Amirrezvani, Anita (2012), Equal of the Sun
A historical fiction novel set in 16th Century Iran, it is a political novel focusing on a princess who is smart and capable whose father the Shah dies without naming an heir. Narrated by a eunuch who assists the princess, the story tells of political intrigue and gender differences in a world populated by people craving power.
“She was neither smiling nor cowed, but completely at ease with being in charge. Though the men would never admit it, her bravery had tamed them.”
Amirrezvani, Equal of the Sun, p. 340
Anastas, Benjamin (1998) An Underachiever’s Diary
A young man chronicles a life begun with high expectations and which seems to be full of imperfect and yet very satisfactory underachieving.
I am proud to disappoint almost everybody. Lend me money, and I’ll never pay you back. Fall in love with me, and I will fail to acknowledge you. Save your compassion for someone who really needs it, I am well engaged trying to be my own worst enemy.
Anastas, An Underachiever’s Diary, p. 31
Baca, Jimmy Santiago (2009) A Glass of Water
The ambition of immigrants hoping to build a better life for themselves and their families is as old as America itself. This novel is rooted in the trials of experience of one family. Rich in sensory detail, it presents the human dignity and the amount of obstacles two brothers are willing to face in order to become part of this country.
I worked my life around it, made my dreams around thirst, decided on plans around thirst, always kept it in front of my eyes and in my mind. I never once got up and didn’t have to think about thirst, never once did I look out over the horizon or at the sky and not think about thirst, and no matter how many glasses of water I gulped down, it seemed to grow and it became larger and wanting more, always wanting more.
Baca, A Glass of Water (2009), p.6
Burgess, Anthony (1980), Earthly Powers
Callaway, Joy (2016), The Fifth Avenue Artists Societyn
A woman in 1890’s New York City navigates her desires to become a novelist with her romantic desires and practical living needs. Historical fiction, a romantic story, and a portrait of the creative class of the late nineteenth-century.
“The thought that a woman would balk from her talents in order to please a man saddened me, though I knew it happened often.”
Callaway, Fifth Avenue Artists Society, p.65
Canin, Ethan (2016), A Doubter’s Almanac
Edgar, Josephine (1986), Bright Young Things
Foster, Hannah W (1797), The Coquette
London, Jack (1903), The Call of the Wild
Buck, a family dog who lived in a big house in California., is kidnapped and forced to become a sled dog for gold rush prospectors. He discovers hidden instincts, skills and the ambition to be the leader of the pack.
It was inevitable that the clash for leadership should come. Buck wanted it. He wanted it because it was his nature, because he had been gripped tight by that nameless, incomprehensible pride of the trail and race– that pride which holds dogs in the toil to the last gasp, which lures them to die joyfully in the harness, and breaks their hearts if they are cut from the harness.”
Jack London, The Call of the Wild (1903), p.28