Allow me to explain further. It can be any identity, race, sexual orientation, religious belief, political belief, geographical area etc under the sun.
Life of a poor Soviet peasant under Stalin? Great. Modern era book of how a transgender person feels on a daily basis? Great. Life of a rural US American vs the heart of a major city urban American? Great.
Could even be a book that you feel best resonated with your identity/affiliations!
I’m open to any and everything.
by jjb8712
4 Comments
*Geisha, A Life* by Mineko Iwasaki gives you a fantastic look at what it was like being a geisha in early-mid 20th century Kyoto!
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Historical fantasy about an African American woman.
Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich Min Nguyen. A memoir of a Vietnamese American immigrant.
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu. Magical realism about being a mixed race Chinese American. Available either in the anthology The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories or [free online](https://escapepod.org/2012/05/17/ep345-the-paper-menagerie/)
Detransition, Baby. I have not read this, but a trans friend of mine recommended it.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is about the life of an autistic, Japanese woman
Nonfiction and slightly academic, but the book that’s had me going “yes! Oh my god! Finally someone gets it!” was Immigrant Japan: Mobility and Belonging in an Ethnonationalist Society by Gracia Liu-Farrer
On the off chance that anyone reading speaks Japanese, 日本移民日記 by Moment Joon is a great memoir on the subject of being an immigrant in Japan
You’d probably like ethnographies. They’re academic in nature, but the good ones should still be a good read. I recently read To Be Cared For: The Power of Conversion and Foreignness of Belonging in an Indian Slum by Nathanial Roberts that was quite good. It looks at dalit women in an Indian slum who have been converting to Pentecostal Christianity
I’ll also just throw out the reminder that there’s no single story for any group. Something that one person may find a reflection of their experience, someone else may find unrelatable. I remember there being a bit of a controversy surrounding The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun. The main character’s Indian American and a lot of Indian diaspora readers felt it was bad representation because Indian culture wasn’t present in the book. On the other hand, as an Indian American, I personally felt represented by the character because tbh Indian culture isn’t really a part of my daily life either. So, yeah, just remember that shit’s complicated