With all the talk of back to school, I’ve almost
forgotten it’s still summer. Normally, I would have posted a
summer reading list or list of beach reads by now. Since this year has been anything
but normal, I haven’t felt as motivated to do so.
But whether you’ve managed to find a beach, or are sticking
with the couch, here are two books by Colson Whitehead that will transport you to a different time
and place – the hallmark of any beach read, worth, well, its salt.
Sag Harbor
It’s the summer of 1985. Benji has settled in for his stay at his family’s
beach house in Sag Harbor. During the school, he's one of a few Black students at his private school in Manhattan. During the summer, he looks forward to, and at the same time has
doubts about, fitting in to this summer community of African-American professionals established by his grandparents. His ambitions – meet a girl, get a job, and keep his affection
for The Smiths to himself.
During the week he and his brother are left to fend for
themselves, only the threat of their parents’ arrival on Friday keeps the house from sinking into total disrepair. Working
at Burger King and the local ice cream shop keeps them stocked in Campbell’s
and beer purchased by older cousins. The
weekends his parents do stay bring home-cooked meals, but also the tension of his
parents’ troubling relationship.
The Underground Railroad
That misperception you had in elementary school that
the Underground Railroad was, like, a real train, is brought to life in this novel. Cora, the
protagonist, flees from the Georgia cotton plantation where she is enslaved via an underground train to the north. Each subsequent station offers the
promise of freedom, but something nefarious is always lurking. It’s hard to
tell which is more terrifying – the slave catcher Ridgeway or the well-meaning
white people in power she encounters along the way.
1 comment:
Oh, to read a book on vacation.....both sound good. I’ll pretend.
Post a Comment