Multicultural Books

[duchess of malfi]

Most of the public universities in this part of the US (Great Lakes states) require their freshmen to take a 3 semester hour class in multiculturalism. My son, currently enrolled at Ball State University in Indiana, is no exception to that. Since I paid for his books (primarily, though not all- novels - for this particular class), I told him he had to bring them home at the end of the term so that I could read them.

These are the books his professor picked for the class he took (Honors 189 - Honors Symposium in Global Studies). Well, with the exception of one book, that he accidentally left behind in his dorm room, but he said was really weird and almost impossible to understand anyway - this is the list.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Afghanistan)
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa al Aswany (Egypt)
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (banned in its own country, Vietnam)
The Royal Ghosts by Samrat Upadhyay (Nepal)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
Poems, Protest, and a Dream by Soy Juana Ines de la Cruz (written by a woman protesting for her right to intellectual pursuits in Mexico in the year 1691)
First They Killed my Father by Loung Ung (the memior of a woman who lost most of her family in Cambodia's Killing Fields when she was a child - this was required reading for every incoming Ball State University student this year)
The Analects by Confucius

He says I will most likely really like/love The Kite Runner.

So, has anyone read any of these? Has anyone read other novels that introduce you to a non-Western culture and give you a good understanding of the challenges people face in that culture?

[onewyteduck]

I haven't read The Kite Runner but it has been highly recommended to me by someone who generally shares my preferences in literature.

[duchess of malfi]

I am saving it for last like a yummy slice of chocolate cherry cheesecake.

I will certainly let you know how it is after I have read it.

Thus far I have read the books from Nigeria, Nepal, and Vietnam.

The book from Nigeria (Things Fall Apart) was so-so for me. It told of the culture clash between the native tribes and British Colonialism as through the eyes of a local strongman/bully.

The book from Nepal (The Royal Ghosts) was a short story collection and I thought it was quite good. The stories are contemporary and are about average everyday people in Nepal and the challenges they face in their daily lives. Most of the stories ended just as someone was about to face a life altering event or make a life altering decision - with the result that the stories haunt you and you wonder for days afterwards what happened to the characters.

The novel from Vietnam (Paradise of the Blind was simply lovely. While the subject matter was disturbing - how decades of war and corrupt Comminist governments ripped apart families and the culture - it is told in such a gentle and hopeful tone that you end the book with hope that that lovely country will be able to recover with time.

[stonemaybe]

Likewise I've heard the Kite Runner is superb - let us know hat you think!

[Holsety]

I liked Kite Runner. Things Fall Apart...I liked. I feel unsure as far as the overall veracity of the novel as a picture of the Ibo, European takeover, etc, but it's more evenhanded than I expected.

EDIT-I think there's some interesting comparisons to be made between Okonkwo and Cnaiur, of the Prince of nothing series. But I haven't finished the latter series, so I won't say anything definite yet.

[duchess of malfi]

Please do. It has been a year since I read Prince of Nothing so I would have to brush up on it; but I would really like to hear your thoughts on those two characters.

[Holsety]

I'm thinking in terms of their place in their tribes.

I'll start with Cnaiur since he's fresh in my mind (some things I say about Okonkwo may be poisoned by the ravages of time XD). Cnaiur is despised by the other members of his tribe by an early failing - loving Moenghus (sp? forget those accents though!) - and strives to embrace the ways of the people he in turn despises; his capability in war as both a fighter and a thinker suggests he's succeeded overmuch. His tribesmen fear and respect him, but they don't love him.

Okonkwo is both a father and a son, and so comparing him to Cnaiur is somewhat difficult for me. As compared to his father, Okonkwo's hatred of his father's kindness, weakness, and poverty shape who he is in the tribe as well - we see no indication that he is despised, but he still seems more respected than loved, and he struggles for success because he abhors anything which reminds him of his father. In that way, he reminds me of Cnair; both feel betrayed (okonkwo by his father, cnaiur by moenghus) and seek a rather joyless existence in the midst of their people.

I'll leave off here, because I wanna skim the watch quickly and then get some work done, but there's some more stuff.

