SJPL Picks: Immigrant StoriesLike this list

49 items

• To Save and to Destroy

  Writing as An Other

  Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971-

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  To Save and to Destroy is a deeply personal reflection on outsiders in literature and in US society. Across six essays, first delivered as the Norton Lectures, Nguyen offers insightful readings of authors who shaped his craft, culminating in a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Martyr!

  Akbar, Kaveh,

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  Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother's plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father's life in America was circumscribed by his work killing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Loca

  a Novel

  Heredia, Alejandro, 1994-

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  It's 1999, and best friends Sal and Charo are striving to hold on to their dreams in a New York determined to grind them down. Sal is a book-loving science nerd trying to grow beyond his dead-end job in a new city, but he's held back by tragic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Optional Practical Training

  a Novel

  Sunder, Shubha, 1982-

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  Told as a series of conversations, Optional Practical Training follows Pavitra, a young Indian woman who came to the US for college from Bangalore, India, and graduates in 2006 with a degree in physics. Her student visa grants her an extra twelve…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• América Del Norte

  Medina Mora, Nicolás,

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  Sebastián lived a childhood of privilege in Mexico City. Now in his twenties, he has a degree from Yale, an American girlfriend, and a slot in the University of Iowa's MFA program. But Sebastián's life is shaken by the Trump administration's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Silence of the Choir

  Sarr, Mohamed Mbougar, 1990-

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  Seventy-two men arrive in the middle of the Sicilian countryside. They are “immigrants,” “refugees” or “migrants.” But in Altino, they’re called the ragazzi, the “guys” that the Santa Marta Association have taken responsibility for. In this small…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Behind You Is the Sea

  a Novel

  Darraj, Susan Muaddi,

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  Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who’ve all found a different welcome in America. Their various fates and struggles…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Straw Dogs of the Universe

  a Novel

  Ye, Chun,

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  After her village is devastated by famine, 10-year-old Sixiang is sold to a human trafficker for a bag of rice and six silver coins. Her mother is reluctant to let her go, but the promise of a better life for her beloved daughter ultimately sways…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Refugee Ocean

  a Novel

  Toutonghi, Pauls,

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  Born in Beirut in 1922, Marguerite Toutoungi lives a life of loss and sacrifice. She dreams of traveling to Europe and studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris but her family—and her society—hold her back. When she meets the son of a Cuban…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Worlds I See

  Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI

  Li, Fei Fei, 1976-

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  Wired called Dr. Fei-Fei Li “one of a tiny group of scientists—a group perhaps small enough to fit around a kitchen table—who are responsible for AI’s recent remarkable advances.” Known to the world as the creator of ImageNet, a key catalyst of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• They Called Us Exceptional

  and Other Lies That Raised Us

  Gupta, Prachi (Journalist),

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  An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in this searing, brave memoir. How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of self? What do…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Leftover Woman

  a Novel

  Kwok, Jean,

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  Arriving in New York City from her rural Chinese village without money or family support, Jasmine Young, on the run from her abusive husband, desperately searches for the daughter taken away from her at birth, which forces her to make increasingly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everything Is Not Enough

  a Novel

  Akinmade-Akerström, Lola,

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  Navigating the social, financial, and legal intricacies of living as immigrants in Sweden proves to be challenging to three Black women in a multitude of ways. Somalian immigrant Yasmiin's marriage is marred by the secrets of her past, which she is…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Multo

  [a Thriller]

  Fazzi, Cindy,

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  His latest job is to catch the one that got away…three times. Filipino-American bounty hunter Domingo has made a career of catching criminal undocumented immigrants. He’s the best in the business—and it isn’t lost on him that he’s so good because of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sunshine Nails

  a Novel

  Nguyen, Mai, 1988-

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  Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked. Complicating matters further, their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sorrows of Others

  Zhang, Ada,

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  Set in China and America, in the generations after the Cultural Revolution, The Sorrows of Others is a dazzling collection about people confronted with being outsiders—as immigrants, as revolutionaries, and even, often, within their own…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Skin and Its Girl

  a Novel

  Cypher, Sarah,

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  In a Pacific Northwest hospital far from the Rummani family’s ancestral home in Palestine, the heart of a stillborn baby begins to beat and her skin turns a vibrant, permanent cobalt blue. On the same day, the Rummanis’ centuries-old soap factory in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Brightest Star

  a Novel

  Tsukiyama, Gail,

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  Arriving in Hollywood to become an actress, Anna May Wong discovers her beauty and talent aren't enough to overcome the racism that relegates her to supporting roles and, over the years, fights to win lead roles, accept risqu ̌parts and keep her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Banyan Moon

  a Novel

  Thai, Thao,

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  Follows three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family's inherited burdens, buried secrets and unlikely love stories.

• Wandering Souls

  a Novel

  Pin, Cecile,

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  Seeking refuge in the UK after the last American troops leave Vietnam, Anh and her younger brothers, in a London plagued by social inequality and raging anti-immigrant sentiment, find their paths diverging as time passes, wondering if love alone can…Read moreRead more of this annotation