Nine Novels Featuring People of Color

As a woman of color with a love of world culture, I'm always looking for a needle in a hay stack when I go in to a library or bookstore. First of all, I have managed to read only one novel based in my home land and only found a handful on Google. Perhaps one day I'll write one myself. But anyway, after years of reading about white girls and their gorgeous blond hair I got tired of the standard. I knew their stories all too well. What about women who looked like me? What about the people in India, China, Africa, the Caribbean?! I wanted to know these men and women. I always hunt for novels about people of color and here are just a hand full I've had the pleasure to read.

1. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

This novel was amazing for me but of course all the novels on this list are. It follows Nikki a Punjabi girl born in the UK. (Punjab is a state in India, and in this particular novel they are not Hindu but Sikh.) Nikki ends up being a teacher in the area where her community lives to, well, Punjabi widows. These widows take the direction of the class in their own hands and start writing erotica in secret. Of course there is more to the plot but I'm not going to spoil it. While Nikki is our main character it follows other important characters and their points of view. Besides the naughty Bibis (grannys) writing erotica, it unfolds into a murder mystery with a very satisfying end.

2. The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

This novel was very insightful about what was happening during WWII in Asia. It follows the life of Najin Han and her family's struggles as Japan invades Korea. As Najin's life unfolds, you just want to keep turning the page. She is known most of her life as the calligrapher's daughter because he never formally named her. Which the reason why remains a mystery until you get close to the end. They are many events that just turns her life in a whole new direction as centuries old dynastic culture begins to fade with the emperor'sassassination. Her father is beaten and interrogated. She falls in love with a Korean man in the U.S Army. This high class respected family also happened to be Christian. This novel really opened my eyes to a lot of things. If you read the summary on Amazon, it really pulls you in.

3. The Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

This book is near and dear to my heart. It is my absolute favorite book of all time. I have shared this book with those close to me. This book ties the history of the Caribbean, Europe, and America. It has a colorful cast of characters, written from multiple characters point of view. But the main character is Tete, born in Saint-Domingue and follows her life all the way up to New Orleans when the state belonged to the French. There is so much to experience in this novel as it spans four decades. Going through the uprising and independence of Haiti through the Louisiana purchase. Tete manages to get her freedom but her life is still intertwined with her French slave master and father to her two oldest children. Tete ultimately finds happiness after so much. But definitely a must read.

4.Chasing Destiny by Eric Jerome Dickey

This one is an "urban" book. This author is gifted because the first page had me hooked. I just had to know how this drama unfolded! Billie is known as much for her extraordinary beauty as for the sexy yellow Ducati motorcycle she rides through the mean streets of Los Angeles. Like any girl at some point in her life, she falls in love. With a man that still happens to be married to a manipulative woman that can't accept the fact that it is over. If that wasn't enough, his daughter Destiny stirs up as much trouble as her mother, being a misguided youth. But since Billie just so happens to end up pregnant she can't just walk away either. DRAMA! But I really enjoyed this one. It was a thrill to read.

5. A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston

This novel was magical. Wonderful read and I wish I could find more like it. It's a unique twist to Arabian nights. The king travels to every village in search of a wife. See, his wives never make it to see the light of day, literally. Our heroine fears he will come and take her sister as his wife as she is the loveliest in the village but instead she is chosen. The village mourns her loss for they know she's already dead. But with the prayers of her village, they imbue her with the magic to fight back and save the King himself from the supernatural forces of the desert.

6.Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago

This is the second book that is near and dear to me because it is the only novel I've had the pleasure to read based in Puerto Rico. It is also a historical fiction that follows the life of Ana on her plantation and history unfolding with the freedom of her slaves. Ana is drawn to the island after reading her ancestor's journals when he sailed with Juan Ponce de Leon. She marries and her family, along with her life long best friend and lover, relocate to the island to make their own sugar plantation successful. The rich stories and lives of her slaves unfold along hers. I was very excited that it mentions a real Caribbean pirate, Cofresi. If you never heard of him you can google Roberto Cofresi or El Pirata Cofresi.

7. The Lady of the Reeds by Pauline Gedge

This book is one of a kind. You know the books about women in the English court? Well this one is about a woman in the ancient Egyptian court. Thu lives far away from the palace in a small village. Daughter to a retired solider and a midwife, she wants more for herself. This story follows her journey into being a concubine of Ramses III. His favorite of all concubines is then imprisoned as she was convinced to betray the Pharaoh. What really blew my mind about this book and what makes it such a treasure is how accurate every little detail was. It made me feel like I was really there in that point in time. The only novel based in ancient Egypt that did that for me. There is this book called Nefertiti with a beautiful portrait of her on the cover. Complete garbage, I just kept hitting detail after detail that was not right. I didn't make it past the first chapter. So this is one book you must read because you wont find another like it. Well besides the second book that you'll die for after you read this.

8. A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory

This book is very insightful on the UK's past and the life of free slaves there, as well as the history of Nigeria and the Yoruba people. I had better understanding of their culture and way of life before it was permanently disturbed and changed by Europeans. Mehuru, once a priest in the now ancient Yoruba Kingdom, is on a quest entrusted to him by the king. To spread the word, no more slaves. No more trading their people to these white men. As he traveled all over his nation, he started to see how damaged and corrupt it had become since they came. Whites traded poor quality goods for slaves, and other goods. Trading routes were no longer profitable since they were used to poach slaves. It was all out of control and Mehuru made a mistake on his journey and was captured on a ship heading to Bristol. Meanwhile English woman Frances makes a deal to become the wife of a merchant who lives in a rank old dock. Making heart breaking decisions she regrets until her death.

9. Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper

This book is also a historical fiction which has Florida in it when it still belonged to the Spanish, which turns out to be a safe haven for our characters. This drew me to it since I had read similar stories before. I can say it was very good and worth the read. Amari is perfectly happy with her life in Africa. Her village is beautiful, her family loves her, and she will soon wed the handsomest man in her village. Until she loses her family and is shipped off to the Carolinas. Adjusting to her environment she lives through abuse, and keeps the secrets of the house. She's been planning to runaway for some time with Polly an indentured servant. An old slave advised them not to go north. Never go north, go south. Find freedom in Florida where the Spanish King will provide sanctuary.

Bonus!

This book I had to throw in here for you guys. It is amazingly unique. It has magic, culture, history, romance. I've never read a story like it! I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is about a Jinni who is the male character and a Golem who is the female character. It takes folklore and magic from two different cultures and brings them together.

In fact I think I'm going to read it again for a second time.But here is the books' summary.

"In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely freeAhmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale."-Summary

I hope you guys enjoy them as much as I did if you're compelled to pick one up. I will still be on the hunt for more books to share with you all. Besides being about people of color, I look for books with unique tales. Great story telling and writing style. It is not good enough for it just to have characters of color. It has to be a real treasure for you to read. I've read enough let downs and stereotypical stories with no real value. When I leave the bookstore or library with something I'm proud of myself for finding the gold nugget.