Immigrantly's Novel Recommendations

By Cassandra Clifford

During this period of social distancing, many of us are picking up new hobbies and revisiting some old ones. I have always loved to read, so I’ve decided to visit some novels sitting on my shelves and share some of my personal recommendations with you today. Here are ten books worth reading if you find yourself looking for something new. 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

All accolades aside, this is a novel which is truly worth a read. It tells the story of several generations of a Korean family living in Japan--all the hardships they faced, from abandonment to discrimination--while painting how the world changed around them, whether it was the partition of North and South Korea or the shifting views in Japanese society of Koreans. In the words of the author, “History has failed us, but no matter.” I think that is probably the best way to sum up this book and why you should read it: it is part fiction, part history, born out of a lack of acknowledgement, but the novel is not self-pitying. If you read it, you will walk away feeling you’ve learned something, not just about this family’s history or the history of Koreans in Japan, but about history itself. 

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

This title is probably one of the lesser-known novels on this list, but it is absolutely worth a read, even if it is also one of the darker titles on this list. The story follows sixteen year-old Vicky Cruz, not in the lead-up to but instead during her recovery from a failed suicide attempt. The friends she makes in the hospital are not the stereotypes of mentally ill people, but complex and well-rounded people who force her to think more deeply about her situation. As a person who struggled with depression, especially throughout her teen years, I really connected to the story and the main character. Although the protagonist is Mexican-American, it was also refreshing to have her portrayed in a way where she is so much more than just that aspect of her identity. 

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

This coming-of-age novel, which follows Gogol Ganguli, the American-born son of a Bengali couple, as he grows up in the U.S. and tries to find his own way in the world. It tells a story laced with uncertainty and insecurity, which ends up ultimately a journey of self-discovery. I certainly found myself relating to the novel when I first read it in high school--as a child growing up in a predominantly white community, I definitely made concentrated efforts to fit in as much as possible (or at least, stand out as little as possible)--and I find myself relating to it now even more so. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This book is filled with so many twists and turns, it’s hard to know where to begin when describing it. Mia Warren and her teenage daughter Pearl move into an idyllic little town and rent an apartment from Mrs. Richardson, the matriarch of a family that has it all. Mia and Pearl act as catalysts for a series of events which shock this picture-perfect town, the most sensationalist of which is a trial involving an immigrant woman from China, who is suing the state for custody of her young daughter, and the Richardsons’ long-time family friends, the McCulloughs, who have so desperately wanted a child and insist the baby is thriving in their colorblind home. Above all else, this book asks: what makes a mother? Is it genetics? Is it stability? Or something else? The book gave me a lot to think about as I read it. Even though I myself am not an adoptee, I found myself reflecting on my own situation, especially as a child of mixed ethnic background.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

This historical fiction novel was released a little less than a year ago to rave reviews of which it is absolutely deserving. It follows Elwood Curtis, an optimistic and studious black teenager who always did his best to be exemplary, in Jim Crow-era Florida. After getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is sent to a sadistic reform school based on the real-life Dozier School, where he meets Turner, who views the world more pessimistically, with the idea that the U.S. was founded on violence and cruelty and that will never change. Though the novel is based on history, I think every person who has experienced racism can relate to both Elwood and Turner in some respects. Aside from the poignant writing and captivating story, this novel is worth reading because it tells the story of so many generations of boys whose voices were once silenced.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

If you are a fan of romantic comedies and Bollywood romances, this book is perfect for you. It’s a lighthearted and fun novel about Dimple Shah, an ambitious recent high-school graduate who has no desire to find her mother’s version of the “Ideal Indian Husband,” and Rishi Patel, a hopeless romantic who hopes that his arranged marriage results in a love story like his parents’. There are many references which are culturally specific which I did not fully understand or appreciate in this novel, but I think that is perhaps one of the best parts of this novel: regardless of whether or not you’re well versed in Bollywood tropes or you know a lot about Indian cultures, there is still a lot to take away from this novel, including the realization that some parts of the novel were not intended for you to understand. 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Another novel which is quite expansive in time, Homegoing follows seven generations of a family, beginning with two half-sisters, Effia and Esi. One is married to a British governor while the other is sent to America as a slave. Each chapter follows one family member and the lives of this family in America is juxtaposed with the lives of their relatives still in Africa. Not only is it incredible for the amount of research and care which went into Gyasi’s debut novel, but it is also amazingly moving as a family’s history spanning over two hundred years. If you love history, this is definitely a book for you.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

You have probably heard about this story by now, especially since Netflix has already released the film adaptations of two of the three books in this trilogy. In case you haven’t, it’s a teenage love story whose protagonist, Lara Jean, writes a letter to every boy she falls in love with--five in total, and those letters are meant to be kept a keepsake for herself. However, the letters somehow get sent to all of her childhood crushes. While I admit the film adaptations don’t lose the essence of the novels (and I can be quite the critic when it comes to film adaptations), there is something particularly endearing about the books. Although the film does not whitewash the main character, I think the books do a much better job at highlighting Lara Jean’s relationship with her mixed heritage, which is why I would recommend it for a more lighthearted read.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

I first encountered this novel in a class on terrorism in literature and film. It was quite a departure from the other texts we were reading, but I believe that made me appreciate it even more. Written like a conversation over tea and food, the novel follows Changez, a man from Pakistan and his life in the U.S. before and after September 11th. You may find yourself disagreeing with the narrator on multiple occasions, but I found it to be an interesting departure from other novels which retell the events of September 11th, not from the perspective of people who witnessed it firsthand, but instead from the perspective of someone who witnessed it as much of the world did--through a television screen--yet whose life was completely changed by it because society around him now reacted so strongly to his mere existence.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

This coming-of-age novel follows Ari and Dante, two Mexican-American teenagers growing up in El Paso, Texas, who have lived very different lives and as such, have very different outlooks on the world but quickly become inseparable and discover they have a lot to learn from each other. I love this novel at least in part because of its setting--if these characters were white boys from the 2010s, I would probably find myself a little less moved. However, both characters are Mexican, a culture which is typically more traditional and religion-oriented, and are growing up in a decade defined by Reagan, notable not only for his economic policies but also for his courtship of the Moral Right and mishandling of the AIDS crisis affecting primarily young gay men. It often walks the line between YA love story and philosophical bildungsroman, tender and moving in all the right ways. (And don’t worry, I promise you’ll smile in the end.)

What books have you been reading?