Continuing on with my tour of the modern literature world:
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Aciche tells the story of the Nigerian civil war in the 1960s. While there is some violence and suffering, it is brilliantly told through the story of a young couple, her sister, their servant, and mid-way through their daughter. I found myself researching the events because I was so emotionally connected to the characters. Voted the best book by a female author in the past 25 years by the Women's Prize for Fiction. A difficult story that is all the more amazing because the reader (this reader anyway) doesn't want it to end.
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Another award-winning book: the 2008 Man Booker prize. Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and heart-breaking, this novels follow a poor Indian who becomes a driver for a wealthy family. The main character, Balram Halwai, is not so much an unreliable narrator as a character telling a story that few middle-class Americans can believe or understand. Balram is writing a long letter written over several days from Balram to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Every page puts to rest the idea of the brave international entrepreneur. A movie based on the book was released this year, which I have not yet seen.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is one of the slimmest novels you are likely to read. That doesn't mean it isn't full of ideas/questions. The novel is set in Lagos and at its heart asks two questions: 1) how can women break out of abusive relationships; 2) is sororal loyalty unbreakable. Reviewers have called it darkly comic, but I found it touching in several disturbing ways. Another winner of several literary prizes--all well-deserved.
