The Secrets Between Us

The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar revisits characters from her earlier novel A Space Between Us. Umrigar is one of my favorite Indian authors. Here she writes about the least visible of all people, a low caste illiterate woman who lives in a slum in Mumbai, and another who is homeless, both struggling to scrape by and hold on to their dignity.

The sights and sounds of Mumbai come alive, and the characters are so real I could not put this book down. It brings to light the most marginalized women in society, those with little chance to rise out of poverty, cast aside simply because of the circumstances of their birth . Yet through strength and perserverance and friendship coming from unlikely places, there is a glimmer of hope. A beautiful book.

Lost Children Archive

Lost Children Archive by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve read in years. The characters remain unnamed, simply Ma, Pa, the boy, the girl. Told in alternating voices and filled with quotations, documents, polaroids, poems, musical references, the story becomes an incantation, a migration, a conversation with the past.

The family takes a road trip, searching for lost immigrant children, searching for their place in the world. They record sounds, language, birdsong, whispers of voices on the wind of people who no longer exist. Luiselli takes the reader on an incredible journey in this novel while exploring the experiences of Mexican immigrants and Native Americans. This is both a timely and important novel and a literary masterpiece.

The Dragonfly Sea

The Dragonfly Sea by Kenyan author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is historical fiction based on the little known fact of Chinese sailors being shipwrecked on the small island of Pate on Kenya's eastern seaboard some 600 years ago. It is a coming of age story of Ayaana, a small girl growing up outcast and fatherless on Pate until she claims a sailor Muhidin, as her father. When dignitaries from China come to Pate and do DNA testing, Ayaana, now 21 is chosen to by the emissary between the two countries, called the Descendant. Her journey takes her far from home but ultimately this is a book about homecoming.

Adhiambo Owuor's writing is so delicious it reminded me of the first time I tasted a mango, something unique, extraordinary and indescribable. Filled with Kiswahili phrases, the lyrical, poetic language of the book washed over me like a warm tropical sea from which I did not want to emerge.

The Island of Sea Women

The Island of Sea Women is the latest historical fiction by Lisa See. This time she focuses on the little known Korean Island of Jeju where the women are the providers and the men stay home with the children. As soon as they are old enough, girls learn to dive from their mothers and grandmothers, harvesting riches from the sea.

The book follows two best friends through decades of colonialism, war, marriage, children and into modern times. See highlights the strength of women in all her novels, weaving culture and history together to create an unforgettable story. At times tragic and quite sad, it is not my favorite of See's books, but still a worthwhile read.