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Ficton and Non-fiction describing the experience of immigrants.
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A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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The Joy Luck Club
by
Amy Tan (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 706,188 ratings
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| 2 |
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The Kite Runner
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Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 3,440,710 ratings
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| 3 |
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The Namesake
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4.02 avg rating — 281,816 ratings
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| 4 |
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The House on Mango Street
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3.69 avg rating — 227,421 ratings
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| 5 |
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Interpreter of Maladies
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4.18 avg rating — 204,536 ratings
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| 6 |
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Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt, #1)
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4.15 avg rating — 654,233 ratings
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| 7 |
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My Ántonia
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3.84 avg rating — 146,103 ratings
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| 8 |
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An Ishmael of Syria
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3.81 avg rating — 631 ratings
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| 9 |
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Americanah
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4.31 avg rating — 406,872 ratings
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| 10 |
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Middlesex
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4.04 avg rating — 660,066 ratings
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| 11 |
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White Teeth
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3.79 avg rating — 172,744 ratings
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| 12 |
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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3.89 avg rating — 276,715 ratings
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| 13 |
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Shanghai Girls (Shanghai Girls, #1)
by
Lisa See (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 161,721 ratings
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| 14 |
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Unaccustomed Earth
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4.14 avg rating — 96,168 ratings
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| 15 |
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Cutting for Stone
by
Abraham Verghese (Goodreads Author)
4.33 avg rating — 421,809 ratings
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| 16 |
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Girl in Translation
by
Jean Kwok (Goodreads Author)
3.99 avg rating — 58,430 ratings
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| 17 |
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The Bonesetter's Daughter
by
Amy Tan (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 132,398 ratings
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| 18 |
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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures
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4.20 avg rating — 88,248 ratings
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| 19 |
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The Kitchen God's Wife
by
Amy Tan (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 87,563 ratings
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| 20 |
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The Jungle
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3.78 avg rating — 153,367 ratings
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| 21 |
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The Hundred Secret Senses
by
Amy Tan (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 46,415 ratings
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| 22 |
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by
Jamie Ford (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 313,327 ratings
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| 23 |
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Brick Lane
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3.46 avg rating — 35,463 ratings
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| 24 |
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 433,387 ratings
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| 25 |
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The Arrival
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4.35 avg rating — 59,459 ratings
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| 26 |
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Little Bee
by
Chris Cleave (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 247,780 ratings
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| 27 |
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Roots: The Saga of an American Family
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4.45 avg rating — 164,163 ratings
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| 28 |
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O Pioneers!
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3.90 avg rating — 57,909 ratings
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| 29 |
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Esperanza Rising
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4.05 avg rating — 112,575 ratings
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| 30 |
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The Thorn Birds
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4.25 avg rating — 362,842 ratings
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| 31 |
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How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
by
Julia Alvarez (Goodreads Author)
3.62 avg rating — 32,462 ratings
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| 32 |
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Daughter of Fortune
by
Isabel Allende (Goodreads Author)
3.94 avg rating — 139,194 ratings
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| 33 |
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The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
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3.73 avg rating — 33,561 ratings
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| 34 |
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The Tortilla Curtain
by
T. Coraghessan Boyle (Goodreads Author)
3.66 avg rating — 34,269 ratings
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| 35 |
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The Buddha in the Attic
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3.70 avg rating — 63,126 ratings
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| 36 |
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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1)
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4.27 avg rating — 227,323 ratings
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| 37 |
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Pachinko
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4.34 avg rating — 601,552 ratings
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| 38 |
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The Reluctant Fundamentalist
