Indian families and Hindu rituals make this a great choice for a view of Indian culture. (RV)

Mankell, Henning.
The Man Who Smiled.
2006. 336 pages.

After Kurt Wallander shoots a man in self-defense, he slides into a depression and nearly resigns from his Swedish police force. He is drawn back to the force by the murder of an old friend whose father recently died under mysterious circumstances. Wallander�s investigation puts him in danger as he unravels the reasons behind the deaths.  (MJ)

Min, Anchee.
Empress Orchid.
2004. 346 pages.

The Empress Orchid rose from a low ranking concubine to be Empress of China. Orchid arrives in the Forbidden City in the mid-1800s, a time when China is threatened externally by Western powers and internally by corrupt Manchu officials, powerful eunuchs, and cruel laws.  Empress Orchid provides a window into a time only 150 years ago but a culture worlds away from twenty-first century America. (DLW)

Mistry, Rohinton.
A Fine Balance.
2001. 603 pages. 

Set in mid-1970s India, A Fine Balance follows four ordinary people whose struggles mirror the socio-political upheavals of 20th-century India. A long book with frequent touches of humor, this unforgettable tale honors the ability of some of the earth�s most wretched to preserve that �fine balance between hope and despair.� (MC)

Miyabe, Miyuki.
Shadow Family.
2004. 188 pages.

At first the Tokyo police believe Ryosuke Tokoroda was murdered because of his affair with a young coworker, until they discover an even more disturbing infidelity. In addition to taking a mistress, Tokoroda had taken a second, virtual family online�replacing his wife and daughter with obedient chat room ciphers. The majority of the action takes place in the interrogation room, where the police engage in some role-playing of their own. (KK)

Mukherjee, Bharati.
Desirable Daughters.
2002. 310 pages.

Tara Chatterjee, one of three Bengali sisters from Calcutta, has been living the good life in California when a man, claiming to be a long lost nephew, shows up at her door. Soon Tara is pursuing long-held family secrets and uncovering the menace behind her purported kin. Desirable Daughters explores the differences between American and Indian culture and the prejudices between Indian castes and ethnic groups. (DLW)

Nafisi, Azar.
Reading Lolita in Tehran.
2003. 347 pages.

Obsessed with great Western literature and outraged at the limits the Islamic theocracy imposed on the University of Tehran, Nafisi studied Austen, James, Nabokov and Fitzgerald in her own home with a handful of her favorite female students. The book deftly combines those discussions with Nafisi�s memories of the intellectual life of Iran, musings on the nature of love in fiction and in life, and compelling portraits of the young women drawn to their gifted teacher. (RSJ)

Oufkir, Malika and Mich� Fitoussi.

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail.
1999. 289 pages. 

When the King of Morocco wanted a playmate for his daughter, he moved five-year-old Malika from her home and into the palace.  She grew up in luxury but isolated from her family.  Fourteen years later, her father takes part in a government coup, and is caught and executed. Malika, her mother, and siblings are thrown into a desert prison and forgotten for over ten years. Here she tells how they survived. (VM)

Pamuk, Orhan.
My Name is Red.
2001. 413 pages.
In this magical tour de force, the invasion of a new artistic style threatens the world of 16th century Turkish manuscript illuminators. A murder investigation, romantic entanglements, and artistic upheaval layer this image-rich tale. The lyrical prose and the unique narrative structure highlight the intriguing puzzles as well as the social and cultural framework of Ottoman society. (JS)

Ruiz Zafon, Carlos.
Shadow of the Wind.
2004. 512 pages.

Mystery, romance and travel infuse a tale of lost love, violence and literature. After he chooses an obscure novel from the Cemetary of Forgotten Books, Daniel realizes that someone is systematically destroying all the author's works. In a race against time, set against the beauty of Barcelona and the danger of post Civil War Spain, Daniel must unravel the tale of the mysterious author Julian Carax and, in the process, the dark secrets of his own country's past. (JH)

Rushdie, Salman.
Midnight�s Children.
1980. 446 pages.

At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, Saleem Sinai becomes one of 1,001 �Midnight Children� born within an hour of the dawn of India�s independence. He becomes inextricably linked not only with the other children and their destinies, but with the fate and history of the new nation and that of Pakistan. This novel is a dark and complex allegory of India�s first 31 years of nationhood, the symbiotic role of Pakistan, and the relationships between individuals and history. (RN)

Satrapi, Marjane.
Persepolis.
2003. 153 pages.

