Reading & viewing suggestions Living colours havo
James Baldwin
Harper Lee
Frank McCourt
Toni Morrison
Alan Paton
If Beale Street Could Talk
Like the blues—sweet, sad and full of truth— this
masterly work of fiction rocks us with powerful emotions.
In it are anger and pain, but above all, love—affirmative
love of a woman for her man, the sustaining love of a
black family. Fonny, a talented young artist, finds himself
unjustly arrested and locked in New York's infamous
tombs. But his girlfriend, Tish, is determined to free him,
and to have his baby. A starkly realistic tale and a
powerful indictment of American concepts of justice and
punishment in our time.
To Kill a Mocking Bird
This story takes place in the 1930’s in Maycomb county,
Alabama. The Main character, and narrator, is Scout
Finch. The book starts in the every-day life of Scout, her
brother Jem, and their friend Dill. The three are
determined to get a mystery character, whom they've
dubbed Boo, to come out of hiding. The book eventually
ends in the biggest trial in the history of the county.
Angela's Ashes
It is a wonder that McCourt survived his childhood in the
slums of Depression-era Limerick, Ireland: three of his
siblings did not, dying of minor illnesses complicated by
near starvation. Even more astonishing is how generous
of spirit he became and remains. His family lived--barely-in a flat so miserable that every year they had to cram
themselves into an upstairs room when winter floods
made the place only half-habitable. That upstairs room
was "Italy" --warm and dry. Downstairs was Ireland--wet
and cold. Father sat up there drinking tea, while mother
Angela often could not rise from bed, so depressed was
she. When father returns; frequently drunk on their little
money, he would line up the boys and extract promises
that they would die for Ireland. McCourt spares us no
details: the stench of the one toilet shared by an entire
street, the insults of the charity officers, the maurauding
rats, the street fights, the infected eyes, the fleas in the
mattress . Yet he found a way to love in that miserable
Limerick, and it is love one remembers as the dominant
flavour in this Irish stew.
Tar Baby
The place is a Caribbean island. In their mansion
overlooking the sea, the cultivated millionaire Valerian
Street, now retired, and his pretty, younger wife,
Margaret, go through rituals of living. It is the black
servant couple, who have been with the Streets for years-the butler, Sydney, and his strong yet remote wife--who
have arranged every detail of existence to create a
surface calm. And there is a visitor among them--a
beautiful young black woman, Jadine, who is not only the
servant’s dazzling niece, but the protegée and friend of
the Streets themselves; Jadine, who has been educated
at the Sorbonne at Valerian's expense and is home now
for a respite from her Paris world of fashion, film and art.
Cry the Beloved Country
Tragic story set in South Africa during a now-ended era.
Cry the Beloved Country is worth a careful read for its
many-layered messages of loss and faith, of murder and
novel
novel + film
novel and film
novel
novel and film
Anaa Quindlen
Mark Twain
Alice Walker
penitence, of guilt and redemption - and through it all is
Rev. Kumalo's love for his people (and not just his, but
for the inherent goodness in all people), his family, his
church - and most of all, his country.
It's a classic that has already withstood the test of time and will doubtless continue to do so. Don't miss it, and
share it with someone else.
Black and Blue
novel
This powerfully written story grips readers from the very
first page. Fran and Bobby are crazy about one another
from the moment they first meet, but his violent nature
reveals itself even before they are married. Later, the
"accidents" become more and more frequent and harder
to hide: a broken collarbone, a split lip, a black eye.
Finally, Fran escapes the abusive marriage, but by then
she is damaged both inside and out. Assisted by a group
that aids battered women, she flees with her 10-year-old
son, Robert, who knows the truth but is reluctant to
believe that the father who loves him so much could beat
his mother so badly.
Huckleberry Finn
novel
Of all the contenders for the title of The Great American
Novel, none has a better claim than The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. More than a century after its
publication it remains a major work that can be enjoyed at
many levels: as an incomparable adventure story and as
a classic of American humour.
The Color Purple
novel + film
The lives of two sisters—Nettie, a missionary in Africa,
and Celie, a southern woman married to a man she
hates--are revealed in a series of letters exchanged over
thirty years.