AMERICAN AUTHORS CHALLENGE--SEPTEMBER 2024--AMERICAN BY CHOICE

This month's challenge is to read the work of living authors who were born outside the United States, came here of their own volition when they were adults (or at least college-bound) and have voluntarily made their life in America. Many left because their politics or sexual orientation made life in their home countries intolerable.

I've compiled a list of some likely candidates, with links to their own websites where possible. This is a flexible sort of challenge, and I'm sure there are lots of other qualified authors out there...if you have a name or two to suggest, please do so. Not every one of these writers has become a full U. S. citizen, some remain attached to their homelands even if they cannot or choose not to return there, but all have spent a good portion of their adult lives living, writing, and often teaching, in the USA.

Chimamanda Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She came to the US at the age of 19 to attend University. She divides her time between Nigeria and the US.
https://www.chimamanda.com/

Isabel Allende was born in 1942 in Peru, the daughter of a Chilean diplomat and a mother of Portuguese descent; she lived in Chile, Bolivia and Lebanon during her childhood. As a young woman, she lived in Chile, Brussels and other places in Europe with her first husband and children. In 1973, after receiving death threats because of her father’s family connections to Salvatore Allende, Isabel sought exile in Venezuela for many years. She has lived primarily in California since 1988.
https://www.isabelallende.com/

Rabih Alameddine was born in Jordan in 1965 of Lebanese parents. He has lived in California since his late teens.
http://www.rabihalameddine.com

Edwidge Danticat was born Haiti in 1969. She came to the US during her high school years; both of her parents had immigrated here earlier, leaving her and her brother in the care of relatives in Haiti. Danticat chooses to live in the US, although she considers Haiti to be her home. Her latest book of essays, We’re Alone, is scheduled for publication on September 3rd.
https://edwidgedanticat.com/

Nicole Dennis-Benn was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1982 She left Jamaica at 17, due to her displeasure over race and class inequalities on the island, as well as the lack of opportunities for upward mobility. (See Marlon James, below--their stories are very similar.) She is a graduate of Cornell University; and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Dennis-Benn is the founder of the Stuyvesant Writing Workshop and lives with her wife and two sons in Brooklyn, New York.
https://www.nicoledennisbenn.com/

Hernan Diaz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973. He studied in the UK, and came to NYC for graduate work in 1999. He now lives in Brooklyn. Maybe this is the time to read Trust, for those of us who have not yet done so.
https://www.hernandiaz.net/

Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan, moved to Iran and then to Paris with his family at a young age; the family sought asylum in the US when he was 15. He is a naturalized citizen of the US.
https://khaledhosseini.com/

Marlon James was born in Jamaica in 1970. He left Jamaica to escape anti-gay violence and poor economic conditions. He received his M.A. in Creative Writing from Wilkes University, just down the Interstate from my backyard, and has taught in Minneapolis since 2007.
https://marlonjameswriter.com/

Ha Jin was born in China in 1956, served in the People’s Liberation Army for six years during the Cultural Revolution. Jin was studying in the US in 1989, when the Chinese government's harsh response to the Tiananmen Square protests convinced him to stay in America.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ha-jin

Gabriela Romero Lacruz was born in Venezuela. She received a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Houston, and now writes fantasy, and illustrates books for children and adults.
https://www.gabriela-romero.com/

Laila Lalami was born in Morocco in 1968; she moved to the US to pursue a PhD in linguistics. She now lives and teaches in California.
https://lailalalami.com/

Imbolo Mbue was born in Cameroon in 1981. Like many of the other authors listed here, she came to the US as a college student, and has remained to live, write and teach in the US. She became an American Citizen 10 years ago, and lives in New York City.
https://www.imbolombue.com/

Azar Nafisi was born in Iran in the mid-1950s, and immigrated to the US in 1997. She became a US Citizen in 2008. Her best known work is Reading Lolita in Tehran.
https://www.azarnafisi.com/

Tea Obrecht was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1985. She grew up in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States. She now lives in Wyoming. Her latest novel, The Morningside, was published in March of 2024.
http://www.teaobreht.com/

