You Should Read....: 2017 Fiction

Recommended by Sarah Rowley, History. Margaret Atwood is brilliant, and her feminist masterpiece The Handmaid's Tale has been getting a lot of renewed attention lately. But I also absolutely love The Blind Assassin, with its book-within-a-book structure, genre bending, rich female central characters, and historicist sensibility. The Blind Assassin is a meditation on the effects of a constricted world of possibilities for women in the early 20th century. Read it; love it; come talk to me about it!

Recommended by Angela Flury, English. This is a hardboiled mystery novel from 1990. The setting is 1940s L.A., and the protagonist, an unemployed African-American man named Easy, who ends up becoming a private detective. A super clever book and well-told take on a genre that used to be only about white characters.

Recommended by Rebecca Hebb, Librarian's daughter. Told from a unique perspective, A Dog's Purpose explores how much dogs really understand in the world around us. As a dog explores what his purpose in life is, he struggles to understand the life he lives in, as he constantly gets reborn. A heartwarming story, truly.

Recommended by Mark McCoy, University President. In Spain, there is a saying: “Read Don Quixote three times in your life. In your youth it makes you laugh. In middle age it makes you think. In old age it makes you cry.”

Recommended by Cheira Bellguellaoui, Modern Languages. Who doesn't want to get into the mind of a self-taught Parisian concierge? “I may be indigent in name, position, and in appearance, but in my own mind I am an unrivaled goddess.” (my favorite quote) Renée is probably one of the most compelling female characters in today's literature. It's a funny and deceptively easy story.

Recommended by Meryl Altman, Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies. A "condition of England" novel that turns into an examination of women's lived experience, with a modernist twist. Ahead of its time for 1962, and still surprisingly relevant today.

Recommended by Natalie Bennett, Class of 2019. If Nancy Drew was 34th in the line of succession to the British throne and broke she would be Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie. The book is hysterical and captivating in a way that leaves you wondering whats next. The audiobook narrated by Katherine Kellgren is also fantastic. Kellgren produces the voice you imagined the character having in your head as you read the words on the page. If you are looking for depth this book has it, but it is also enjoyable as a leisurely break from academic literature.

Recommended by Robert Stevens, English. This is a phenomenal and terrifying book. It's a literary psychological thriller. The Washington Post called it "the scariest novel of the year." The best synopsis I could find is from the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Your adopted brother is being released from prison - where he was put 30 years ago, thanks to your testimony. Good luck."

Recommended by Gloria Townsend, Computer Science. I first read Jane Eyre at 14. I love to reread Charlotte Bronte's novel about an independent woman to mark my own progress in the world, because I think that we interact with the books we read and reread so differently as we age. We visit and converse with our younger selves, remembering how we felt when we first read a novel. We also mark the progress of all women, as we think about the difficulties Charlotte must have endured writing and publishing Jane Eyre 170 years ago.

Recommended by Sujung Kim, Religious Studies. Samsara—-a continuing loop of life, death, and rebirth—-is at the heart of the Buddhist worldview. But how would you feel if you can remember all your previous lives? This idea is brilliantly explored in this novel by the Chinese writer, Mo Yan. Mo Yan is the first Chinese citizen ever won the Nobel prize in literature (2012). His work was praised by the Swedish Academy for merging "folk tales, history and the contemporary" with "hallucinatory realism,” which perfectly summarizes this metafictional novel. The story covers the entire span of Chinese contemporary history under Communist Party rule (from 1950 until 2000), through the eyes of two narrators, one who has lived in that village for the entire time and the other who has witnessed many of the same events in a series of reincarnations: Ximen Nao (the human protagonist), a donkey, a pig, a dog, a monkey, and, at last, a human once again. The epic story (540 pages) is full of fantasy, humor, and satire. If you are looking for an intelligent and yet funny story, this is the book for you!

Recommended by Amanda Weber, Class of 2017. Terra grew up in a world of maps and compasses, but she can't seem to find herself. Hiding her face with its port-wine stain along with her feelings is natural to her. On the outside her life seems perfect. She has a popular boyfriend, a great job at an art gallery, and is very pretty. But people don't see what she looks like beneath her make-up or how her dad treats her mom at home. It takes Jacob, an interesting Goth Chinese-American, a trip to China, and an exploration of her own art for Tessa to finally find the real meaning of true beauty. This is a captivating book about making your own path.

Recommended by Erik Weilenberg, Philosophy. Compelling, dark, and powerful, this deceptively simple story of a man's struggle to guide his son through post-apocalyptic America is rich with wisdom about the importance of morality and what is truly valuable in human life.

Recommended by John Hecko, Bon Appetit. Having worked for the DePauw Biology Department and Dr. James Gammon when I was a young man on the rivers in this area, I am always very excited to find great river reads.

Recommended by Greisy Genao, Class of 2018. It's good.

Recommended by Salma Allam, Class of 2020. Despierta is the work of DePauw’s very own Greisy Genao. In a collection of poems about love and identity, Greisy manages to reach out and captivate your soul. Her poetry is wonderful to read; raw and entirely honest. Each word brings on its own array of emotions. It’s an intimate read that will surely move you.

Recommended by Greisy Genao, Class of 2018. She (Gabby) is the writer of the first Queer Latina Marvel superhero!

Recommended by Julianne Miranda, Senior Class Dean. This well illustrated book is a guide to what to say (or not say) when someone you care about is hurting. Filled with stories and examples, it helps people learn how to express compassion effectively.