By Joy Huebert
Every February, Canadians honour the legacy and culture of black Canadians, past and present, with Black History Month. I invite you to take part and choose a book by an eminent black writer and participate in one of GVPL’s free events in celebration of black Canadians.
Read on for my recommendations of books written by eminent black Canadian and American writers, and check the library’s program calendar at gvpl.ca for free cultural events for all ages.
Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis – What happens when the gods decide to give human consciousness to a pack of dogs? Canadian writer Alexis won the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his fable of human and canine life.
‘Membering, by Austin Clarke – In ‘Membering, Clarke shares his experiences growing up in Barbados and moving to Toronto to attend university in 1955 before becoming a journalist.
Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan – This book won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was short-listed for the 2011 Governor General’s Award for Fiction. It’s set in Paris, 1940, and a brilliant jazz musician, Hiero, is arrested by the Nazis and never heard from again.
The Illegal, by Lawrence Hill – When Keita, a boy on the island of Zantoroland, is targeted for his father’s outspoken political views, he must run for his family’s survival. He escapes into Freedom State, a wealthy island nation that has elected a government bent on deporting refugees.
Swing Time, by Zadie Smith – This is a story about friendship and music and stubborn roots, about how we are shaped by these things and how we can survive them. Moving from London to West Africa, it is an exuberant dance to the music of time.
God Help the Child, by Toni Morrison – God Help the Child, the first novel by Toni Morrison to be set in our current moment, weaves a tale about the way the sufferings of childhood can shape and misshape the life of the adult.
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead – This title made Oprah’s Book Club for 2016. It follows the story of Cora, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape.
Just Wanna Testify, by Pearl Cleage – Blue Hamilton, the “godfather” of his Atlanta neighbourhood, becomes pitted against the “Too Fine Five,” a group of Amazonian African-American supermodels whose arrival in town spells trouble.
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker – Beautifully imagined and deeply compassionate, this is the story of two sisters, one a missionary in Africa and the other a child wife living in the South, who sustain their loyalty to and trust in each other across time, distance and silence. This classic American novel by a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist is rich with passion, pain, inspiration and an indomitable love of life.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by Ayana Mathis – A searing portrait of an unforgettable family, an emotionally transfixing drama of human striving in the face of insurmountable adversity, and a ferocious vision of humanity at its most threadbare and elemental, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie introduces a writer of the very first order.
Joy Huebert is the public services librarian at the Oak Bay branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library. She writes twice a month on book selections for children and adults.