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3.73 avg rating — 83,411 ratings
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| 39 |
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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4.30 avg rating — 505,365 ratings
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| 40 |
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Infidel
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4.20 avg rating — 92,297 ratings
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| 41 |
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The Godfather (The Godfather, #1)
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4.40 avg rating — 457,937 ratings
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| 42 |
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Breath, Eyes, Memory
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3.90 avg rating — 31,052 ratings
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| 43 |
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The Inheritance of Loss
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3.46 avg rating — 54,931 ratings
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| 44 |
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'Tis
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3.74 avg rating — 65,813 ratings
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| 45 |
|
Digging to America
by
Anne Tyler (Goodreads Author)
3.59 avg rating — 23,362 ratings
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| 46 |
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Lolita
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3.87 avg rating — 930,770 ratings
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| 47 |
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Starting Over
by
Laura Rittenhouse (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 19 ratings
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| 48 |
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Exodus
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4.34 avg rating — 101,117 ratings
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| 49 |
|
How to Be an American Housewife
by
Margaret Dilloway (Goodreads Author)
3.65 avg rating — 13,609 ratings
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| 50 |
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The Book of Unknown Americans
by
Cristina Henríquez (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 45,893 ratings
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| 51 |
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Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
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3.84 avg rating — 27,275 ratings
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| 52 |
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Managing Bubbie
by
Russel Lazega (Goodreads Author)
4.33 avg rating — 506 ratings
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| 53 |
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When I Was Puerto Rican
by
Esmeralda Santiago (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 13,632 ratings
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| 54 |
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Small Island
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4.01 avg rating — 37,529 ratings
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| 55 |
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The Thing Around Your Neck
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4.23 avg rating — 49,118 ratings
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| 56 |
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Bless Me, Ultima
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3.82 avg rating — 36,974 ratings
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| 57 |
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A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
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3.45 avg rating — 36,583 ratings
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| 58 |
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The Quiet American
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3.98 avg rating — 69,924 ratings
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| 59 |
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Those Who Save Us
by
Jenna Blum (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 103,199 ratings
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| 60 |
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Drown
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4.01 avg rating — 37,144 ratings
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| 61 |
|
A Pale View of Hills
by
Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)
3.79 avg rating — 42,138 ratings
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| 62 |
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The Chosen (Reuven Malter, #1)
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4.07 avg rating — 96,716 ratings
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| 63 |
|
And the Mountains Echoed
by
Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 399,480 ratings
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| 64 |
|
Let the Great World Spin
by
Colum McCann (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 109,284 ratings
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| 65 |
|
Teacher Man: A Memoir
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3.76 avg rating — 39,861 ratings
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| 66 |
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Zeitoun
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4.05 avg rating — 79,898 ratings
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| 67 |
|
Milena: & Other Social Reforms
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4.06 avg rating — 83 ratings
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| 68 |
|
The Mistress of Spices
by
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Goodreads Author)
3.48 avg rating — 14,795 ratings
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| 69 |
|
American Born Chinese
by
Gene Luen Yang (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 100,807 ratings
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| 70 |
|
The Road Home
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3.88 avg rating — 10,530 ratings
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| 71 |
|
Mama's Bank Account
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4.25 avg rating — 3,367 ratings
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| 72 |
|
The Covert Buccaneer
by
S. Lucia Kanter St. Amour (Goodreads Author)
4.94 avg rating — 34 ratings
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| 73 |
|
The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1)
by
Helene Wecker (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 130,332 ratings
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| 74 |
|
Honolulu
by
Alan Brennert (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 25,311 ratings
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| 75 |
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Behold the Dreamers
by
Imbolo Mbue (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 85,142 ratings
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| 76 |
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Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
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4.05 avg rating — 11,206 ratings
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| 77 |
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We Need New Names
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3.75 avg rating — 23,199 ratings
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| 78 |
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Exit West
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3.74 avg rating — 149,431 ratings
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| 79 |
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Caramelo
