Everyday People Read online

  At the station house, the constable, a woman, led Sunil through the station house to the chief inspector’s office. As they walked, the constable informed Sunil that his house had been attacked when Emily was inside. Some boys from the village had scaled the compound wall. Emily had hidden under a computer table in the home office while they’d ransacked the rooms. Eventually she’d come out and confronted them. When they saw her, the boys had run off. She’d gone to the neighbor’s house for help.

  Sunil barely listened to the story. He only wanted to know if Emily had been hurt in any way. No, Emily was not hurt, the constable reported, but she was in shock. She had identified one of the vandals, the leader, as the son of Sunil’s cook. Sunil stopped in mid-stride. The constable turned her dark, slanted eyes on him. “Sir, do not be upset. The chief inspector has arrested him. The cook is with the inspector now.”

  Amara and Emily sat on either side of the inspector’s office. The chief inspector presided over the scene from behind an ancient teakwood desk. Emily was huddled, despite the heat, her face stained with grime and tears. Sheila ran to her and took her into her arms. Amara sat quietly. She did not acknowledge Sunil.

  “You have Amara’s son in custody?” asked Sunil. The chief inspector nodded. Sunil turned to Emily. “You’re okay, baby? You weren’t hurt?”

  His daughter smiled bravely as Sheila rubbed her shoulders. “I’m okay, Dad. But they messed up the house.”

  The room was badly lit; a cloud of clay dust hung heavy in the air. Sunil had to squint to see. “What will happen?” he asked.

  “Her son”—the inspector gestured in Amara’s direction—“will go before the magistrate. In his favor, he didn’t know your daughter was there. He seems sorry. Still, there must be punishment.” Amara tried to speak, but the inspector put up a hand to stop her.

  “The boy’s only twelve,” Sunil began. “That’s pretty young. And if he’s sorry?” Amara and Emily were there only because of him. He had to do something. “We don’t want more people to get hurt. We could”—he hesitated—“we could drop the charges. Couldn’t we? I’m sure Amara—I mean, our cook—will punish her son.”

  Sheila frowned. Emily’s body tensed. The inspector smiled grimly. “This is not some American police show, sir. This is not the NYPD Blues. We cannot just drop charges against boys, even twelve-year-old boys, who attack foreigners. Imagine what your firm will say. Imagine what your Scottish neighbor will say if we let this boy loose without punishment. The uproar will come down on my head.”

  “But you don’t get it,” Sunil sputtered.

  The inspector thrust his face toward Sunil. “What, sir, do I not get?”

  It came then: the words of Sunil’s nearly full confession. He explained how, because he liked Amara—even cared deeply for her—he’d promised her and her kids they could use the pool. He had also, in a way, reneged. It was obvious how anyone, especially a little boy, would be angry about that. Sunil was new to the country and didn’t know the way things worked. He’d made some mistakes that he didn’t want to go into. Anyone could easily see everything was his fault. He was the only one to blame.

  As he spoke, Sunil knew his admission was not having the intended effect. Before Amara and the boys, maybe even before he came to Sri Lanka, there had existed a point when his words had carried import, had had weight and significance, but Sunil couldn’t remember now when or where that point was. How, he wondered, had he become so lost?

  The chief inspector listened with the tips of his fingers pressed together as if in prayer. After Sunil had finished, the inspector was quiet for a beat. When he spoke, he pronounced each word carefully, as if he were addressing a small, especially dim child. “There is only so long,” the inspector intoned, “that a man can pretend to be a fool before he really becomes one. No?”

  Sheila had left Emily’s side and stood now beside Sunil. She considered Amara and then Sunil, a woman doing a complicated calculation. She placed a hand on Sunil’s shoulder and whispered, “Take your daughter home.” When he did nothing, she said firmly. “For God’s sake, let it go.”

  • • •

  As he entered his office the next day, Sunil’s secretary handed him a package. “What’s this?” he asked.

  “That tape you wanted, sir. Cheap Trick at Budokan. I found it on eBay like you asked. I am very sorry, sir, it took so many days to come.”

  Sunil unwrapped the package and took out the tape. The cover was tattered; the label had long ago worn away. He wondered if it was even listenable. He held it in his hands, wound and unwound the strip of shiny brown plastic. Sunil considered keeping it, stashing the tape in his desk. But what was the point? He ran his finger one more time across the cassette before chucking it, brown paper wrapping and all, into the trash.