Salman Rushdie was born in India. He moved to England in 1964, and has been a US citizen since 2016. He has written 13 novels, 4 works of non-fiction, and has won numerous prestigious literary awards from countries around the world. He has also been the subject of death threats and one near-fatal attack. He resides in New York City.
https://www.salmanrushdie.com/

Indu Sundaresan was born and raised in India. She came to the US for graduate school. She has published six books, including The Taj Trilogy, which has been adapted as a TV series titled Siyaasat , available for purchase on Amazon Prime. She lives in Seattle.
https://www.indusundaresan.com/

Abraham Verghese was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1955 to Indian parents. He was trained as a physician in Ethiopia and India, but came to the US for a residency in Tennessee in 1980. There he found himself caring for a surprisingly large number of patients with HIV in a small town where all national projections had suggested he would see none, or perhaps one a year. He earned an MFS from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1991. His writing, both fiction and non-fiction, is largely based on his experiences in medical training and practice.
https://www.abrahamverghese.org/

>1 laytonwoman3rd: I am slated to read Trust this month so I am happy to see it fits in here!

Just a minor note - Reading Lolita in Tehran is not a novel.

It looks like my RL book group will be reading Trust .... in October, because of course....

>2 alcottacre: I may read Trust this month too, Stasia. I have several possibilities on my TBR piles that will qualify for this one.

>3 katiekrug: Right you are about the Nafisi, Katie. And it's another that's on my shelf vying for attention in September. Thank you. Aw, go on...read Trust the last week of the month---fits both slots that way.

I have two authors in mind who I think qualify:

Geraldine Brooks (born Australia)--I have a couple of her books, but plan to read March, since I recently re-read Little Women

Yiyun Li (born China)--I loved her short story collection Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, so I may try a newer collection Wednesday's Child: Stories

I have a hold on Trust so will see if it comes in. Maybe I can read it too.Otherwise it looks like I can get one by Edwidge Danticat.

I was thinking about reading Trevor Noah's Born a Crime for this challenge. It has been in my the for a long time. He was born in South Africa but moved to the US for his career and became a US naturalized citizen in 2020.

>4 laytonwoman3rd: Several people have signed up to read Trust for one of the TIOLI challenges this month and I had already jumped on that since the book has been in the BlackHole for a while now. I may get to something else but do not want to overcommit myself since I am going to be out of town for another week yet.

>5 kac522: Oooh...yes, Geraldine Brooks. I have a couple of her books on my shelves to read. She's interesting because her father was an American who chose to live in Australia, and she's technically Australian, but has become American. Yiyun Li is a new name to me...must investigate, thanks!

>6 Kristelh: So glad I mentioned Diaz! I didn't know there were so many LT'ers besides me who hadn't yet read Trust.

>7 Kyler_Marie: Noah is a good choice. I hoped there would be lots of names suggested other than those on my list--this is great.

>8 alcottacre: "do not want to overcommit myself" Ha! Good luck with that. I now have about 20 books I want to read for this month's challenge, all on my shelves already!

I am reading The Manor by Isaac Bashevis Singer right now for Reading 1001 botm and Singer was born in Poland and moved to the US and so meets criteria.

He will also meet criteria for upcoming Jewish American authors in November.

>10 Kristelh: Except Singer has been dead a long time...so better save him for November.

Books, like Infidel, Nomad, and Heretic by Ayaan Hirsi Ali deliver compelling insight, background,
and alerts to fears for a Muslim future.

She is still protected by bodyguards in the U.S. related to her words and the murder of her friend, Theo Van Gogh.

I just happen to have The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story by Edwidge Danticat on my shelf (from the library). I love the synchronicity, and I plan to read this book for September’s challenge.

Karen O

>11 laytonwoman3rd:, oops didn’t notice it was only living authors. Thanks for the reminder.

>12 m.belljackson: Thanks for mentioning Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Marianne. Another excellent option.

>13 klobrien2: I love the synchronicity too! And I have a couple of Danticat's titles that I haven't read yet. I've been very impressed with the work I have read, including one children's book.

>14 Kristelh: No problem...if we included non-living authors, the list would be SO much longer, wouldn't it! Maybe another time?

>9 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks! I was also considering The Sympathizer as another option in case I have time to read two. It has great reviews.

I will read Love and Obstacles by Bosnian turned American Aleksandar Hemon

I'm planning to read The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.

