Saturday, September 17, 2016

On My Nightstand

It was a big summer for black writers with the publication of several highly anticipated and critically acclaimed novels.  I discovered many of these books on the Instagram Well Read Black Girl.  Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Here Comes the Sun, by Nicole Dennis-Benn



Here Comes the Sun is about a trio of women living in Jamaica struggling to better their lives.  The novel explores issues of class, color, and sexuality, but it is really about the commodification of the female body-first by force and then by choice.  Here Comes the Sun strikes the perfect balance between being readable and thought-provoking.  If you are interested in stories about the complicated dynamic between mothers and daughters, read this novel.

2. Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue



Behold the Dreamers is especially timely considering the current state of election politics.   It tells the story of  a family from Cameroon who immigrates to the United States and develops a relationship with the family that they come to work for.  For most of the book I was afraid that it would devolve into a tale of "magical Africans" whose presence transforms the lives of the wealthy, but dysfunctional, family that they work for.  Fortunately, this novel is not that.   

3.  Another Brooklyn, by Jacqueline Woodson 
  

Another Brooklyn is a short poetic novel describing the narrator's coming of age in the 1970's.  It is about the strength of female friendships and the danger of beauty when it develops before it its power is fully understood.  As I felt this book coming to a close, I immediately knew that as soon as I had read the last word, I would start reading it again from the beginning.  It was as if I had been introduced to people that I needed to get to know better.

Happy Reading!