Winter evenings call for curling up with a cup of tea and an all-consuming novel: pure escapism. The chilly days of February – Black History Month – remind us that there are a wide range of gripping novels by Black authors that deserve our attention: Escapism on one hand, stories that reveal inescapable truths, on the other. Here are a few suggestions that have stuck with me. Let’s discuss them next time you’re in the salon. (PS: I am not suggesting that anyone read Black authors only in February! These titles, and many others, are worth reading all year long.)
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Follow young babysitter Emira Tucker as she navigates race and privilege in her relationship with her employer, Alix. An incident in a grocery store sets off a chain of events that test the limits of the women’s connection, uncovering truths about them both. Fast-paced and engaging, the story is a thought-provoking and honest portrayal of the complicated race relations in today’s world.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou may be best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry but the first volume of her seven-part autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is also an essential read. Angelou beautifully recalls her ugly experiences with racism as a child in the Civil Rights Era South. I was inspired by how she coped with these struggles and with young Maya’s quest for acceptance, independence, and self-identity.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This absorbing novel rocked the literary world last year, and it’s easy to see why. Spanning the 1940s to the 1990s, Bennett recounts the lives of twin sisters. One leaves their small southern Black community for a new life where she passes as White; the other remains in their hometown, where she raises her daughter. At once emotional and tender, the novel examines the multilayered effects of race on a person’s life and calls upon readers to explore of how our personal histories and experiences shape our desires, decisions, and identities.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Although Invisible Man was published in 1952, the social issues addressed in Ellison’s novel ring unsettlingly true today. We follow the narrator, who feels “invisible” in the eyes of 1920s and 30s society, as he navigates myriad pitfalls in his search for community and acceptance. This influential book about class, race, and identity is widely regarded as one of the great novels of the 20th-century, having won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
What if the Underground Railroad was an actual railroad? Colson Whitehead explores this idea in his imaginative story of Cora, a young girl living on a slave plantation in Georgia, and her harrowing journey to freedom. Infusing his exploration of racial history with adventure and a touch of fantasy, Whitehead’s novel is as exciting as it is enlightening.
Other titles that have been suggested by our staff and clients are “The Water Dancer,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates; “The Hate U Give,” Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward; “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston; “An American Marriage,” by Tayari Jones; and “Americanah,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Aditch.