[Avatar]

I've read Things Fall Apart, in fact, I did my final English paper at Uni on it. Quite a while ago. I liked it though...it is partly about the cultural clash, but partly also I think about the conflict, psychological and social, within each participant as they stand on the verge of a virtual wiping away of everything they have known, of the way of life of their ancestors.

The appearance of the missionary's heralds the onset of disaster.

As for it's reflection of the Ibo, well, I can't speak for the time in which it was set, but I have known several Ibo (although not that well), and they are, almost without exception, intelligent, charismatic and well-spoken entrepeneurs of remarkable dedication and drive to succeed.

--A

[duchess of malfi]

I think what bothered me most about that book is the casual and quite cruel violence directed at the women and children. Okonkwo is scolded for beating one of his wives - not because he is beating her at all - but because he is beating her on a special feast day and it will bring bad luck. Whenever twins are born they are left out to die of exposure. A woman is taken from her husband by her father and brothers because he beats her so much. The village counsel tells them to give her back to the abusive husband and wonder why such a trivial matter would be brought before them. A nice little boy is also made into a human sacrifice.

The British are shown as being just as cruel and brutal, just in a different way. The tribal people have lots of little wars between themselves - but they would never slaughter people wholesale the way the British do. And I am fairly certain life was no bushel basket of long stemmed roses to be female in Victorian Britain, either.

The tribes peoples are shown as being more violent on a personal scale. The British are shown as being more violent on an insitutional scale. Also, the religious priestesses etc. for the tribes certainly seem to be more humane than that second missionary (though the first missionary seemed to be more or less OK, as is shown in the responses shown by the tribal people towards the two men).

[Avatar]

That casual and cruel violence was, (and sadly remains to a large extent), quite commonplace in Africa where, as I've mentioned, life has traditionally been considered rather cheap.

The inhabitants were cruel and brutal, and the colonial powers no less, and often more, so.

--A

[duchess of malfi]

Oh yes - both sides were shown to be cruel and violent, just in different ways. One message or theme I got out of the book was that "many people are shite regardless of what culture they spring from". While I recognize that many people are selfish and cruel, I still was not entirely comfortable with the message.

There is also love in the world.

Hoselty, I have the opposite problem of yours in that I read the Bakker a good year ago, and have recently read Things Fall Apart. But I can see your comparison. Both Cnauer (I am certain I spelled that wrong - I can never spell the names of Bakker's characters correctly) and Okonkwo are respected (to one degree or another) by their peoples as warriors, etc. But people, by and large, do not like them.

One thing in this book that spoke truth to me: the progression of the males in Okonkwo's Family.
Grandpa - slacker/loser (but who sounds happy that way)
Okonkwo - waaaaaaay overacheiver (in everything) and self-made man - huge fear of becoming a loser like his dad turns him into a bully - total Type A personality, never seems to relax or be happy
oldest son - rejects dad's way, tries to find own way - dad sees him as slacker (though whether or not he is actually a slacker cannot be determined from the text)

[Avatar]

Yep, every race, culture, creed, whatever has its fair share of people who are, not to put too fine a point on it, assholes.

--A

[duchess of malfi]

I finished up the book from Egypt last night - The Yacoubian Building. It took me over a week to read about the first hundred pages (about half of the book) - I had a bit of trouble getting into it - but once I reached the critical point finished the other half of the book in a handful of hours, completely enthralled.

This book ended up flooring me.

My son had warned me that the torture/sexual abuse scenes involving the Egyptian police/military/government were very disturbing - and as I also found them to be disturbing - I will pass that warning onwards.

This book explained to me in story form - for the first time - in a way I can understand - why and how young men can turn to Muslim fundamentalism - while also showing that wedding yourself to that movement is to give up on life and to embrace death.

The author manages to make you feel sorrow and compassion for the young men lost to life by making that decision - while also showing that decision is a terrible one for everyone involved.

The author is one of the leading voices for Muslim moderation - and in his story he shows himself to also speak for the choice of life - with all of its messiness, occasional sins, and with the hope of love and happiness.

Giving your life to God does not mean wedding yourself to death ~ it means living your life with compassion and kindness towards others.