MULTICULTURAL FICTION
DEFINITION: Multicultural fiction relates the American experience from minority points of view. These books can be literary fiction, popularly written family stories, romances, mysteries, or any other genre. This list provides a small sample of authors from various cultures, but only begins to touch on the diversity present in America. See also: African American Fiction.
CHARACTERISTICS: Multicultural fiction’s primary characteristic is a minority character or group’s perspective. Typically the main characters are members of a minority group; mere inclusion of secondary characters who belong to a minority group does not qualify a novel as a work of multicultural fiction. Groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered, Hispanic Americans/Latinos, Jewish Americans, Native Americans, and other cultures are included in multicultural fiction. Since multicultural fiction includes various genres, it is as diverse in style as it is in characters’ perspectives.
APPEAL: Readers belonging to a particular culture identify with the cultural backdrop of the story and appreciate the validation of their experience. Readers outside the culture represented in a novel can gain an understanding of the lives and cultures of their neighbors.
READERS: Readers of multicultural fiction include people of all backgrounds and ages. As mentioned above, readers may be drawn to multicultural fiction for its familiarity to their own experience or for its power to introduce them to other viewpoints. Literary fiction written from a particular cultural viewpoint often introduces the theme of cultural differences within society, which can make these novels excellent choices for book discussions. Readers of a particular genre often read multicultural fiction within that genre.
SUBGENRES: Rather than dividing into subgenres, multicultural fiction instead includes all genres and styles, including adventure, fantasy, gentle reads, historical fiction, horror, literary fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction, suspense/thrillers, and women’s fiction.
TOP AUTHORS: African American: Toni Morrison; Asian American: Amy Tan; Gay and Lesbian: Armistead Maupin; Hispanic American: Julia Alvarez
TRENDS: The major trend is that multicultural literature has, to a great extent, gone mainstream. Multicultural novels appear on the bestseller lists, win mainstream literary awards, and are considered mainstream fiction by some readers.
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Title: In the Time of Butterflies
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Alvarez, Julia
Brief Summary: Based on true events , this novel is set during the regime of Trujillo, the Dominican Republic's dictator. Find out why the three revolution sisters were murdered. The fourth and only surviving sister will tell you her sisters' story of courage.
Thoughts on Appeal: Although it is at times somewhat slow-paced, the characters are three-dimensional. Some Spanish sentences are used throughout the the novel, however, their English translation is provided.
Who I Would Recommend This To: Those customers who might be interested in the survival stories and the past of the first generation immigrants living in the U.S.
Title: The Namesake
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Lahiri, Jhumpa
Brief Summary: Ashoke, an MIT student, has his eyes on the future and assimilating he and his son, Gogol, into American culture. His wife misses traditional Indian culture. Gogol never fits in, really in either country.
Thoughts on Appeal:
Who I Would Recommend This To: Teens and up. Fiction, multicultural- also NF (3 cups of tea, etc.)
Title: The Saturday Wife
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Ragen, Naomi
Brief Summary: Delilah is a stunning Orthodox Jewish girl from New York who aspires to a much cushier life than the one she was born into. She marries a passive young rabbi and begins a program of relentless social climbing that's destined to implode.
Thoughts on Appeal: Interesting Perspectives on Orthodox Jewish lifestyle. Characters are hard to like- either flat or obnoxious. You expect Delilah to get her comeuppance, but the twists along the way are unexpected and engaging.
Who I Would Recommend This To: Jewish women; women who like chick lit. with a bit of a serious bend. Maybe not Orthodox Jews?
Title: Bloody Waters
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Garcia-Aguilera, Carolina
Brief Summary: Cuban-American private eye Lupe Solano is hired to find a friend's adopted child's natural mother. Dead bodies keep showing up.
Thoughts on Appeal: Liked the picture of a Cuban-American family; the food, the drinks, the boat gassed to return to Cuba with the death of Castro.
Who I Would Recommend This To: Mystery fans people going to Florida/Cuba on vacation.
Title: The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Diaz, Junot
Brief Summary: Oscar, an overweight Dominican from the ghetto in New Jersey wants love and wants to write. More successful in the former than the latter, a curse haunts him and his family
Thoughts on Appeal: Excellent book- holds the reader's attention and engages the mind on so many levels. Fully deserving of the Pulitzer. Awareness of Spanish, illuminates, but isn't necessary.
Who I Would Recommend This To: Adults, teens engaged with reading, Spanish.
Title: House on Mango Street
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Cisneros, Sandra
Brief Summary: Told through vignettes, Esperanza gives the reader a glimpse of what it is like to live in a poor Latino community in Chicago. She candidly tells of the struggles and triumphs of living in her neighborhood and never targets where she came from.
Thoughts on Appeal: Not a traditional novel. Style is poetic and moving. Good for getting a taste of Latino lifestyle.
Who I Would Recommend This To: Young adults and those who have difficulty reading. The short "chapters" are suited for these patrons.