Books with category 🍽 Culture & Society
Displaying 11 books

Tremor

2023

by Teju Cole

Tremor, a novel by award-winning author Teju Cole, is a profound exploration of the essence of a meaningful existence within the context of a world marred by violence. The story invites readers to delve into the life of Tunde, a West African man who teaches photography at a prestigious New England campus. Tunde, an avid reader, listener, and traveler, navigates through a tapestry of narratives—ranging from historical epics, personal anecdotes, to tales he encounters in literature and cinema.

Through Tunde's perspective, we experience a series of events that shape his daily life. From a weekend marred by the shadows of colonial atrocities to an evening walk disrupted by casual racism, and the intricate dynamics of a loving marriage, the novel presents a diverse spectrum of experiences. These stories, collectively, form the days that constitute Tunde's life and, in turn, create a composite of what it means to live.

Tremor is an arresting fusion of realism and creativity, engaging with themes of literature, music, race, and history. It scrutinizes the passage of time and the various ways we commemorate it. The novel confronts the harshness of history, which often lacks symmetry and comfort, yet it also stands as a testament to the enduring potential of happiness. Echoing the narrative prowess showcased in his debut, Open City, Teju Cole presents a narration that is fully aware, striking, and crucial to the contemporary literary scene.

The Hive and the Honey

2023

by Paul Yoon

The Hive and the Honey is a spectacular collection of unique stories from the beloved author Paul Yoon. Each story in this collection confronts themes of identity, belonging, and the collision of cultures across countries and centuries.

A boy searches for his father, a prison guard on Sakhalin Island. In Barcelona, a woman is tasked with spying on a prizefighter who may or may not be her estranged son. A samurai escorts an orphan to his countrymen in the Edo Period. A formerly incarcerated man starts a new life in a small town in upstate New York and attempts to build a family.

The Hive and the Honey portrays the vastness and complexity of diasporic communities, with each story bringing to light the knotty inheritances of their characters. From a North Korean defector connecting with the child she once left behind to the traumas that haunt a Korean settlement in Far East Russia, Paul Yoon's stories are laced with beauty and cruelty, marking the work of an author writing at the very height of his powers.

The Phoenix Crown

From bestselling authors Kate Quinn and Janie Chang, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles.

San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined. Until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.

Doppelganger

2023

by Naomi Klein

From the award-winning, bestselling author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, and This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein presents a revelatory analysis of the collapsed meanings, blurred identities, and uncertain realities of the mirror world.

Naomi Klein takes a more personal turn, braiding together elements of tragicomic memoir, chilling political reportage, and cobweb-clearing cultural analysis, as she dives deep into what she calls the Mirror World—our destabilized present rife with doubles and confusion, where far right movements playact solidarity with the working class, AI-generated content blurs the line between genuine and spurious, New Age wellness entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers further scramble our familiar political allegiances, and so many of us project our own carefully curated digital doubles out into the social media sphere.

Klein begins this richly nuanced intellectual adventure story by grappling with her own doppelganger—a fellow author and public intellectual whose views are antithetical to Klein’s own, but whose name and public persona are sufficiently similar that many people have confused the two over the years. From there, she turns her gaze both inward to our psychic landscapes—drawing on the work of Sigmund Freud, Jordan Peele, Alfred Hitchcock, and bell hooks—and outward, to our intersecting economic, environmental, medical, and political crises.

Ultimately seeking to escape the Mirror World and chart a path beyond confusion and despair, Klein delivers a treatment of the way many of us think and feel now, offering an intellectual adventure story for our times.

Never Enough

Never Enough delves into the heart of the "toxic achievement culture" that has taken hold of students, parents, and educators across America. This compelling book offers a critical look at how the quest for success is driving unprecedented levels of pressure among today's youth, leading to alarming rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm.

Award-winning reporter Jennifer Breheny Wallace takes us on a journey through the competitive landscape that demands ever more from our children, stretching family resources and time to their limits. Wallace's investigation reveals that this relentless drive for excellence is not simply a matter of personal choice but is deeply embedded in societal expectations, exacerbated by growing income inequality and shrinking opportunities.

Through extensive research, interviews, and a survey of nearly 6,000 parents, Never Enough uncovers the detrimental message being sent to children: that they are only as valuable as their achievements. Wallace highlights the necessity for a shift in adult attitudes towards children's success. By embracing the concept of 'mattering,' parents and educators can help children understand their intrinsic worth, independent of external accomplishments.

With a rich narrative and practical solutions, Never Enough provides a humane perspective on the crisis facing today's teens and lays out a framework for fostering resilience, self-confidence, and psychological security in our children, enabling them to thrive.

Waiting To Be Arrested At Night

Waiting to Be Arrested at Night is a harrowing tale of a family's escape from genocide and the account of one of the world's most urgent humanitarian crises. Tahir Hamut Izgil, a prominent poet and intellectual, bears witness to the Chinese government's brutal persecution of the Uyghur people—a predominantly Muslim minority group in western China. The crisis reached a new scale in 2017 with the establishment of an all-seeing high-tech surveillance state and the vanishing of over a million people into China's internment camps for Muslim minorities.

