suggestions?

[jirafita]

Help!

My little sister recently came for a visit and I'm afraid that growing up in upper class, white suburbia is finally messing with her mind. We were listening to a story on NPR about apologizing to the Native Americans for killing their ancestors, taking their land, generally fucking things up, etc and her only comment was "Well I don't

Comments

[rhealitycheck]

ok so this first one isn't necessarily what i would think of as outside the box but it is historical fiction (one of my fav genres) and it gives you a great sense of realism about what happened to countries that were taken over by the British: The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (it also happens to be one of my favourite books of all time in general as well)

there's also a book called Passing - i forget who the author is, but it is an incredible look into what it can be like to be of mixed race or even of color. i read it for my philosophy of race and racism class and i thought it was definitely worth reading. i mean it just gives you a whole new perspective of how race can be perceived. and what it means to "pass".

also i think that the book Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg is really powerful. it touches on so many issues that the movie simply glosses over and it's a fun read. what i like about it is that it shows both conservatives and liberals in a different era.

also The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy isn't outrightly socio-political but it does open your mind up to how things are different in other cultures and how atrocities happen everywhere. it is a bit on the heavy side but i have rarely found such beautifully written prose.

lastly, i think that The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a phenomenal book for someone who wants to understand what it feels like to grow up caught between two cultures. i think that the primary community that the book draws to are the ABCDs (american born confused desis, such as myself) and even more specifically to those who come from the Bengali community (which is a state in india). but i think that many asian-american (aka 1st gen born in the states) can relate to it and those who are our friends can gain a little insight into what it's like to be caught in the middle of two cultures and trying to find your own place to fit in.

so those are some of my favourites. the last two happen to be a little heavier and darker than the others but i think that they are all incredible works of fiction.