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dangermousieA number of people on my friendslist have been having interesting discussions about lack of representation of non-Western point of view in Western literature. I don't really have anything much exciting to contribute to the discussion itself. Instead, I want to recommend three books that are excellent, and are not written by/from the Western paradigm. Maybe, they will be a fun read for you too!
1. Vis and Ramin by Fakhraddin Gorgani, translated by Dick Davis.
I have a deep love for Persian poetry and it might all have started with this book. I loved a translation of this when I was a child. This is a narrative romantic poem, written in the 11th century and, as amazon says "the first Persian romance." The story is set in the Zoroastrian world of pre-Islamic Iran and follows the titular star-crossed lovers, Vis and Ramin, who give a kdrama a run for its money in the angsty department. Vis is incredibly beautiful and has been promised to Shah Mobad since birth. She isn't keen on her husband because he interrupted her desired nuptials with her brother (!!!) but once at court, falls in love with Mobad's sexy nephew Ramin. Lots of secret lover trysts (this is a very sensual story), hairbreath escapes, and gorgeous poetry occur. It's an interesting look at the world largely unfamiliar to me, but very real in the poem nontheless, with some characters that spring off the page (Ramin is OK enough but Vis is a spectacular heroine), and some posit this is an inspiration for Tristan & Isolde.
You can find a version on amazon here.
2. Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O
If you love dystopias, if you love deeply humanistic political novels, if you love a rich cast of characters, and a look at the absurd, as well as deep anger at totalitarianism, this is the book for you. To quote the amazon summary: "The fictional Republic of Aburiria chronicled in this sprawling, dazzling satirical fable is an exaggeration of sordid African despotism. At the top, a grandiose Ruler with "the power to declare any month in the year the seventh month" and his sycophantic cabinet plan to climb to heaven with a modern-day Tower of Babel funded by the Global Bank; beneath them, a cabal of venal officials and opportunistic businessmen jockey for a piece of the pie; at the bottom are the unemployed masses who wait in endless lines behind every help-wanted sign. Kamiti, an archetypal New Man with two university degrees and no job prospects, sets up shop as a wizard; with the help of Nyawira, member of both an underground dissident movement and a feminist dance troupe, he dispenses therapeutic sorcery to a citizenry that finds witchcraft less absurd than everyday life. Kenyan novelist Thiong'o (Petals of Blood) mounts a nuanced but caustic political and social satire of the corruption of African society, with a touch of magical realism—or, perhaps, realistic magic, as the wizard's tricks hinge on holding a not-so-enchanted mirror to his clients' hidden self-delusions. The result is a sometimes lurid, sometimes lyrical reflection on Africa's dysfunctions—and possibilities."
Here is an amazon link
3. Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Four novels set during the Indonesian fight for independence, this series follows a Javanese young man, Minke, who is allowed to attend an elite Dutch school but is jolted out of his complacency when he begins to realize the harsh inequality and racism around him. The story is complicated by his falling in love with the beautiful Annelies, a half-Dutch young woman doomed to straddle two worlds.
I love these books! Their descriptions of a dangerous, closed-off world that can be harsh and unjust but also beautiful (in Minke's interludes with Annalies) are amazing. It's a great love story, but also a "self-knowledge" and fighting for freedom story. Highly recommended.
Amazon link.
1. Vis and Ramin by Fakhraddin Gorgani, translated by Dick Davis.
I have a deep love for Persian poetry and it might all have started with this book. I loved a translation of this when I was a child. This is a narrative romantic poem, written in the 11th century and, as amazon says "the first Persian romance." The story is set in the Zoroastrian world of pre-Islamic Iran and follows the titular star-crossed lovers, Vis and Ramin, who give a kdrama a run for its money in the angsty department. Vis is incredibly beautiful and has been promised to Shah Mobad since birth. She isn't keen on her husband because he interrupted her desired nuptials with her brother (!!!) but once at court, falls in love with Mobad's sexy nephew Ramin. Lots of secret lover trysts (this is a very sensual story), hairbreath escapes, and gorgeous poetry occur. It's an interesting look at the world largely unfamiliar to me, but very real in the poem nontheless, with some characters that spring off the page (Ramin is OK enough but Vis is a spectacular heroine), and some posit this is an inspiration for Tristan & Isolde.
You can find a version on amazon here.
2. Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O
If you love dystopias, if you love deeply humanistic political novels, if you love a rich cast of characters, and a look at the absurd, as well as deep anger at totalitarianism, this is the book for you. To quote the amazon summary: "The fictional Republic of Aburiria chronicled in this sprawling, dazzling satirical fable is an exaggeration of sordid African despotism. At the top, a grandiose Ruler with "the power to declare any month in the year the seventh month" and his sycophantic cabinet plan to climb to heaven with a modern-day Tower of Babel funded by the Global Bank; beneath them, a cabal of venal officials and opportunistic businessmen jockey for a piece of the pie; at the bottom are the unemployed masses who wait in endless lines behind every help-wanted sign. Kamiti, an archetypal New Man with two university degrees and no job prospects, sets up shop as a wizard; with the help of Nyawira, member of both an underground dissident movement and a feminist dance troupe, he dispenses therapeutic sorcery to a citizenry that finds witchcraft less absurd than everyday life. Kenyan novelist Thiong'o (Petals of Blood) mounts a nuanced but caustic political and social satire of the corruption of African society, with a touch of magical realism—or, perhaps, realistic magic, as the wizard's tricks hinge on holding a not-so-enchanted mirror to his clients' hidden self-delusions. The result is a sometimes lurid, sometimes lyrical reflection on Africa's dysfunctions—and possibilities."
Here is an amazon link
3. Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Four novels set during the Indonesian fight for independence, this series follows a Javanese young man, Minke, who is allowed to attend an elite Dutch school but is jolted out of his complacency when he begins to realize the harsh inequality and racism around him. The story is complicated by his falling in love with the beautiful Annelies, a half-Dutch young woman doomed to straddle two worlds.
I love these books! Their descriptions of a dangerous, closed-off world that can be harsh and unjust but also beautiful (in Minke's interludes with Annalies) are amazing. It's a great love story, but also a "self-knowledge" and fighting for freedom story. Highly recommended.
Amazon link.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-15 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-15 09:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-15 09:16 pm (UTC)*is completely off topic*
Date: 2009-01-15 09:58 pm (UTC)Re: *is completely off topic*
Date: 2009-01-15 10:59 pm (UTC)Re: *is completely off topic*
Date: 2009-01-15 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 12:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 12:22 am (UTC)I haven't read it but will be sure to seek it out. It sounds very good!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-16 12:27 am (UTC)