“The Story of a Brief Marriage”
Two-and-a-half decades into a devastating civil war, Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority is pushed inexorably towards the coast by the advancing army. Amongst the evacuees is Dinesh, whose world has contracted to a makeshift camp where time is measured by the shells that fall around him like clockwork. “The Story of a Brief Marriage” follows Dinesh, starting at the point were he is asked to marry Ganga, a stranger from Camp, in her father's hope that it could bring her safety. This is an unforgettable book that distills the experience of being alive into its purest essence.
“Behold the Dreamers”
By Imbolo Mbue
The american dream mythos is brought to the test when Imbolo Mbue tells the story of Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, in her debut novel. Set after the economic crisis of 2007-2008, this character-driven story brings two different point of view--that of Jende Jonga and his family, desperately trying to obtain a green card and stay in America, and that of the Edwards family, wealthy upper-class New Yorkers who show the cracks in this idea of paradise held by immigrants. The author, who herself is a Cameroonian immigrant living in the United States, treats her characters with love and depth; the result being characters that come to life on the page and make you remember them.
“A Little Life”
This book isn't the newest one, but if you haven't read it yet I'm here to remind you to do so. It might have been the most depressing book I've ever read. Sometimes I wanted to hurl it at the nearest wall, tear apart the pages, it made me so angry I refused to touch it for several days. “A Little Life” makes you feel things and you'll want to talk about it. This is one of these life-changing books that you'll never forget. The novel follows four boys who meet at college: Malcolm, JB, Willem, and the central and mysterious figure, Jude. Yanagihara ends up telling each and every one of the boys' stories with a pointedness and genuineness that makes them real. The 720 pages, which scared me in the beginning, were way too short in the end. If you choose to read it, if you choose to flip to that first page, be prepared for something inexplicable and jarring, but beautiful and absolutely worthwhile.