Task #24: Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color

[Lisa]

Must it be fiction? Does a non-fiction narrator count as a "character"?

[Kirsten]

Hmmmm..... I'm not sure.

[Bonnie G.]

There is nothing to indicate this needs to be fiction. A character is an individual (usually a person) in a narrative in a work of fiction or creative nonfiction.

[Sarah]

I'm considering How the García Girls Lost Their Accents for this one. From what I can tell from reviews, it is narrated by multiple POV characters...I think just shifting between the four sisters (who are Dominican immigrants to the U.S.)? Can anyone confirm that all POV characters are POC?

[Elyse]

Sarah wrote: "I'm considering How the García Girls Lost Their Accents for this one. From what I can tell from reviews, it is narrated by multiple POV characters...I think just shifting between the f..."

I'm also using this.

[Amber]

Just finished The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. So, so good!

[b.andherbooks]

I read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for this task!

[Fred]

Just starting on Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. Picked up on impulse at library and I like its style, but has anyone in the group read through already enough to know if this meets the challenge criteria?

.

[Teresa]

Exit West is on my list of possible immigrant novels.

[Haley]

I read In the Time of the Butterflies for this and it was fantastic

[Sunshine]

I read, "The Ghost Bride" by Yangtszee Choo. It was very good it could even fit into the task where a person of color goes on a spiritual journey as well. there is one section of the book where things meandered a little bit but it was also her debut novel and she brings it back. It was a unique and interesting story

[JenniferAustin]

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indianby Sherman Alexie fits, and is a fabulous, can't-put-it-down read.

[Jenny]

Chessa wrote: "Sam wrote: "Does 'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyasi count for this?"

Definitely."

That's the one I went for! The multi generation thing makes it perfect in my opinion for 'all point of view characters' since it there are many of them

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

Hayley wrote: "Does The Hate U Give qualify for this category?"

I'm applying the book to this category (a couple of months later) because I'm pretty sure the story is only told from the POV of the African-American main character, Starr Carter. It is an amazing book, and I highly recommend it.

[Wellington]

For this challenge I read Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It was a very interesting book. The author contemplates how even though we might feel alone in the world, we are all connected. The writing style is spare, but very evocative. I am also counting this one for a couple of other challenges.

[Amanda]

Anybody reading The Leavers by Lisa Ko? Reading it now and I think it counts, as it's from the perspective of a young Chinese man and his biological mother. But her part is in first person (technically second person, I guess) and his part is in third person, but it's so clearly from his point of view. I think it counts. THoughts?

[Elyse]

Amanda wrote: "Anybody reading The Leavers by Lisa Ko? Reading it now and I think it counts, as it's from the perspective of a young Chinese man and his biological mother. But her part is in first person (technic..."

I think it counts. If it's clear whose POV even if not first person, it counts.

[[deleted user]]

Does anyone know if Colson Whitehead's THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD meets this criteria? I'm not sure if all characters are, as I haven't read it and someone suggested it for our book club.

[Allie]

Amy wrote: "Does anyone know if Colson Whitehead's THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD meets this criteria? I'm not sure if all characters are, as I haven't read it and someone suggested it for our book club."

It doesn't count, one of the POV characters is a white slave-catcher.

[[deleted user]]

Allie wrote: "Amy wrote: "Does anyone know if Colson Whitehead's THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD meets this criteria? I'm not sure if all characters are, as I haven't read it and someone suggested it for our book club...."

Thanks!

[[deleted user]]

Hi! Do we know if THE VEGETARIAN by Han Kang matches this criteria? :)

[Chinook]

Yes, it totally does. It's been a bit since I read it, but all the narrators are Korean: the woman herself, her husband and then her sister are the narrators I think.

[[deleted user]]

Chinook wrote: "Yes, it totally does. It's been a bit since I read it, but all the narrators are Korean: the woman herself, her husband and then her sister are the narrators I think."

Thanks!

[[deleted user]]

For this task, i read a romance novel from my own country ပြောပြလိုက်ပါရှင်မွေ့လွန်းပွင့်ရယ်

[Elise]

So, would books by Haruki Murakami "count?" All his characters are Japanese, and the books set in Japan. However, given that they're the dominant ethnic group there, it seems contrary to the goal.

Which matters more - the perspective of people who aren't Caucasian, or that they experience systemic oppression?

[Chinook]

I was wondering that too, as I'm reading The Three-Body Problem and by a simple reading of the prompt, it works but I'm not sure it fits the spirit of reading minority voices.

[Bonnie G.]

Elise wrote: "So, would books by Haruki Murakami "count?" All his characters are Japanese, and the books set in Japan. However, given that they're the dominant ethnic group there, it seems contrary to the goal.
..."

People have read this both ways. I read it the same as you. Initially I was using Homegoing, but decided it did not really meet the challenge since it was really centered in Africa (despite having some scenes in America) and used The Mothers instead.

[Elyse]

Elise wrote: "So, would books by Haruki Murakami "count?" All his characters are Japanese, and the books set in Japan. However, given that they're the dominant ethnic group there, it seems contrary to the goal.
..."

I think it's the perspective that matters, not that they necessarily have to be going through something that POC go through.

[Karen]

I recommend Jam on the Vine as a great read, even if you don't need it for this category

[Monica]

Elise wrote: "Which matters more - the perspective of people who aren't Caucasian, or that they experience systemic oppression?"