The Islamic Revolution is seen through the eyes of a young Iranian girl in this award-winning illustrated biography. Satrapi�s simple but piercing black and white drawings capture the complete upheaval of her world. The political becomes highly personal as family members are imprisoned, even executed, and her own intellectual parents must conceal their books, alcohol and �Westernized� thoughts. (RSJ)

Shteyngart, Gary.
Absurdistan.
2006. 352 pages.

A rollicking satire of the new �democratic� Russia and its former satellites. Misha Vainberg, obese, Russian-born, and son of a notorious mobster, is desperate to get back to America. In one bizarre adventure after another he drinks, eats, schemes and buys his way out of trouble, winding up in the middle of the Absurdi civil war. The author mocks the corruption that capitalism has brought, even appearing himself as Misha�s nemesis, lascivious author �Jerry Shteynfarb.� (JH)

Tsukiyama, Gail. 
The Samurai�s Garden.
1994. 211 pages.

At the beginning of World War II, a Chinese TB patient is sent to Japan to recover his health at his grandfather�s ancestral home. As word of war atrocities begins to filter out of China, he meets three people who will change his life forever. Tsukiyama�s beautifully drawn characters tell a story most westerners have never heard. (DTW)

Uzodinma Iweala.
Beasts of No Nation.
2005. 142 pages.

As a child Agu is forced to become a soldier in the civil war of an unnamed African nation. Despite inhumane treatment and the unspeakable acts he is required to perform, Agu holds onto a dream of his future. Graphic descriptions of violence illustrate the horrors of war. (MLM)

Vaite, Celestine Hitiura.
Frangipani.
2006, 294 pages.

Like McCall Smith�s Precious Ramotswe, professional cleaner Materena Mahi handles her Tahitian family�s problems with good humor and common sense. At the center of this engaging novel is Mahi�s relationship with her daughter, to whom she explains that the person who invented this or who discovered that is always, �A woman!� The ups and downs of motherhood fit nicely in this rich tropical setting. (KK)

Wiesel, Elie.
Night.
1982. 109 pages.

An autobiographical account of a teenager�s memory of his experiences in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II.  Hailed as a literary masterpiece, this deeply philosophical narrative recounts not only the horrors Wiesel endured, but also his struggle with his Jewish faith amidst incessant displays of malevolence and inhumanity.  (MCB)

Suri, Manil.
The Death of Vishnu.
2001. 295 pages.

As alcoholic errand boy Vishnu lies dying on the 1st floor landing of a Bombay apartment building, the details of his life and his one great love flash before him. Told with empathy and a sense of humor, the richly textured characters with their question of what to do about the dying Vishnu serve as a microcosm of  20th-Century India. (RN)

Tsukiyama, Gail.
The Samurai�s Garden.
1994. 211 pages.

At the beginning of World War II, a Chinese TB patient is sent to Japan to recover his health at his grandfather�s ancestral home. As word of war atrocities begins to filter out of China, he meets three people who will change his life forever. Tsukiyama�s beautifully drawn characters tell a story most westerners have never heard. (DTW)

Vaite, Celestine Hitiura.
Frangipani.
2006. 294 pages.

�Professional cleaner� Materena Mahi handles her Tahitian family�s problems with good humor and common sense, especially when dealing with her daughter, to whom she explains that the person who invented this or who discovered that is always, �A woman!� The ups and downs of motherhood fit nicely in this rich, tropical setting. (KK)

Wiesel, Elie.
Night.
1982. 109 pages.

An autobiographical account of a teenager�s memory of his experiences in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II.  Hailed as a literary masterpiece, this deeply philosophical narrative recounts not only the horrors Wiesel endured, but also his struggle with his Jewish faith amidst incessant displays of malevolence and inhumanity.  (MCB)

Annotations contributed by ARRT Steering Committee Members:  Mary Constance Back, Ted Balcom, Darlene Bull, Mary Cella, Stacey L. Cisneros, Jeanne Etling, Joanna Hazelden, Merle Jacob, Roberta Johnson, Karen Kleckner, Barb Kruser, Vivian Mortensen, Mary Lynn Mysz, Ricki Nordmeyer, Joyce Saricks, Rebecca Vnuk, Debbie T. Walsh, and Debbie L. Wordinger.