Cultural fiction novels?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>My English class is a cultural literature class. We're doing a project where we have to read a novel (fiction) that features some other culture (so for me, no White Americans) and then do a research paper on said culture.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what culture I want to do it on and what novel to read. I was hoping you CCers could help.</p>

<p>So far we've read:
Joy Luck Club (least favorite)
A Lesson before Dying (my favorite)
A Raisin in the Sun
Life of Pi</p>

<p>It has to be at least 150 pages (that should be a given for any decent novel anyway). I'm a 16-year-old male. I like history.</p>

2

<p>life of pi is really nice. is like, gay male culture or punk culture of the 90s allowed? i am just assuming you belong to neither?</p>

3

<p>She just said of another culture, but I'm assuming she meant another culture as in Indian, French, Mexican, Native American, etc. etc. rather than like gay, punk, goth, etc.</p>

<p>...and no, I belong to neither >_></p>

4

<p>make a case, or dont, it might not be worth it. but lolita is super good, i would consider french pedophiles to be different. and down and out in paris and london is really good too, the culture of poverty in those cities. im pretty sure down and out is long enough? i cant remember, but it is a quick read</p>

5

<p>Albert Camus' The Stranger (it's French)</p>

6

<p>It's less of a continuous novel....more like a collection of short stories, but "Dubliners" by James Joyce is really good.</p>

<p>It's an amazing account of Ireland and the working-class people. A stark portrait of life, but it really makes you think. Give it a try.</p>

7

<p>Referring to Camus' The Stranger: And existentialist. Ahhhh.</p>

<p>Great cultural work: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Great, great read.</p>

<p>EDIT: Speaking of Joyce and portraits, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man also reflects some cultural elements in the novel. Also a great read.</p>

8

<p>The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
This might not be exactly what you need because it is told from the perspective of five white American women. It's about their experience living as missionaries in the Congo before and after the Belgians granted the country its independence. A lot of the novel deals with the clash of Western culture vs. African culture, as well as the clash of Christianity vs. African religions.</p>

9

<p>Their Eyes Were Watching God (it isn't religious) - Zora Neale Hurston</p>

<p>The Secrets of Jin-Shei - Alma Alexander</p>

<p>Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson</p>

10

<p>If you're willing to read a frustratingly difficult, but amazing book, try Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. </p>

<p>You said you like history.... I, Cladius. Read it - if you like history and Romans, it's one of the best books period.</p>

11

<p>If you're allowed to do collections of short stories, anything by Jhumpa Lahiri.</p>

12

<p>What about the Japanese Internment Camps in America if so you could read Desert Exile its an incredibly easy read and fairly informative.</p>

13

<p>I believe Desert Exile is technically an autobiographical narrative and she is anal about it being fiction.</p>

14

<p>I think culture can be defined really broadly and could easily include GLBT Culture. What cultures are you interested in?</p>

<p>Some of my favorites:</p>

<p>GLBT: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Columbian: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez
Chilean: By Night in Chile by Roberto Bola</p>

15

<p>Read "The New Testament", from The Bible. It's about a Jewish guy...</p>

16

<p>The Sibyl or The Dwarf both by Par Lagerkvist (they're Swedish, I believe).</p>