Hmmm, this question implies that you think that the only perspective POC can have is about oppression. They aren't mutually exclusive choices nor are they the only choices for this task. Maybe that is why this is a category...

Personally, I think a novel set in Japan from the point of view of Japanese people would apply. A novel about Swedish family written about life in Sweden would also apply if the main characters were people of color. I don't see anything in the category that implies that this has to be a "fish out of water" story. Nor did I see anything in the category about systemic oppression.

[Chinook]

I think the issue is that people outside of North America don't necessarily use the term POC. For example, in South Korea, society is pretty homogeneous and I don't think the majority would use that term for themselves. It's a construct that makes most sense where there are minority groups.

I can understand saying that one might want to read a perspective different than one's own, in which case it might make sense to read foreign authored books, but I think it's also an understandable interpretation of the task that it's asking for a POC viewpoint from a society where that involves being a minority.

[adeservingporcupine]

I would agree with Monica and Elyse on this one. The idea seems to be to read from the point of view of people who don't experience the world as white people do -- whether that means a narrative that deals with oppression or not.

[Nancy]

I recently read Chimamanda Adiche's "Half of a Yellow Sun." I wasn't reading it for a challenge task but am wondering if it would work here? There are five main characters, and four are black (it's set in Nigeria/Biafra, so I don't mean African Americans), while one is a white British ex-pat. While I wouldn't say the British man is a minor character, he doesn't get as much time on the pages as several of the others, and the two whose voices are most prominent are members of the Igbo people, one of Nigeria's largest ethnic groups. Is this "close enough" to fit the challenge?

[Elyse]

Nancy wrote: "I recently read Chimamanda Adiche's "Half of a Yellow Sun." I wasn't reading it for a challenge task but am wondering if it would work here? There are five main characters, and four are black (it's..."

That's up to you. Slot it in but keep an eye out for something that fits better?

[Nancy]

Elyse wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I recently read Chimamanda Adiche's "Half of a Yellow Sun." I wasn't reading it for a challenge task but am wondering if it would work here? There are five main characters, and four a..."

That's essentially what I was thinking, especially since I didn't intend it as a challenge book. It was something I've been trying to get to for several years and finally did, then started reviewing the challenge tasks and thought, well, maybe. I'm doing well with the tasks and don't feel pressured (yet) to "force" a book to fit.

[Bonnie G.]

Sarah wrote: "Book Riot wrote: "Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the twenty-fourth Read Harder task, from From Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of sci-fi novel Ascension."

THE GOOD LO..."

John Brown was white, and he is a major POV character in Good Lord Bird. as I recall.

[Tallyho]

Would The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency work for this prompt? Having not read it, I'm not sure!

[Karen]

Tallyho wrote: "Would The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency work for this prompt? Having not read it, I'm not sure!"

Absolutely!!

[Kimberley]

I was just about to start reading When Dimple Met Rishi after hearing so much about it. I thought it might count for this prompt but wanted some confirmation?

[Rainey]

Kimberley wrote: "I was just about to start reading When Dimple Met Rishi after hearing so much about it. I thought it might count for this prompt but wanted some confirmation?"

I cant see why this wouldn't. Looks good.

[Rebecca]

I read The Moor's Account, which is a retelling(ish?) of a Spanish exploration into America now recorded from Cabeza de Vaca's perspective, but presented from the black Arab slave survivor Esteban/Mustafa (historically-presented name/invented "real" name used in the book). I've read another book and seen a TV show about all the crazy stuff the expedition went through, and I really liked getting it from a different perspective. The author is also an Arab born and raised in Morocco, and she captured the voice so well. A major theme is story-telling, and Mustafa definitely didn't sound like someone I would just encounter on the street today.

It was also a finalist for the Pulitzer. I would highly recommend!

[Courtney]

I just finished Americanah. It was pretty good. Another task down :)

[Anna]

If anyone wants a brand-new novel for this, Home Fire qualifies. (It would also work for by/about immigrants.)

[Veronica]

I read Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros and loved it. I have a soft spot for multi-generational family narratives and this hit it exactly. It centers on the Reyes family, told by youngest daughter Lala, and it goes all the way back to her great-grandmother to tell each generation's story. I also appreciated that Cisneros worked in a fair amount of Mexican-American history to firmly root the generations in their time. If you also like multi-generational stories, I highly recommend checking out this one. Full review here.

[Nancy]

I read Ghana Must Go for this challenge. It was very good.

[Carol]

Chinook wrote: "I was wondering that too, as I'm reading The Three-Body Problem and by a simple reading of the prompt, it works but I'm not sure it fits the spirit of reading minority voices."
I am reading The Three Body Problem for fantasy novel but I would not count it as POV people of color.

[Chinook]

Yes. I seems very American-centric to dub the most populous nation on earth as a term that is used here in the US to also connote a minority group. Especially since China itself has many minorities, but the author is not one of those.

[Nancy]

Veronica wrote: "I read Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros and loved it. I have a soft spot for multi-generational family narratives and this hit it exactly. It centers on the Reyes family, told by youngest d..."

That's a good one! I read it last year.

[Rachel]

I'm reading The Sun Is Also a Star

[Ali]

Does Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami count for this? Any one recommends it? I've loved the couple books that I've read by this author.