So Alghassimou Poredaka Diallo has nominated me to share the ten novels that had the greatest influence on me. Novels are presented in alphabetical order of the authors last name. What a delightful exercise. Apologies for the apostrophes around the titles; the formatting here will not allow me to underline. 1) Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Perhaps Adichie is better known for Half of a Yellow Sun or Americanah, but I am still most moved by this coming-of-age tale and its protagonists pure voice. 2) Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison. The only great novel that I know to have emerged from South Carolina. (Also, a fascinating read in conjunction with Purple Hibiscus and The Color Purple for literature about child abuse.) Bones rage is heartbreaking and entirely believable. 3) Une si longue lettre (So Long a Letter), Mariama Bâ. Pure poetry, and a scintillating, scathing dissection of patriarchy. The beauty of the words makes the arsenic-laced learning go down easy. 4) Absalom, Absalom!, William Faulkner. One of a few great American novels on race--but ultimately about the mysteries of the human heart. Extraordinary. 5) Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston. A novel that I have read more than any other, and I learn something new each time. Reading it is like lying under that pear tree, pondering the next step. And its true: Ships at a distance have every mans wish on board. 6) Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri. Reading Once in a Lifetime in the waiting room of my fathers oncology unit is an experience I may never--or should never--recover from. 7) Birds of America, Lorrie Moore. Like the above, technically a collection of short stories, but the stories must all be read together. I love Moores quirkiness, and there is something very unsettling about it. This collection has three perfect gems: Real Estate, People Like That Are the Only People Here (a masterpiece), and Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People. 8) Sula, Toni Morrison. An alternative version of this list for me would simply include eight of Morrisons ten novels (Im not a huge fan of Tar Baby or Jazz), plus Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. But in the interest of spreading the wealth among authors, I pick my very favorite among hers. Two reasons that Sula packs the biggest impact: a) see the exchange between Nel and Sula in comment #1 below for the perfect upending of morality; and b) the last line and its circles and circles of sorrow. 9) Antonia Saw the Oryx First, Maria Thomas (pseudonym for Roberta Worrick). The only novel I know worth reading about the international development experience. The novel even dares to ask, Is there such a thing as international development? And more importantly, Should there be? 10) The Color Purple, Alice Walker. So much love packed into a novel that counters so much pain.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 00:20:44 +0000
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