Having survived three years in a re-education through labor camp in the 1990s, Tahir could not have foreseen the radical measures the government would take two decades later. From interrogations to life imprisonment of friends for peaceful advocacy, and from police seizing Uyghurs' radios to installing jamming equipment, the signs of impending doom were clear. When Tahir's neighborhood park emptied due to mass arrests, he prepared for his inevitable capture, placing shoes and warm clothes by the door for the night the police would come.

However, his family chose to flee, seeking safety from the nightmarish reality. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night not only documents the political, social, and cultural destruction of Tahir's homeland but also serves as a call to the world to recognize the catastrophe. This book stands as a tribute to the silenced voices of Uyghur intellectuals, writers, and friends, with Tahir being among the few known to have escaped China since the mass internments began.

The Country of the Blind

2023

by Andrew Leland

The Country of the Blind is an exploration of the transition from sightedness to blindness through the personal narrative of Andrew Leland. His journey begins in a state of uncertainty, as his condition, retinitis pigmentosa, gradually diminishes his vision. Leland's world becomes increasingly constricted, like looking through a narrow tube, with a complete loss of sight looming on the horizon.

Despite the challenges, Leland's memoir is not just about adjusting to life's alterations; it's a quest to understand the richness of blindness as a distinct culture. He navigates the shifting dynamics within his family and confronts his evolving identity. The Country of the Blind is more than a memoir; it's a historical and cultural odyssey that delves into the experiences, languages, politics, and traditions associated with blindness.

This book represents Leland's commitment to not only endure the changes in his life but to embrace them. With a mix of introspection, humor, and intellectual vigor, The Country of the Blind offers readers a glimpse into a world often unexamined, providing valuable insights from a perspective that is enlightening and profound.

Our Migrant Souls

2023

by HĂ©ctor Tobar

Our Migrant Souls is a defining exploration of the Latino identity in the United States by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer HĂ©ctor Tobar. The term "Latino" is one of the most rapidly growing but loosely defined major race categories in the country.

Composed as a direct address to young people who identify or are classified as "Latino," this book stands as the first account of the historical and social forces shaping Latino identity. Tobar examines the impacts of colonialism, public policy, immigration, media, and pop culture, decoding the meaning of "Latino" as a racial and ethnic identity in contemporary America.

Our Migrant Souls gives voice to the frustrations and aspirations of young Latinos who have witnessed the transformation of Latinidad into negative stereotypes and have faced insult and division. Tobar shares his experiences as a journalist, novelist, mentor, leader, and educator, intertwining his personal narrative and his parents' migration from Guatemala with his journey across the country to uncover a narrative that is expansive, inspiring, and alive.

The Rediscovery Of America

2023

by Ned Blackhawk

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History offers a sweeping and overdue retelling of U.S. history that recognizes that Native Americans are essential to understanding the evolution of modern America.

Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century. In this transformative synthesis, he reveals that:

  • European colonization in the 1600s was never a predetermined success;
  • Native nations helped shape England's crisis of empire;
  • The first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior;
  • California Indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War;
  • The Union victory forever recalibrated Native communities across the West;
  • Twentieth-century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy.

Blackhawk's retelling of U.S. history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the United States and revealing anew the varied meanings of America.

Red Memory: The Afterlives Of China's Cultural Revolution

2023

by Tania Branigan

Red Memory: The Afterlives Of China's Cultural Revolution explores the lasting impact of one of the most tumultuous periods in China's history. Author Tania Branigan delves into personal stories and historical accounts to shed light on how the Cultural Revolution has continued to shape China and its people long after its official end.

The book offers a nuanced look at the complex ways in which the events from that time are remembered, forgotten, and reinterpreted by those who lived through it, as well as the younger generations. It's a profound examination of memory, identity, and the power of history in contemporary society.

The Faraway World

2023

by Patricia Engel

From Patricia Engel, the author of Infinite Country, comes The Faraway World, a collection of ten exquisite short stories that span across the Americas. These narratives are linked by recurring themes of migration, sacrifice, and moral compromise.

In these pages, readers encounter two Colombian expats who cross paths as strangers on the rainy streets of New York City, each grappling with their own traumatic histories. In Cuba, a woman uncovers the unsettling truth that her deceased brother's bones have been taken, while the love of her life makes a fleeting return from Ecuador for a single night's visit. Meanwhile, a cash-strapped couple in Miami find themselves engaged in a life-altering hustle.

Engel's stories are intimate and panoramic, capturing the liminality of regret, the pulsating essence of community, and the monumental and understated moments that define love. The Faraway World is a testament to Engel's storytelling prowess, offering a lens through which to view humanity with a more generous and tender perspective.

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