I'm almost finished reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Although it's a work of fiction, I've learned a lot about India's history, politics, and culture through it. I'd love suggestions for other novels -set in any country- that offer this kind of insight. Thank you.
by Grand_Bookkeeper_363
1 Comment
I’d love to suggest “Beneath the Swamp’s Shadow” by Kelvin Ray Oxendine. The novel is authored by a Lumbee writer and tells a powerful story of Indigenous resistance, unity, and identity, centered on the 1958 Battle of Hayes Pond, when Lumbee and Tuscarora people stood up to the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina. It also weaves in ancestral storytelling, including the legacy of Henry Berry Lowrie, an Indigenous freedom fighter from the 1800s who terrorized southern white plantation owners during the American Civil War.
What makes it hit harder is that the author is a direct descendant of Henry Berry. So the story’s not just well-researched…it’s personal, powerful, and told with real heart.
It’s definitely worth the read. Let me know if you check it out!