Immigrant Fiction
Our first book group meeting of the new year will take place on Wednesday, January 9th at 1:30 p.m. The theme is Crossing Borders: Immigrant Fiction. You’re invited to choose an appealing book from the collection we’ve set aside at the Reference Desk. Read it and come to the meeting to share it with the rest of the group and discuss the common themes. We’ll have a list of all the titles available so you can note the most interesting ones and leave with more recommended titles.
In a nation of immigrants, we have many stories of what it was to come here, to start over, to assimilate and to remain true to where we have come from. These stories are both very particular to cultures and families and also universal. The group on January 9th will compare stories written by and about immigrants from all over the world. What is unique and what is common. How are the experiences of our own families reflected in these books?
Here are a few of the fascinating books we have available for you to choose from:
Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rolvaag was originally written in Norwegian but is nevertheless a truly American novel of the experience of peasant immigrants settling the Dakota prairie. This book is an old classic.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez is a beautifully written story about a loving family coming from the very proper upper reaches of Caribbean society into the more free-wheeling streets of the Bronx. Mami and Papi’s expectations of their daughters come into conflict with the temptations of America. Alvarez writes with humor and sensitivity.
The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi explores the cultural conflicts and animosity experienced by German-American families through both World Wars. The story follows some of the minor characters from the brilliant Stones From the River. Hegi shines in relating life through a child’s perspective and in her evocative writing.
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid follows a teenage girl immigrating to America from the West Indies as a au pair. Lucy is angry about almost everything in her life but her honesty leads to grace and wisdom.
The Interpreter of Maladies is a set of short stories penned by Indian-American writer Jhumpa Lahiri (author of The Namesake, which has been made into a movie available, from our library, on DVD). Indian tradition meets American complexity.
Melania Mazzucco’s Vita alternates a fictional story of two Italian children coming through Ellis Island and learning to survive in a brutal New York City with the nonfictional account of her attempts to trace her own Italian ancestors. Mazzucco pulls no punches in describing the squalor, poverty and bigotry experienced by immigrants. Yet her story contains love and inspiration as well.
These are just a few of the books we’ve put aside for the book discussion group. Or perhaps you have another favorite novel of the immigrant experience. New members are welcome throughout the year. Join us.
