Immigration Fiction

From GRPLpedia

Contents 1 Novels 2 Short Stories 3 Biography and Memoir

Novels

How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents Alvarez, Julia. 1991. (Fiction Alvarez)

After fleeing the Dominican Republic, four sisters struggle to adjust to their new life in America.

Hedwig and Berti Arkin, Frieda. 2005. (Fiction Arkin)

Hedwig and her husband flee Nazi Germany, arriving first in London and then in America, toting a trunk of books that highlight her family's great achievements.

Away Bloom, Amy. 2007. (New Fiction Bloom)

Lillian escapes to America after her family is massacred in a Russian Pogram. When she learns that her daughter may still be alive in Siberia, Lillian sets forth on a treacherous journey home.

The Tortilla Curtain Boyle, T.C. 1995. (Fiction Boyle)

Two very different lives, one a wealthy suburban couple, the other illegal immigrants, are intertwined in this tragic tale.

My Antonia Cather, Willa. 1918. (Fiction Cather)

A stirring portrait of an orphan boy and immigrant girl who find hardship and love on the American prairie.

Breath, Eyes, Memory Danticat, Edwidge. 1994. (Fiction Danticat)

Twelve year old Sofie leaves a happy existence in Haiti to live with the mother she's never known in New York City, and struggles to come of age in a new and difficult environment.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Diaz, Oscar. 2007. (Fiction Diaz)

Oscar, an overweight, nerdy, girl-crazy, first-generation Dominican-American, dreams of becoming a famous fantasy writer. Doomed by a curse that has haunted his family for generations, it seems he is destined for disappointment.

House of Sand and Fog Dubus, Andre. 1999. (Fiction Dubus)

This is the tragic story of a recovering addict, a once wealthy Iranian family, and the clashing of cultures that surface when one small house in the California hills becomes a battleground.

What is the What Eggers, Dave. 2006. (Fiction Eggers)

Valentino escaped the horrors of the Sudanese civil war only to be plunged into another nightmare as he is held captive in his Atlanta apartment.

Master Butchers Singing Club Erdrich, Louise. 2003. (Fiction Erdrich)

German soldier Fidelis Waldvogel packs up his new bride and his father's butcher knives and sets sail for America, settling in North Dakota.

Middlesex Eugenides, Jeffrey. 2002. (Fiction Eugenides)

Three generations of a Greek-American family are the focus of this eccentric and sweeping novel full of history, family secrets, and a large dose of humor.

Dreaming in Cuban Garcia, Christina. 1992. (Fiction Garcia)

From Cuba to the United States, the lives of three generations of women in the del Pino family are intertwined in this colorful tale.

The Kite Runner Hosseini, Khaled. 2003. (Fiction Hosseini)

The turmoil that is modern-day Afghanistan, seen through the eyes of two boys, one who flees to America and one who stays in Afghanistan.

Typical American Jen, Gish. 1991.(Fiction Jen)

Jen's wonderful first novel follows the hopeful lives of Chinese immigrants encountering America.

A Free Life Jin, Ha. 2007. (Fiction Jin)

After the Tiananmen Square massacre, Nan Wu leaves China with his wife and son seeking freedom in America. His family's emigration takes them through the heart of contemporary America.

The Namesake Lahiri, Jhumpa. 2003. (Fiction Lahiri)

Told over 40 years, this is the story of Gogol Ganguli, son of Indian immigrants, and how he balances his Indian past with his American future.

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears Mengestu, Dinaw. 2006. (Fiction Mengestu)

Sepha fled Ethiopia when he was 17 during a horrifying revolution. Now living in a poor neighborhood in Washington D.C., he finds himself frustrated and isolated until finding a renewed sense of family when new neighbors arrive in the neighborhood.

Jasmine Mukherjee, Bharati. 1989. (Fiction Mukherjee)

The story of a young Indian widow who ends up finding a life in America, as well as the story of an America that is transformed by the many people like Jasmine who become our neighbors, relatives, and friends.

A Feather on the Breath of God Nunez, Sigrid. 1995. (Fiction Nunez)

A nameless narrator ( a young woman of mixed race), growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, tells the story of her immigrant parents.

Bodega Dreams Quiñonez, Ernesto. 2000. (Fiction Quiñonez)

The story of three young men and their neighborhood in Spanish Harlem.

Giants in the Earth Rolvaag, O.E. 1927. (Fiction Rolvaag)

The classic story of a Norwegian pioneer family's struggles with the land and the elements of the Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in America.

The Russian Debutante's Handbook Shteyngart, Gary. 2002. (Fiction Shteyngart)

Vladimir Girshkin, a likeable Russian immigrant, searches for love, a decent job, and a credible self-identity in New York City.

The Jungle Sinclair, Upton. 1946. (Fiction Sinclair)

Upton Sinclair's unflinching chronicle of crushing poverty and oppression set in Chicago in the early 1900s. This story shows the appalling hardships immigrants and other workers endured for their share of the American dream.

In America Sontag, Susan. 2000. (Fiction Sontag)

A fictionalization of the American experience of celebrated 19th-century Polish actress Helena Modrzejewska.

The Joy Luck Club Tan, Amy. 1989. (Fiction Tan)

The story of four Chinese-American mothers and their daughters adjusting to life in the United States.

Short Stories

Deportees and Other Stories Doyle, Roddy. 2008. (Fiction Doyle)

Eight stories that explore the effects of immigration on Irish culture.

Growing Up Ethnic in America Gillian, Maria M. ed. 1999. (813.54 G919)

The stories and memoirs in this collection deal directly with the trials and difficulties with becoming American.

The Interpreter of Maladies Lahiri, Jhumpa. 1999. (Fiction Lahiri)

Pulitzer Prize winning collection of stories dealing with Indian immigrants adjusting to life in the United States.

Biography and Memoir

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story Ansary, Mir Tamim. 2002. (973.04927 An81w)

Born in Afghanistan to an Afghan father and American mother, Mir strives to understand and balance a life between East and West.

I Love Gootie: My Grandmother's Story Apple, Max. 1998. (Biography Apple, Max)

Max Apple's loving portayal of his grandmother Gootie who was born in a Lithuanian shtetl and eventually came to Michigan in 1923.

American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood Arana, Maria. 2001. (Biography Arana, Maria)

Arana's memoir portrays the clashing of two worlds - her American mother's free spirit and her Peruvian father's life of tradition.

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America Dumas, Firoozeh. 2003. (Biography Dumas, Firoozeh)

In short, humorous passages, Dumas recounts her life, beginning when her family moved to California from Iran when she was seven.

Angela's Ashes McCourt, Frank. 1996. (Biography McCourt, Frank)

Born in Brooklyn in 1930 to recent Irish immigrants, Frank's parents returned to Ireland in the hopes of finding a better life in the homeland they had left.