Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature and weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The meme for Tuesday, 7 October 2014 is to name 10 books for readers who enjoy character-driven novels. Being that I generally read literary fiction, this is not a difficult task at all. For character-driven fiction, I highly recommend the following novels:
1. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - Within the pages of this stunning and epic novel, we become familiar with four generations of the Mitra family, a family whose destinies are formed during the 1960s civic unrest of Calcutta, India. Even though moving between time and different character persepctives, the story revolves around the two Mitra brothers, Subhash and Udayan, and how their destinies, and the destinies of those around them, are shaped by the decisions that they each make.
2. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The very first sentence of Purple Hibiscus quickly grabs the readers' attention with its violence and foreshadows what is to come in this beautiful and horrific debut novel which relates the lives of Kambili and her older brother, Jaja.
3. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat - Breathe, Eyes, Memory is Danticat's debut novel and it is a powerful character study and a good immersion into the beautiful writing of Edwidge Danticat and an excellent introduction to Haitian literature.
4. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - How do I review The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao? I could write a string of sincere adjectives like brilliant, epic, amazing, delicious, intelligent, thrilling, page turner, infective, etc, but those words seem hollow and one-dimensional when attempting to relate my feelings about this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. This novel needs to be read slowly and deliberately, for Junot Diaz's prose is both pristine and unclean and is a great joy to experience. The breath of the novel is panoramic as it flows from island to continent and back again, from era to era, and from narrator to narrator. The prose of this novel will long stay with me and I look forward to many and many rereadings.
5. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - This novel is an excellent example of Ethiopian literature and it discusses the relationship between twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone.
6. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng -The Gift of Rain relates the story of Phillip Hutton's experiences before, during, and after the Japanese-occupation of Malaya during World War II. Born to an English father and a Chinese mother, Phillip sees himself as an outcast from his family and from the different communities that compose 1940's Malaya. At the beginning of the narrative, as a contrast to Phillip's feelings of alienation, he is befriended by Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who becomes Phillip's sensei in the instruction of aikido, as well as his dear friend and beloved mentor. Told as a series of flashbacks, Phillip tells his story to Machiko Murakami, an aged Japanese woman who loved Endo-san as dearly as Phillip.
7. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford -This amazing novel by Jamie Ford is aptly named for the narrative is filled with both moments of utter bitterness, as well as genuine sweetness. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet addresses the issues of father-son relationships, familial relationships, cultural identitity, nationalistic fervor, bias, Japanese internment in WWII, and the sweet coming-of-age story of a boy and a girl separated by culture and heritage. Using shift of time to relate the story, Ford deftly moves the reader between the early 40s and the mid-80s.
8. Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman - This compelling novel tells the story of Elizabeth Schulman as she, and others from her cloistered Orthodox Jewish community, inhabit the small village called Kaaterskill in upstate New York during the summer months.
9. Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio - Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Will T Reed in Cold Sassy Tree.
10. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - This novel tells the story of loveable Major Pettigrew and how his quaint, proper, regular life is turned around when he falls in love with Jasmina Ali, a Pakastani grocer. Major Pettigrew is truly an endearing character.
