Michelle
First novel published
Posts: 2,563
|
Post by Michelle on Aug 25, 2007 15:10:06 GMT -5
Ben is giving an outside reading assignment to his 12th grade English class and he would like the books to be something other than American or British books. He is going to provide a list of possible books, and I thought you all were the perfect people to ask for suggestions. Any ideas of books that would be good for a 12th grader?
|
|
Isa
Administrator
Posts: 6,995
|
Post by Isa on Aug 25, 2007 16:22:09 GMT -5
I looked through my Canadian books and I think they might like to read Mordecai Richler's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" - it's one of my favorite Canadian novels! Here's a good summary I found online:
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is the novel that established Mordecai Richler as one of the world’s best comic writers. Growing up in the heart of Montreal’s Jewish ghetto, Duddy Kravitz is obsessed with his grandfather’s saying, “A man without land is nothing.” In his relentless pursuit of property and his drive to become a somebody, he will wheel and deal, he will swindle and forge, he will even try making movies. And in spite of the setbacks he suffers, the sacrifices he must make along the way, Duddy never loses faith that his dream is worth the price he must pay. This blistering satire traces the eventful coming-of-age of a cynical dreamer. Amoral, inventive, ruthless, and scheming, Duddy Kravitz is one of the most magnetic anti-heroes in literature, a man who learns the hard way that dreams are never exactly what they seem, even when they do come true.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Aug 26, 2007 0:46:46 GMT -5
If I were to recommend Australian literature I think I'd go with something by Peter Carey. Oscar and Lucinda and The True History of The Kelly Gang are his two most acclaimed works.
|
|
Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
|
Post by Kristie on Aug 26, 2007 13:26:07 GMT -5
I really love The Count of Monte Cristo. The Diary of Anne Frank could be difficult to get boys to read, but it's a great book that deals with culture, as is Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic. It could be interesting to look at the different culture present in Celestine Vaite's books, because I've never heard of a place quite like she describes Tahiti (again, sort of a girl book though).
Do the books have to be written by foreign authors or just take place out of the US/UK? Because I would really recommend Kite Runner. Hosseini is foreign, but I believe he has been in the US for a long time and that's where he wrote his books. I'm not sure if that means this book counts or not for what Ben needs.
|
|
Lu
Administrator
Posts: 5,469
|
Post by Lu on Aug 27, 2007 10:33:54 GMT -5
I know mine can be a stupid question but...how old is someone who is in 12th grade? I was 17-18 when I was in my 12nd year of school, I suppose it's the same age but I'm not sure..
|
|
Michelle
First novel published
Posts: 2,563
|
Post by Michelle on Aug 27, 2007 17:54:35 GMT -5
Yeah, they are 17-18.
Thanks for the ideas everyone. I'll give you a list of the books he has already so you can see what he is thinking (basically these are just the books from our collection that he thought appropriate).
A Passage to India Angela's Ashes Suite Francaise The Kite Runner The Namesake The Bookseller of Kabul The City of Falling Angels Snow Flower and the Secret Fan The God of Small Things.
His criteria is that it must be 200 pages, contemporary (which he is defining as after 1900), and preferably about a culture not American or British.
|
|
Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
|
Post by Kristie on Aug 28, 2007 12:11:44 GMT -5
Okay, I definitely tell him to go with Kite Runner. And Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I recently read a book called The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi. It's about an Indian girl who came to the US for college, etc. and fell in love with a guy here, and she has to go back to India to break the news of their engagement while being forced to go on "dates" her parents set up for her to find a nice Indian husband. So, there is some US culture, but it's actually compared to the Indian culture in the book, which could make for some interesting discussion.
|
|
sagedautumn
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
You Might Need This!
Posts: 1,509
|
Post by sagedautumn on Aug 28, 2007 17:01:09 GMT -5
How about Kite Runner and/or Thousand Splendid Suns...You could make it even more interesting by assigning Kite Runner to the boys since it is narrated through a young boy and than man's viewpoint and Thousand Splendid Suns to the girls as it focuses on women's issues. Both books have the same themes, time periods, and settings but they show the differences in the very same themes through the eyes of girls and boys... Could make for some interesting discussions!!!
|
|
Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
|
Post by Kristie on Aug 29, 2007 15:12:52 GMT -5
Sage, that's a great idea! It would be interesting to see what the class would come up with in discussions
|
|
Michelle
First novel published
Posts: 2,563
|
Post by Michelle on Aug 29, 2007 20:22:15 GMT -5
That is a good idea. Maybe he can use it in the future.
|
|