Don't you dare say Catcher in the Rye
November 14, 2011 4:44 PM Subscribe
Seeking a contemporary coming of age novel with a few specific qualities (more details inside). Posting for a friend.
I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for the novel I want to include in my First Year Writing course.
I'm a [role] at a large, public sports-heavy, science-heavy university in the Midwest.
I'm looking for, ideally, a contemporary feminist novel by a person of color or with anti-racist politics that is set in the Midwest or another rural, conservative part of the U.S. One that addresses characters experiencing coming-of-age or young adult life-stuff that might feel immediately relevant to freshmen but provoke careful thought with a strong fiction and good writing.......... or if that's rather too specific, any other read that is, basically, going to provide a strong fiction and some good writing, and that might provide grounds for some fun & challenging discussions in an aggressively Greek-heavy environment.
I'd like to keep it contemporary, feminist and proactively anti-racist. Bottom line: it's a writing course and so whatever novel I assign will be accompanied with writing-to-reflect, literary analysis or research assignments.
Ideas I'm considering but that don't quite fit the bill: Richard Wright's Native Son (but less urban, more feminist) for its stellar media analysis and depiction of racialized oppression; Dionne Brand's What We All Long For (but more local + familiar to the rural midwest), Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex (although it's long, maybe thils will be the answer), Hanif Kureishi's Buddha of Suburbia (because it's so much fun, but again, something with less alien territory for the majority students). Last semester that I was teaching, we spent ten minutes discussing the reality that yes, it is possible to be both Muslim & American.
My goal at this point is not to be ideologically didactic beyond choosing a good novel with strong intersectional, liberationist politics.
I'm wondering if there are any suggestions for the novel I want to include in my First Year Writing course.
I'm a [role] at a large, public sports-heavy, science-heavy university in the Midwest.
I'm looking for, ideally, a contemporary feminist novel by a person of color or with anti-racist politics that is set in the Midwest or another rural, conservative part of the U.S. One that addresses characters experiencing coming-of-age or young adult life-stuff that might feel immediately relevant to freshmen but provoke careful thought with a strong fiction and good writing.......... or if that's rather too specific, any other read that is, basically, going to provide a strong fiction and some good writing, and that might provide grounds for some fun & challenging discussions in an aggressively Greek-heavy environment.
I'd like to keep it contemporary, feminist and proactively anti-racist. Bottom line: it's a writing course and so whatever novel I assign will be accompanied with writing-to-reflect, literary analysis or research assignments.
Ideas I'm considering but that don't quite fit the bill: Richard Wright's Native Son (but less urban, more feminist) for its stellar media analysis and depiction of racialized oppression; Dionne Brand's What We All Long For (but more local + familiar to the rural midwest), Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex (although it's long, maybe thils will be the answer), Hanif Kureishi's Buddha of Suburbia (because it's so much fun, but again, something with less alien territory for the majority students). Last semester that I was teaching, we spent ten minutes discussing the reality that yes, it is possible to be both Muslim & American.
My goal at this point is not to be ideologically didactic beyond choosing a good novel with strong intersectional, liberationist politics.
The Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore might fit the bill.
posted by Flamingo at 5:23 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by Flamingo at 5:23 PM on November 14, 2011
Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory is a rich, complex coming of age story that meets all of your qualifications except it taking place in the Midwest. I used it in a First Year Seminar, and my students really got into it.
posted by Pineapplicious at 5:32 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by Pineapplicious at 5:32 PM on November 14, 2011
I recently finished Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward which I swear had a blurb on the cover comparing it to Native Son. It's set in rural Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina and revolves around four African-American siblings and their father. Some aspects struck me as... not exactly racist, but something that a white writer would have been reprimanded for. For example, one of the brothers breeds pit bulls for dog fights, and the sister is 15 and pregnant, and the father is falling-down drunk most of the time. It's gotten mostly positive reviews and the story moved along quickly, and I definitely think you could get a lot of related assignments out of it.
(Also I have read A Gate at the Stairs and it was trying so hard to be non-racist that it kind of defeated the purpose. Also, I thought it sucked. The Bean Trees might work, though.)
posted by jabes at 6:21 PM on November 14, 2011
(Also I have read A Gate at the Stairs and it was trying so hard to be non-racist that it kind of defeated the purpose. Also, I thought it sucked. The Bean Trees might work, though.)
posted by jabes at 6:21 PM on November 14, 2011
Joyce Carol Oates' White Girl/Black Girl? It's set in the seventies though so may not be contemporary enough.
posted by Wantok at 6:58 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by Wantok at 6:58 PM on November 14, 2011
Manchild In The Promised Land is about a thousand times better than Wright's Native Son (or Black Boy, or Invisible Man). Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston is also pretty good, though it's not as explicit in political message. Toni Morrison's first three books, Bluest Eye, Sula and Song of Solomon all are somewhat coming-of-age novels (and I read them all in high school lit classes). Of the three, I'd recommend Song of Solomon as the best for the class.
posted by klangklangston at 7:10 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by klangklangston at 7:10 PM on November 14, 2011
Towelhead by Alicia Erian. She is a fantastic writer and the book would provoke a hell of a discussion even at an elite liberal arts college.
posted by book 'em dano at 10:20 PM on November 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by book 'em dano at 10:20 PM on November 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
That is, the story is murky and complicated enough that it would disconcert liberal college kids, let alone midwestern greek types.
posted by book 'em dano at 10:31 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by book 'em dano at 10:31 PM on November 14, 2011
The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros, published in 1984. It deals with a young Latina girl, Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans. Esperanza is determined to "say goodbye" to her impoverished Latino neighborhood. Major themes include her quest for a better life and the importance of her promise to come back for "the ones I left behind."
I've both experienced this book in a college class and taught excerpts with minority middle schoolers. Some really great stuff including how she wants to change her name because other kids can't pronounce it AND her best friend getting used by boys. There's a LOT to talk about.
posted by jander03 at 12:26 PM on November 15, 2011
I've both experienced this book in a college class and taught excerpts with minority middle schoolers. Some really great stuff including how she wants to change her name because other kids can't pronounce it AND her best friend getting used by boys. There's a LOT to talk about.
posted by jander03 at 12:26 PM on November 15, 2011
Oh oh oh! A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore? Tassie, the white daughter of a rural farmer, goes to a flagship state university, where she becomes the nanny for a biracial toddler adopted by a pair of sophisticated (-seeming to Tassie) and liberal New Yorkers, while Tassie's brother considers joining the military in the wake of 9/11.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 8:28 PM on November 15, 2011
posted by Snarl Furillo at 8:28 PM on November 15, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks so much, everyone! My friend says:
Oh my gosh - thank you so much metawisepeople! I'm no longer floundering in my search at all thanks to your sharp suggestions.
posted by SassHat at 7:14 AM on November 16, 2011
Oh my gosh - thank you so much metawisepeople! I'm no longer floundering in my search at all thanks to your sharp suggestions.
posted by SassHat at 7:14 AM on November 16, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by PinkMoose at 5:05 PM on November 14, 2011 [1 favorite]