  Reading List of Contemporary Works by Women, Nonbinary, and Transgender Writers of Color/Indigenous Writers

  This list is in no way comprehensive. The hope is that it serves as a helpful guide to seeking out various books by writers of color. There are many more works to look forward to (and invest in) that are not included here or are yet to be published. Thank you to those who offered additional title suggestions, as well as to those who continue with the work of collating lists of books by Black, Indigenous, and PoC (BIPOC) artists. These resources helped to make this section as reflective as possible. Additionally, many thanks to my friend Maya Davis, who suggested this list.

  Novels and Graphic Novels

  Leila Abdelrazaq, Baddawi

  Susan Abulhawa, Mornings in Jenin

  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun

  Dylan Allen, Rise

  Stephanie Allen, Tonic and Balm

  Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits

  Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies

  Hala Alyan, Salt Houses

  Ryka Aoki, He Mele a Hilo

  Gina Apostol, Gun Dealers’ Daughter

  Nathacha Appanah, The Last Brother

  Hannah Lillith Assadi, Sonora

  Sandra Rodriguez Barron, Stay with Me

  Brit Bennett, The Mothers

  Champa Bilwakesh, Desire of the Moth

  Nicole Blades, The Thunder Beneath Us

  Paulette Boudreaux, Mulberry

  Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister, the Serial Killer

  Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Powder Necklace

  Octavia E. Butler, Lilith’s Brood

  Zoey Castile, Stripped

  Nidhi Chanani, Pashmina

  Jade Chang, The Wangs vs. the World

  Janie Chang, Dragon Springs Road

  Lan Samantha Chang, Inheritance

  Ching-In Chen, recombinant

  Kirstin Chen, Bury What We Cannot Take

  Wai Chim, Freedom Swimmer

  Zen Cho, Sorcerer to the Crown

  Andie J. Christopher, Stroke of Midnight

  Pearl Cleage, Seen It All and Done the Rest

  Zinzi Clemmons, What We Lose

  Michelle Cliff, Abeng

  Camille Collins, The Exene Chronicles

  Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

  Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Fruit of the Drunken Tree

  Kia Corthron, The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter

  Naima Coster, Halsey Street

  Patty Yumi Cottrell, Sorry to Disrupt the Peace

  Leesa Cross-Smith, Whiskey & Ribbons

  Jennine Capó Crucet, Make Your Home among Strangers

  Angie Cruz, Soledad

  Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body

  Edwidge Danticat, Claire of the Sea Light

  Alexis Daria, Take the Lead

  Jasmin Darznik, Song of a Captive Bird

  Bridgett M. Davis, Into the Go-Slow

  Aliette de Bodard, The House of Shattered Wings

  Rios de la Luz, Itzá

  Aya de León, The Boss

  Ella Cara Deloria, Waterlily

  Nicole Dennis-Benn, Here Comes the Sun

  Carolina De Robertis, Perl
a

  Margaret Dilloway, How to Be an American Housewife

  Négar Djavadi, Disoriental

  Farzana Doctor, All Inclusive

  Tananarive Due, My Soul to Keep

  Jenny Kay Dupuis, Kathy Kacer, and Gillian Newland, I Am Not a Number

  Heidi W. Durrow, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

  Anjali Mitter Duva, Faint Promise of Rain

  Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater

  Patricia Engel, The Veins of the Ocean

  Louise Erdrich, The Round House

  Ro Esterhazy, Queen of Corona

  Angela Flournoy, The Turner House

  Aminatta Forna, Happiness

  Lauren Francis-Sharma, ’Til the Well Runs Dry

  Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge, and Joy San, Bingo Love

  Savannah J. Frierson, Being Plumville

  Kim Fu, The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore

  Diana Gabaldon, the Outlander series

  Aja Gabel, The Ensemble

  M. Evelina Galang, Angel de la Luna and the 5th Glorious Mystery

  V. V. Ganeshananthan, Love Marriage

  Cristina García, Dreaming in Cuban

  Vanessa Garcia, White Light

  Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

  Kaitlyn Greenidge, We Love You, Charlie Freeman

  Jasmine Guillory, The Wedding Date

  Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing

  Jessica Hagedorn, Dogeaters

  Nafisa Haji, The Sweetness of Tears

  Janet Campbell Hale, The Jailing of Cecelia Capture

  Gail Vida Hamburg, Liberty Landing

  Jimin Han, A Small Revolution

  Anita Heiss, Tiddas

  Cristina Henríquez, The Book of Unknown Americans

  Linda Hogan, People of the Whale

  Jasmine Hong, The Witch Stone

  Nalo Hopkinson, Sister Mine

  Vanessa Hua, A River of Stars

  Tanwi Nandini Islam, Bright Lines

  Naomi Jackson, The Star Side of Bird Hill

  Mira Jacob, The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing

  S. Jae-Jones, Wintersong

  Randa Jarrar, A Map of Home

  N. K. Jemisin, the Broken Earth series

  Gish Jen, Typical American

  Stephanie Jimenez, They Could Have Named Her Anything

  Tayari Jones, Leaving Atlanta

  Soniah Kamal, An Isolated Incident

  Han Kang, The Vegetarian

  Kirsten Imani Kasai, The House of Erzulie

  Rosalie Morales Kearns, Kingdom of Women

  Porochista Khakpour, Sons and Other Flammable Objects

  Crystal Hana Kim, If You Leave Me

  Lisa Ko, The Leavers

  Joy Kogawa, The Rain Ascends

  R. O. Kwon, The Incendiaries

  Bunmi Laditan, Confessions of a Domestic Failure

  Larissa Lai, Salt Fish Girl

  Yi Shun Lai, Not a Self-Help Book: The Misadventures of Marty Wu

  Ana-Maurine Lara, Erzulie’s Skirt

  J. S. Lee, Keurium

  Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Somebody’s Daughter

  Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

  Mira T. Lee, Everything Here Is Beautiful

  Carrianne Leung, That Time I Loved You

  Lillian Li, Number One Chinese Restaurant

  Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, Daughters of the Stone

  Inverna Lockpez, Dean Haspiel, and José Villarrubia, Cuba: My Revolution

  Nilah Magruder, M. F. K.

  Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill

  Bernice L. McFadden, The Book of Harlan

  Terry McMillan, How Stella Got Her Groove Back

  Harper Miller, The Sweetest Taboo: An Unconventional Romance

  Mitzi Miller and Denene Millner, Hotlanta

  Toni Morrison, God Help the Child

  Bethany C. Morrow, MEM

  Nayomi Munaweera, What Lies Between Us

  Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

  Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You

  Fae Myenne Ng, Bone

  Bich Minh Nguyen, Pioneer Girl

  Sigrid Nunez, The Last of Her Kind

  Brooke C. Obie, Book of Addis: Cradled Embers

  Trifonia Melibea Obono, La Bastarda

  Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch

  Chinelo Okparanta, Under the Udala Trees

  Priscilla Oliveras, His Perfect Partner

  Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, Call Me Zebra

  Tracy O’Neill, The Hopeful

  Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

  Melinda Palacio, Ocotillo Dreams

  Madhuri Pavamani, the Keeper series

  L. Penelope, Song of Blood & Stone

  Hoa Pham, Wave

  Caridad Pineiro, What Happens in Summer

  Emily Raboteau, The Professor’s Daughter

  Marcie R. Rendon, Murder on the Red River

  Laura Restrepo, Delirium

  Melissa Rivero, The Affairs of the Falcons

  Rebecca Roanhorse, Trail of Lightning

  Eden Robinson, Son of a Trickster

  Nelly Rosario, Song of the Water Saints

  Lydia San Andres, The Infamous Miss Rodriguez

  Cristina Sánchez-Andrade, The Winterlings

  Chaitali Sen, The Pathless Sky

  Danzy Senna, New People

  Kamila Shamsie, Home Fire

  Jade Sharma, Problems

  Nisi Shawl, Everfair

  Jude Sierra, A Tiny Piece of Something Greater

  Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony

  S. J. Sindu, Marriage of a Thousand Lies

  Monique Gray Smith, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience

  Zadie Smith, On Beauty

  Marivi Soliven, The Mango Bride

  Rivers Solomon, An Unkindness of Ghosts

  Mia Sosa, Acting on Impulse

  Martha Southgate, The Taste of Salt

  Arigon Starr, Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers

  Jen Storm, Scott B. Henderson, and Donovan Yaciuk, Fire Starters

  Natalia Sylvester, Everyone Knows You Go Home

  Nafkote Tamirat, The Parking Lot Attendant

  Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

  Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Sarong Party Girls

  Lucy Tan, What We Were Promised

  Whit Taylor, Ghost Stories

  Madeleine Thien, Do Not Say We Have Nothing

  Monique Truong, Bitter in the Mouth

  Addie Tsai, Dear Twin

  Jennifer Tseng, Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness

  Thrity Umrigar, The Secrets Between Us

  Ellen van Neerven, Heat and Light

  Piper Vaughn, Bookmarked

  Sabrina Vourvoulias, Ink

  Alice Walker, Possessing the Secret of Joy

  Esmé Weijun Wang, The Border of Paradise

  Weike Wang, Chemistry

  Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones

  Stephanie Powell Watts, No One Is Coming to Save Us

  Jacqueline Woodson, Another Brooklyn

  Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel

  Désirée Zamorano, The Amado Women

  Story Collections

  Camille Acker, Training School for Negro Girls

