The more we can learn to understand one another and accept our differences, the better the world will be. Listening and learning from voices that differ from our own is one of the easiest ways to engage in intercultural learning. We may not ever know exactly how someone feels or what someone’s life experiences are like when they live halfway across the globe, but when we expose ourselves to these foreign stories, we learn to see the similar emotions and experiences we all face.
This is why intercultural reading is a must in order to shape a cohesive but complex worldview. Here, we recommend a book from each of the seven continents to encourage you to read around the world and widen your intercultural understanding.
North America: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
In The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters brings us a complex story of family and belonging that spans decades and straddles the blueberry fields of Maine in the USA and Nova Scotia, where a Mi’kmaq family returns to in the off-season. It tells the story of an indigenous family whose history is rooted in loss as they learn to live with the mysterious disappearance of four-year-old Ruthie one summer in Maine. It explores the injustices and microaggressions that indigenous people faced in both the US and Canada, as well as the guilt that will stay with Joe until his dying breath after being the last family member to see Ruthie before she went missing, and spending all his life hoping that she would return to them.
South America: The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo
The Simple Art of Killing a Woman takes place in Brazil, diving deeply into many of the social issues and injustices that plague the country. It tackles the phenomenon of femicide in Brazil and highlights problems of masculinity and violence while also shedding light on the cultural landscape of the Amazon rainforest. It tackles difficult topics such as sexism, racism, and deforestation as a female lawyer fights to protect the women of an Amazonian border town from a series of violent attacks. It is not only a one-of-a-kind story, but it is told poetically, making it an entirely unique and captivating read.
Europe: The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti
Italian author Paolo Cognetti has been compared to Italy’s Elena Ferrante with his novel, The Eight Mountains, which paints a beautiful picture of two young boys who become best friends in the Aosta Valley. A heartwarming coming-of-age story that speaks to male relationships, fatherhood, and friendship between two people from different backgrounds. Its lyrical writing speaks to the beauty of the Italian mountains as the boys come to love the land for both its peaks and its valleys.
Africa: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a highly acclaimed Nigerian author known for writing nuanced stories, not just about what it means to be African, but also what it means to be human. Purple Hibiscus is a coming-of-age novel that follows Kambili in her privileged life in Nigeria, where her father is well respected in their community. The story untangles some of the political instability of Nigeria during the time, and grapples with the aftermath of colonialism, as Kambili compares the remnants of their cultural religion to the Christian beliefs that her controlling father believes wholeheartedly. It is a story that Adichie unpacks masterfully.
Asia: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
In The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy takes us to southern India in 1969, where twins Rahel and Estha outgrow their innocence and begin to understand the deeply rooted complexities of their family. The story attempts to unpack these complexities through the eyes of children, addressing the reputation of their lonely mother, Ammu, who takes a lover who is below her status. It explores the societal effects of the caste system in India as well as the lasting effects of British colonization, when their English cousin, Sophie Mol, comes to visit. It also dives deeply into how childhood trauma has a lasting effect on a person, with an interesting perspective on how the two twins cope differently with their childhood later in their adult lives. Roy tackles all this and more in a lyrically unique masterpiece.
Oceania: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton explores themes of love, luck, and forgiveness in a suburb near Perth in Australia. It follows the stories of two families, the Pickles, who inherit a house called Cloudstreet, and the Lambs, who become their tenants. It follows the two families and their interwoven lives over twenty years as they overcome hardships, struggle with change, and face everything in between in the house that always keeps them close together. Winton’s beautiful novel has been called one of the greatest works of Australian literature and is a story of real life that is sure to inspire.
Antarctica: Chasing the Light by Jesse Blackadder
Finally, Jesse Blackadder takes us to the edges of the world with Chasing the Light. It is an exhilarating tale based on the true story of the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. Set in the early 1930s, it follows a whaling ship headed from Cape Town to Antarctica with three women aboard who all hope to be the first to go to Antarctica. All of them must face the rough, icy waters and the brutal, uncharted journey to reach the mysterious continent filled with danger and adventure like they have never seen before.
Through the power of stories, we can learn so much about the lives of those around the world. We can come to understand the places we may never get to visit and know better those whom we may never get to meet. Through this understanding, we gain so much as global citizens, and we can help to make the world a better place. We hope you enjoy traveling the world with us!
To learn more about the world through intercultural reads, click here.
Find these books and more on our Stimulating Novels That Challenge the Status Quo bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
