17 powerful books by women of colour

The world of literature has endowed us with some fantastic works of fiction and non-fiction by many women, since the time of Aphra Ben and her likes. A lot of these wordsmiths have enchanted readers with their strong narratives, relevant tales, and most importantly, their passionate voices rising together in unison to create important, yet magical tales. Among these ardent narratives, some of the most prominent have been from coloured women. Facing generations of physical and emotional abuse and subjugation, women authors, especially the ones racially and culturally discriminated, have tried to disentangle themselves from the vicious patriarchal cobweb. Their most potent harpoon has been to write and let the world know of not just their own stories, but of every one of those that requires a reader's attention and also, their heart. Here are 17 powerful stories by some formidable female authors of colour we need to read right now.
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In the dazzling book about friendship, Zadie Smith explores the dreams and dilemmas of two young girls who aspire to be dancers. As one has the talent, the other has the knowledge and a deep sense of rootedness. It is also a beautiful tale of music, race and passive ideas of race and how our minds are shaped by them. A tale of childhood friendship, "Swing Time" seeks to define the term beyond its orthodox notions.
Image: Penguin Random House

Angie Thomas' YA debut The Hate U Give is a poignant depiction of police brutality in America and is drawn from one of today's most fierce revolutions, the Black Lives Matter movement. Racial lines become vividly prominent to teenager Starr as she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend Khalil, by a white police officer. As his death gets justified by a vast majority, Starr learns the harsh reality. The book traces the immense grief and anger complexing the works of a young girl's mind, amidst violent racism and protests that spark across the country.
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The story follows the twins Rahel and Estha who grow up amidst the political turmoil in Kerala during the sixties. They conjure up a habitable childhood for themselves in a wrecked family as their mother flees an abusive marriage to escape to their blind grandmother. As their radical Marxist Rhodes scholar uncle Chacko's ex-wife brings their daughter for a Christmas visit, Rahel and Estha's life gets upended as they learn twisted stories, and their innocence diminishes in a few moments' time.
Image: Penguin Random House

Replete with an autobiographical tone and candour, Roxane Gay in her novel eloquently describes her experience as an overweight teenager and the implications and consequences that emerge as its corollaries. Extensively discussing the themes of self-care and self-comfort and ‘desire’ and ‘denial’, the author delineates her experience with her body and appearance apropos her unhealthy eating habits, which makes for an enjoyable personal memoir.
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The International Man Booker Prize-winning author, Han Kang, explores the aftermath of one of the darkest moments in South Korean history: the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, in which protesters were bludgeoned and shot by government troops, leaving hundreds dead. The book largely deals with the effects such atrocity leave on the society and on people's minds, as well as the deep personal trauma it caused.
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This brilliant book contains 16 interwoven stories about conflicts between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-raised daughters. Rich with details on living a life that's enriched with both Chinese history and traditions and American life and traditions, the book raises the question of how well daughters know their mothers. Amy Tan, with wit, compassion, and perfect eloquence, examines the sometimes heartbreaking, but deep connection between these four women and their American-born daughters.
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Jhumpa Lahiri, one of the champions of diaspora writing, has penned eight thought-provoking stories in this collection. These are quiet, penetrating, and meticulously written. Each story delves into the psyche of each character with such skill that the reader can't help but feel extremely intimate with each one, whether male or female, like-able or otherwise. The characters are predominantly Bengalis that have moved from India to America, and most of the protagonists or the narrators are the children of these Bengalis. The themes focus on the struggle to assimilate and the conflicts between the values of the parent and the desires of the children to pave their own way in a foreign land.
Image: Random House India

A hauntingly beautiful novel, "Half of a Yellow Sun" re-imagines a major event in modern African history: Biafra’s indefatigable struggle to establish Nigeria as an independent republic in the 1960s. With a passionate voice and fantastic diction, the book illustrates heartwarming empathy.
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This heartbreaking and beautifully written novel follows the life of African-American Pecola Breedlove in her 30s, who develops a repulsion to her eyes and skin colour. The novel is great in its frank depiction of harrowing events of incestuous rape and hate crimes while speaking about a girl’s yearning for beauty, which is shaped by a White supremacist rule.
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One of the bravest and most inspiring women currently walking the earth, Malala Yousafzai is a teenage Pakistani women’s education advocate. She is also the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Her tear-jerker of a memoir chronicles her life, her choices and her family who wanted her to be educated and live with her head held high.
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While author Alice Walker won Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for her novel "The Colour Purple", the book is frequently targeted by censors for its explicit content and depiction of violence. Set in Georgia in 1930s, "The Colour Purple" is a timeless classic, following Celie, a young black girl born into a life poverty and segregation. Repeatedly raped by her own guardian, Celia is deprived of her own children and gets trapped into an ugly marriage. The larger theme of the story revolves around the plight of African-American women in the USA.
Image: Orion Publishing Group

Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" is her memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It covers her childhood in Tehran, the end of Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastation of the war with Iraq. Funny yet heartbreaking, the book shows the consequences of the war from a child's point of view and teaches us how we carry on in life even in the face of absurdity.
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Shamsie's heartbreaking story of an immigrant family won her international accolades and the Man Booker shortlist in 2018. The story follows Isma, who finally gets off the burden of looking after her siblings following their mother's death, as she gets invited to America to pursue her long-deferred dream of studying. But once there, her worst fear come alive as Parvaiz, her bother, sets out to carry forward the dark legacy of their jihadi father, a secret she never knew.
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Cristina Henríquez's powerful narrative is an earnest testimony of all those Latin-Americans who have migrated to the USA. Written with sparkling wit and brilliant language, Henríquez talks about two Latin American families as they cope with love, desire, guilt and violent dilemmas. With a fresh love story at its core, the book illustrates an inspiring journey of immigrants in America.
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Gyasi narrates a tale set in 18th century Ghana and talks about two half-sisters born in different villages, unaware of each other. While one lives a content life marrying into a rich family of Englishmen, the other, by a turn of events, is imprisoned at the very castle her sister lives in, and ultimately sold into slavery. Heartbreaking and impactful, "Homegoing" narrates the two lives parallelly, eventually leading up to their descendants through eight generations.
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The cross-cultural book explores, through the protagonist Nikki, the shrouded side of the lives of widows in Punjab as she takes up a creative writing job in a local temple with the aim of emancipating them. Outwardly pious, plain and dull, there is much more to their lives than what meets the eye. As they open up to each other about their sexuality and secrets, the dark comedy is sure to give the readers a fun time.
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Narrated by daughters of Chinese immigrants, the book reflects upon the cultural revolution of the 1960s and focuses primarily on their struggle to accommodate themselves in their newly found environment. A few latchkey kids and an overbearing mother are the primary characters employed by the author to eloquently convey the intended message. From the streets of Shanghai to the United States of America, the book travels across countries to bring out the entire concept of immigration with its intricacies.
Image: Bloomsbury