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3.93 avg rating — 13,052 ratings
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| 80 |
|
The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 2,833,546 ratings
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| 81 |
|
Lucy
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3.83 avg rating — 14,342 ratings
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| 82 |
|
Annie’s Stories (Ellis Island, #2)
by
Cindy Thomson (Goodreads Author)
4.03 avg rating — 196 ratings
score: 898,
and
9 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Angle of Repose
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4.24 avg rating — 61,672 ratings
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| 84 |
|
The Emigrants (The Emigrants, #1)
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4.21 avg rating — 9,652 ratings
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| 85 |
|
Ignorance
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3.81 avg rating — 27,396 ratings
score: 857,
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9 people voted
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| 86 |
|
When the Emperor Was Divine
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3.81 avg rating — 30,112 ratings
score: 856,
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9 people voted
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| 87 |
|
On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family
by
Lisa See (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 11,106 ratings
score: 853,
and
9 people voted
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| 88 |
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The Feast of the Goat
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4.35 avg rating — 41,758 ratings
score: 850,
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9 people voted
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| 89 |
|
Molly's Pilgrim
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4.11 avg rating — 1,271 ratings
score: 838,
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9 people voted
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| 89 |
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Anil's Ghost
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3.59 avg rating — 18,744 ratings
score: 838,
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9 people voted
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| 91 |
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On Beauty
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3.78 avg rating — 89,981 ratings
score: 823,
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9 people voted
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| 92 |
|
The Light of Eternal Spring
by
Angel Di Zhang (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 519 ratings
score: 800,
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8 people voted
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| 93 |
|
Grace's Pictures (Ellis Island #1)
by
Cindy Thomson (Goodreads Author)
3.68 avg rating — 543 ratings
score: 794,
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8 people voted
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| 94 |
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Out of Place
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3.99 avg rating — 3,492 ratings
score: 790,
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8 people voted
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| 95 |
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Giants in the Earth
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4.04 avg rating — 6,242 ratings
score: 782,
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9 people voted
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| 96 |
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Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam
by
Andrew X. Pham (Goodreads Author)
3.99 avg rating — 6,653 ratings
score: 765,
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8 people voted
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| 97 |
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Homegoing
by
Yaa Gyasi (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 394,046 ratings
score: 759,
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8 people voted
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| 98 |
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Oscar and Lucinda
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3.73 avg rating — 21,732 ratings
score: 733,
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8 people voted
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| 99 |
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The Master Butchers Singing Club
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4.07 avg rating — 26,140 ratings
score: 720,
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8 people voted
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| 100 |
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The Buddha of Suburbia
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3.75 avg rating — 20,808 ratings
score: 717,
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1,001 books ·
1,431 voters ·
list created July 19th, 2008
by Jessica Haider (votes) .
Tags:
african-american-fiction, african-american-literature, african-literature, anthropology, arab, asian-american, asian-american-fiction, caribbean-fiction, diaspora, ethnic, ethnicity, fiction, geography, hispanic, historical-fiction, immigrant, immigration, indian-fiction, latin-american, latin-american-fiction, latino, literary-fiction, migration, non-fiction, short-stories, sociology, south-asian-literature
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
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by
mlady_rebecca
(new)
Apr 15, 2011 10:03PM
Just an FYI. Since you've tagged this list with aliens, it's showing up under the Science Fiction > Aliens genre.
reply
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My vote is for Tortilla Curtain. Here's a post about Tortilla Curtain's relevance to the current immigration reform debate: http://newsworthynovels.blogspot.com/...
How are we defining "immigrant" here? I was surprised to see Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, since the protagonists were Japanese-Americans, born in the USA. It's an awesome book, but I am concerned about the political point of labeling the main characters exactly the way the US government did back then.Another one: Chinua Achebe's No Longer At Ease is NOT an immigrant story. I don't want to mess with the contributions if Jessica is still here and active, since she started it. But it should be recognized that not everyone who comes to the USA, UK, or other western countries prefers to live in the USA or other parts of the West, and in the case of Achebe's protagonist, he goes to England, gets his education, leaves to go back to Nigeria. Thousands if not more do this very thing every year. A person who lives in the UK,US or elsewhere for a limited time, and with a limited purpose, is not an immigrant, they are a visitor. This touches a personal chord for me, because I am married to a citizen of another country who lives in the USA, and well-intended people are constantly trying to hyphenate my spouse with "-American", and repeatedly we have to say, "Actually, no." There is a bias to the assumption that whoever sets foot on these golden shores must SURELY want to stay here forever.
Removed for not being about the immigrant experience/author spamming:The Girls on Rose Hill
Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China
The Farther I Walk, the Closer I Get to Me b. Hong Mei
Hm. Bless Me, Ultima is on here, but it's most certainly not about immigrants or even immigration. Do people just assume that because it's about Spanish-speakers in New Mexico they immigrated there? They were there before it became part of the US...
Wow, there are sooo many books on this list that just do not belong by any stretch of the imagination. O.o
I understand why there are so many votes for Roots, but "immigrant" isn't the right descriptor there.
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