Five Novels by Black Authors
The February Tea and Books meeting was fun, especially because I had read/am reading several recent novels relevant to Black History Month. I thought to share brief summaries and thoughts on this blog. Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi is an engaging first novel. relatively easy to read. Themes include Nigeria, immigrant life, lesbianism, family, food, myth, identity. The mythical slant is subtle but central to the book. Born in Nigeria, Ekwuyasi currently lives in Halifax. I’m in the throes of reading The Last Gift by Abdulrazak Gurnah, the recent winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. This book is even more intersectional: immigration, race, family, identity, gender, social class, mental and physical health and aging. Not an easy read, but not one to put down either. Originally from Zanzibar, Gurnah now lives in England. Omar El Akkad’s What Strange Paradise Is a bleak treatment of migrancy that nonetheless provides insight and some hope ...