MCC Libraries: Reading Between the Lines - A Book Discussion Program

Series Books

The series theme Exploring Other Cultures through Literature will be examined through four contemporary novels of international literature. Each novel will be discussed not only on its literary value and significance, but as a vehicle of cultural commentary and exploration.

Participants will be required to furnish their own copies of the series books for discussion. All titles are readily available through the local library system as well as inexpensively through vendors such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The series opens with Purple Hibiscus, a remarkable coming-of-age novel set in Nigeria. First-person narrator Kambili Achike is a 15-year-old Nigerian girl growing up in sheltered privilege in a country ravaged by political strife and personal struggle. As she learns to question her physically abusive father and the repressive, patriarchal society in which she lives, we watch her family and culture exert their powers.

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

A stunning novel set in mid-1980s India, on the cusp of the Nepalese movement for an independent state. In this alternately comical and contemplative novel, Desai deftly shuttles between first and third worlds, illuminating the pain of exile, the ambiguities of post-colonialism and the blinding desire for a better life, when one person's wealth means another's poverty.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi's autobiography is a timely and timeless story of a young girl's life under the Islamic Revolution. Skillfully presenting a child's view of war and her own shifting ideals, she also shows quotidian life in Tehran and her family's pride and love for their country despite the tumultuous times.

Mothers and Sons: Stories by Colm Toibin

Nine stories from the talented Irish author explore what happens when mothers and sons confront one another as adults.

(All reviews courtesy of Publishers Weekly.)

Please RSVP to Lori Annesi at 585-292-2338 or lannesi@monroecc.edu.

This series is sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and presented in collaboration with Monroe Community College.

Reading Between the Lines for Adults was developed in partnership with The Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center of the City University Of New York.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of either the Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.