We’re a wonderfully multicultural group here—and almost two hundred strong! I thought it might be fun to share a favorite book from our cultural background.
Allow me to start. At, or very near, the top of my Cuban literature list is BEFORE NIGHT FALLS by Reinaldo Arenas. It’s wild, sublime, a deeply subversive and political memoir, hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. If you read one book about post-1959 Cuba, this should be it:
The movie adaptation is excellent, too, but I recommend reading the book first! Here’s a trailer:
One of mine is Cristina's "Dreaming in Cuban" -- it totally shattered and broke open the world for Cuban-American writers. There was nothing like it before, and we've all walked through the door since. Another is Reinaldo Arenas' "The Palace of the White Skunk." And if it's not too self-congratulatory, the crime fiction anthology I edited, "Havana Noir."
I'm thinking of Toni Morrison's A MERCY. Reading this short novel to review it was this first time I understood the early days on the Atlantic coast post European contact, and could imagine my Cornish (Celtic) paternal ancestor who arrived near what came to be known as Virginia in 1619 and the Lenape (Delaware) maternal ancestor whose family had been living on the East Atlantic coast for generations, and how the world changed for them both. The Cornishman is the base ancestor for my great great grandfather, an abolitionist who was a chaplain for a black regiment in the Union Army (his name is listed on the monument in Washington, DC) and who moved from Kentucky to Kansas to help keep it a free state... The Lenape diaspora is complex and hidden (my mother's people survived in a small Kansas town until the KKK drove them out, then ended up in Kansas City, where she was born in what was known as "Indian town." My sister has written a memoir about that part of the family history. And I am eager to catch up, am already so impressed with Dreaming in Cuban, of course, and Achy's work, and HAVANA NOIR! And just about to take up GHOST IN THE THROAT....
I have always been fond of the All Of A Kind Family books. The experience of the family depicted deeply resonated with me from an early age. Not too long ago, I visited the Lower East Side and enjoyed seeing and imagining where the books took place.
As the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I’m currently reading the mesmerizing A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa, which examines the impact a Gaelic-speaking female poet from the 1700s has on a young mother and writer who lives in modern day Ireland.
This sounds wonderful. I'm always looking for titles to add to my TRB shelf. I wonder how I can see the rest of the comments. Haven't been able to figure it out yet. About my recommendation: I would choose Las Negras by Yolanda Pizarro Arroyo or Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago. Very different books, the first being a collection of very short stories about abducted African women and their Middle Passage to Puerto Rico. The other is a long novel about a female plantation owner and is the story of slavery in Puerto Rico from her perspective. Of course, I would also recommend my first novel, Daughters of the Stone which is a narrative of slavery in Puerto Rico from a black woman's perspective. The latter two could be mirror images of each other. I guess whenever you ask a writer to recommend one book, you get a long winded response. :)
These are terrific suggestions, Dahlma--thank you! And I second (and third) your gorgeous novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE STONE, which I consider a Caribbean classic.
Also, I'm not sure why you can't see other comments. There aren't any yet on this post. But is this the case with other posts? You should definitely be able to follow them.
I’m Chinese American, and one of my favorite books is The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. I love the experimental form of the book too.
It’s also one of my all-time favorites! ☺️
One of mine is Cristina's "Dreaming in Cuban" -- it totally shattered and broke open the world for Cuban-American writers. There was nothing like it before, and we've all walked through the door since. Another is Reinaldo Arenas' "The Palace of the White Skunk." And if it's not too self-congratulatory, the crime fiction anthology I edited, "Havana Noir."
Awww thanks, Achy.
I'm thinking of Toni Morrison's A MERCY. Reading this short novel to review it was this first time I understood the early days on the Atlantic coast post European contact, and could imagine my Cornish (Celtic) paternal ancestor who arrived near what came to be known as Virginia in 1619 and the Lenape (Delaware) maternal ancestor whose family had been living on the East Atlantic coast for generations, and how the world changed for them both. The Cornishman is the base ancestor for my great great grandfather, an abolitionist who was a chaplain for a black regiment in the Union Army (his name is listed on the monument in Washington, DC) and who moved from Kentucky to Kansas to help keep it a free state... The Lenape diaspora is complex and hidden (my mother's people survived in a small Kansas town until the KKK drove them out, then ended up in Kansas City, where she was born in what was known as "Indian town." My sister has written a memoir about that part of the family history. And I am eager to catch up, am already so impressed with Dreaming in Cuban, of course, and Achy's work, and HAVANA NOIR! And just about to take up GHOST IN THE THROAT....
Wow! What a fascinating history, Jane! Thanks for sharing this.
I have always been fond of the All Of A Kind Family books. The experience of the family depicted deeply resonated with me from an early age. Not too long ago, I visited the Lower East Side and enjoyed seeing and imagining where the books took place.
As the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I’m currently reading the mesmerizing A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa, which examines the impact a Gaelic-speaking female poet from the 1700s has on a young mother and writer who lives in modern day Ireland.
Sounds fascinating!
This sounds wonderful. I'm always looking for titles to add to my TRB shelf. I wonder how I can see the rest of the comments. Haven't been able to figure it out yet. About my recommendation: I would choose Las Negras by Yolanda Pizarro Arroyo or Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago. Very different books, the first being a collection of very short stories about abducted African women and their Middle Passage to Puerto Rico. The other is a long novel about a female plantation owner and is the story of slavery in Puerto Rico from her perspective. Of course, I would also recommend my first novel, Daughters of the Stone which is a narrative of slavery in Puerto Rico from a black woman's perspective. The latter two could be mirror images of each other. I guess whenever you ask a writer to recommend one book, you get a long winded response. :)
These are terrific suggestions, Dahlma--thank you! And I second (and third) your gorgeous novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE STONE, which I consider a Caribbean classic.
Also, I'm not sure why you can't see other comments. There aren't any yet on this post. But is this the case with other posts? You should definitely be able to follow them.