>15 laytonwoman3rd: Infidel and Nomad both rate Five Stars!

Heretic = "Why Islam needs a Reformation Now" = is now ordered.

>16 Kyler_Marie: That one is on my wishlist...I have also heard very good things about it.

>17 PaulCranswick: Thanks for putting that author on my radar, Paul.

>18 cbl_tn: I have yet to try Allende's work...I have to be in precisely the right frame of mind for magical realism, although I have enjoyed some excellent examples of it.

>19 m.belljackson: I'm loving the contributions to this challenge from you readers...thanks again.

>15 laytonwoman3rd: This is so trivial, but I’m finding that I love saying the name “Edwidge Danticat”—especially her surname. It’s such a musical name.

Karen O

>21 klobrien2: Oh, I agree! And she's a gorgeous human being besides.

What Ho! I've got unread books by ten of the authors on your list, Linda. A TBR stack looming beside me has three books that fit this category.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Trust by Hernan Diaz
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

It's my desire to read all three to satisfy this challenge as well as the challenge that obliged me to build the stack. In addition I could check off a Booker winner and a Pulitzer winner. Since you are wondering, the Looming TBR Stack is built of unread books on the NYT's best-of the 21st century.

Just now thinking that since I haven't irrevocably committed to either of the two books I've sampled since completing Good Girls Don't Make History, I'll just dive into A Brief History of Seven Killings; see if I sink or swim.

>23 weird_O: Well, you're all set for September, seems to me!

Funny, I was looking at March this very morning, so I will start that today.

I finished Born a Crime. It's fantastic, a short read, and hard to put down. I wish it was longer and filled in more about how he became a comedian and moved to the U.S. But, if the only complaint with this book is that I wanted more, then it's a pretty great one.

I've finished Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. As powerful and amazing as everything else I've read by her. A couple more books for this category are vying to be next up....can't make up my mind.

I finished Trust by Hernan Diaz a couple of days ago and am glad I finally got to it. I gave it 4.25 stars.

Oops forgot to declare reading of

March (Geraldine Brooks) (09/09/24) ****



An imagining of Father's life away from Marmee and the little women. I found the war parts both moving and authentic. For some reason was less interested in his letters home. Not sure why. A good read however.

I finished Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat. I thought this might be a book for young people but it was a series literary work with themes of life and death. My first book by Danticat and I would rate it 4 stars. It is set in an island town in Haiti.

I am in the middle of Wednesday's Child: Stories by Yiyun Li (2023). These are intense stories, and I'm finding I can only read 1 or 2 at a time. So far the best stories have been "On the Street Where You Live" and "Wednesday's Child." Both stories focus on a mother and her child; one wondering what might have been and the other, anxious for her child's future. I hope to finish these in a day or two.

Yiyun Li was born in Beijing, China in 1972. Her mother was a teacher and her father a nuclear physicist. After earning a BA in China in 1996, she moved to the U.S., earning both an MS in Immunology (2000) and an MFA in creative writing (2005) from the University of Iowa. She has published 5 novels, 3 collections of short stories and 1 memoir. I previously read her collection of stories Gold Boy, Emerald Girl and enjoyed them.

She is probably best known today for her online project Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace, which she launched in March 2020 as the pandemic began. In an effort to draw people together through literature at a time of great stress, this online reading group tackled Tolstoy's classic over 85 days, with discussions and additional materials.

I had tried to read Geraldine Brooks' March, but as I started to read the scenes from war, I knew that this was not a good time for me to be reading this book. Perhaps I will attempt it at some future point.

Just a reminder that our author for October is Katherine Anne Porter. Hope to get her thread up sometime tomorrow...got sidetracked today moving books around, as you do.

>32 laytonwoman3rd: I consider moving books around (which I do almost every day) fits into the "I did some cleaning today" lies accomplishments for the day.

>33 kac522: And you're absolutely right. It's a most worthy endeavor.

I confess to failing to polish off either A Brief History of Seven Killings or Americanah. I dug into both of them, then my ADD *ooo ball!* sent me off into the wilderness. But I shan't abandon either of them.

The Katherine Anne Porter thread is ready for your input.

>35 weird_O: All these challenges are elastic--stretch 'em as far as you like.

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