I love novels that provide a view into cultures and lives very different from my own. I’m American, so cultures outside the US and Western Europe are preferred (Indigenous and Native American stories would be awesome, though!) though stories about the immigrant experience in those places would be interesting too. Novels that are more literary are preferred and any length is fine. I’m terrible with languages, so I’m looking for novels written or translated into English.
My most recent read was The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, which I thoroughly enjoyed, to give you a sense of my tastes.
Thanks for your help!
by AmethystPapers
8 Comments
Hanta Yo
A wife for my son
Gabriel Garcia Marquez / One Hundred Years of Solitude
I like reading mysteries that take place in other countries and give a good look at the culture in the country. Kwei Quartey started a mystery novel series with a book called ‘The Missing American’. It is not only a mystery it talks a lot about Ghanaian culture. Vaseem Khan wrote a series of mysteries that take place in India that give a good look at culture.
Pachinko! I just finished it. I learned and felt so much.
Anything by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Elena Ferrante
Anthony Marra
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
How Beautiful We Were, by Imbolo Mbue
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.
Augustown by Kei Miller.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith.
The Tale of Genji. 11th century Japan is about as different as you can get.
Independent People. Realist but also with an appreciation of Icelandic Sagas. Or you could read them directly. I’d start with Njals Saga.