Books at Beaman Library
A selection of titles held at Beaman Library from Coming to America: 50 Greatest Works of Immigration Literature, compiled by staff writers at the Open Education DataBase.
http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/coming-to-america-50-greatest-works-of-immigration-literature/
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Call Number: PS3553.H115 A82 2000Publication Date: 2000Chabon earned a Pulitzer for his amazing tale of two cousins — one a Jewish-Czech refugee and the other nestled in his native Brooklyn — who play an integral role in establishing the Golden Age of comics.
American Born Chinese by Call Number: Buffington PZ7.K678337 Am 2006Publication Date: 2006The traditional Chinese tale of The Monkey King’s Journey to the West blends with a young man’s struggle to fit in at an American school — and things only get more embarrassing when his highly stereotyped cousin comes to visit.
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Call Number: PS3613.E487 B43 2007Publication Date: 2008Protagonist Sepha Stephanos escaped a crumbling Ethiopia, only to find himself floundering in Washington, D.C. almost two decades later. Along with other refugees from the African continent, he reminisces and wonders where life in America took a less-than-ideal turn — and whether or not he can restore any semblance of positivity.
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Call Number: PS3554.A5815 B74 2015Publication Date: 1994Starting at age 12 and moving up to adulthood, Haitian immigrant Sophie Caco faces plenty of hurdles regarding her race, gender and language after moving to New York.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Call Number: PS3554.I259 B75 2007Publication Date: 2008This Pulitzer-winning masterpiece focuses on the children of a fiery, passionate woman who fled from Rafael Trujillo’s regime, though it frequently interweaves her story with their New Jersey lives. A family curse plays heavily into their collective experiences as well.
Brother, I'm Dying by Call Number: PS3554.A5815 Z46 2007Publication Date: 2008This true-life epic of Haitian brothers is a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control.
Dreaming in Cuban by Call Number: PS3557.A66 D74 1993Publication Date: 1993With twisting chronology and raw openness, Cristina Garcia explores several generations of Cubans and Cuban-Americans during some of the most volatile moments of the country’s history.
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Call Number: PS3552.U8278 G66 1993Publication Date: 1993Pulitzer Prize winning short story collection recounting the stories of several Vietnamese immigrants who now call Louisiana home.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Call Number: PS3551.L845 H66 2005Publication Date: 2005The author relates her wonderful bildungsroman backwards, relaying the haunting story of four sisters who fled the Dominican Republic and eventually forged lives for themselves in America.
How the Other Half Lives by Call Number: HV4046.N6 R58 2011Publication Date: 1890This earth-shattering work of photojournalism remains required reading for all Americans — immigrants or not. It brings readers to the squalid fringes of society and shows them the dire consequences of marginalizing peoples of different backgrounds and opinions.
The Jungle by Call Number: PS3537.I85 J85 2004Publication Date: 1906Most readers, critics and politicians focus on this influential novel’s depictions of horrifying meat processing and packing facilities. Sinclair really meant for this work to be seen as a socialistic treatise on the marginalized state of immigrants.
The Namesake by Call Number: PS3562.A316 N36 2004Publication Date: 2004New arrivals from Calcutta reflect the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world with the name bestowed on their firstborn son.
Native Speaker by Call Number: PS3562.E3347 N38 2013Publication Date: 1995Protagonist Henry Park, a Korean immigrant, wants to find his place in America, but he finds the language and cultural barriers incredibly difficult to maneuver.
No-No Boy by Call Number: PS3565.K33 N6 2014Publication Date: 1957Get an extremely necessary glimpse into the realities following the victims of one of America’s darkest secrets — the internment of Japanese immigrants and their families during World War II.
The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Call Number: PS3619.H79 R87 2003Publication Date: 2003Taking place in both New York City and Prague, a Russian-Jewish immigrant gets himself caught up in scandal and intrigue for want of money.
The Shawl by Call Number: PS3565.Z5 S5 1990Publication Date: 1989Two interconnected stories recount the life of Holocaust victim Rosa as she experiences torture in a concentration camp and eventually retires to a Florida hotel room, where she passes the time writing letters.
The Tortilla Curtain by Call Number: PS3552.O932 T67 2011Publication Date: 1995Boyle unapologetically juxtaposes the privilege afforded to white suburbanites in Los Angeles and the tragic reality for many illegal Mexican immigrants.
What Is the What by Call Number: PS3605.G48 W43 2007Publication Date: 2007Based on the true story of Valentino Achak Deng of the Lost Boys of Sudan program, the book chronicles the separation from his family during the Second Sudanese Civil War, the harrowing trek to Ethiopia’s refugee camps, the troubles once he makes it, the sudden run to Kenya and — eventually — his immigration to the United States.
When I Was Puerto Rican by Call Number: F128.9.P85 S27 2006Publication Date: 1994This beautifully recounted memoir details the author’s burning desire to escape her native land in order to live with her grandmother in America — and all the expected challenges that unfold along the way.
The Woman Warrior by Call Number: CT275.K5764 A33 1976Publication Date: 1975Written as a creative nonfiction memoir infused with traditional tales, chronicling how Chinese-Americans dealt with immigration following the Chinese Revolution.
