Madeline
The year of 2020 will go down in history as the year of the Coronavirus. It is the year of the Australian and California fires. And the year black people of all occupations rose up to stand where they belong, amongst the other races, not behind. Included in this, of course are authors and books written by black authors have sat on bookshelves next to books by authors of other races.
As the Black Lives Movement brought many of the black authors to the top of the book charts they also found the way into the reading lists of others and therefore my reading list as well. These are five books written by black authors that delighted this Jewish reader over the years.
Such a Fun Age
Such a Fun Age was a book that really made me think about all that is going on. The subtlety of this book expresses the majority of racism in this country. It describes how people have biases and do not even know. They make split decisions and do not think about how it could be taken. Such a Fun Age takes this topic and flips it around and looks at it from different angles. And it doesn’t hurt that the book was also extremely entertaining.
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give explained something I never previously understood, how different it is to be a black youth rather than a white one. How could I? I am a white Jewish girl from a small town. The way this was explained, was done so clearly, that although I will never fully understand, I feel more educated having read this book which is why The Hate U Give made my list of books written by black authors and enjoyed by me.
Becoming
I don’t think anyone can talk about books written by Black authors without talking about one of the biggest books of all times, Becoming, written by prior first lady, Michelle Obama.
One thing that really stuck with me from this book was when she talked with her cousin about not speaking like a black person. I love how Michelle addressed the topic and that she addressed it at all. It was a topic I had not spent much time thinking about, but is clearly a hot topic of black culture.
My Sister the Serial Killer
My Sister the Serial Killer is a book written by black authors, hence why it is on this list, and takes place in Nigeria. But this book is about murder and about morals.
Now that the narrator’s sister has killed her third boyfriend, she can now be considered a serial killer. One is a mistake. Two is a coincidence. Three is a serial. And when this is set in Nigeria, where there is a lot more complications around murder, does the narrator stay faithful to her sister or run to the police.
Roots
Roots may be last in this list but is definitely not least. If someone is willing to take the commitment to read Roots, they must enjoy it. I could write a novel about this novel. I could write about each generation and how the story affected me, but if I was to choose a single story to focus on, it would be the story of Kunta Kinte.
The story of Kunta Kinte is the first story in the book. He is the first generation to be brought to the United States. He is the first generation to be put into slavery. The description of the boat on his way to the United States was insane. You hear about it in school, but that is the PG version. This is the R version. This is the realistic version. I’ve never thought it was daisies and roses, but I never imagined what Roots described to me.