  Sharbari Z. Ahmed, The Ocean of Mrs. Nagai

  Mia Alvar, In the Country

  Lesley Nneka Arimah, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

  Alexia Arthurs, How to Love a Jamaican

  Carleigh Baker, Bad Endings

  Chaya Bhuvaneswar, White Dancing Elephants

  Octavia E. Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories

  May-lee Chai, Useful Phrases for Immigrants

  Y. Z. Chin, Though I Get Home

  Tom Cho, Look Who’s Morphing

  Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories

  Tyrese L. Coleman, How to Sit

  Hilma Contreras, Entre Dos Silencios

  Jennani Durai, Regrettable Things That Happened Yesterday

  Danielle Evans, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

  Anita Felicelli, Love Songs
for a Lost Continent

  Roxane Gay, Ayiti

  Stephanie Han, Swimming in Hong Kong

  Yang Huang, My Old Faithful

  Toni Jensen, From the Hilltop

  Kristiana Kahakauwila, This Is Paradise

  Barbara F. Kawakami, Picture Bride

  Julie Koh, Portable Curiosities

  Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth

  Krys Lee, Drifting House

  Yiyun Li, Gold Boy, Emerald Girl

  Jocelyn Lieu, Potential Weapons

  Lorraine M. López, Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories

  Carmen Maria Machado, Her Body and Other Parties

  Sharanya Manivannan, The High Priestess Never Marries

  Annam Manthiram, Dysfunction

  Donna Miscolta, Hola and Goodbye: Una Familia in Stories

  Mary Anne Mohanraj, Bodies in Motion

  Meera Nair, Video

  Helen Oyeyemi, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

  Z. Z. Packer, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

  Wang Ping, The Last Communist Virgin

  Toni Margarita Plummer, The Bolero of Andi Rowe

  Shona Ramaya, Operation Monsoon

  Ivelisse Rodriguez, Love War Stories

  Anjali Sachdeva, All the Names They Used for God

  Sofia Samatar, Tender

  Renee Simms, Meet Behind Mars

  Hasanthika Sirisena, The Other One

  Krystal A. Smith, Two Moons

  Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Blue Talk & Love

  Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Heads of the Colored People

  Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, Shadows

  Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer, The Water Diviner and Other Stories

  Stephanie Powell Watts, We Are Taking Only What We Need

  Jia Qing Wilson-Yang, Small Beauty

  Tara June Winch, After the Carnage

  Erika T. Wurth, Buckskin Cocaine

  Tiphanie Yanique, How to Escape from a Leper Colony

  Jenny Zhang, Sour Heart

  Nonfiction

  Stacy Parker Aab, Government Girl: Young and Female in the White House

  Faith Adiele, Meeting Faith: An Inward Odyssey

  Nancy Agabian, Me as Her Again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter

  Luvvie Ajayi, I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual

  Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age

  Huda Al-Marashi, First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-American Love Story

  Kathleen Alcalá, The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island

  Paula Gunn Allen, Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman’s Sourcebook

  Elizabeth Alexander, The Light of the World: A Memoir