The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion

41. A character who is a refugee

What is a refugee? A refugee is “a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster (Google Dictionary). For this prompt, pick a book that includes a character who is a refugee. This may be the experience of the main protagonist or a secondary character. This is an excellent prompt for both fiction or non-fiction reads. Examples include: a memoir written by a refugee, a collection of short stories about the refugee experience, a book discussing the refugee crisis, or a novel on the subject.


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Would Desert Creatures count for this prompt?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Amanda wrote: "Would Desert Creates count for this prompt?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."

I think so!

I can highly recommend A Long Petal of the Sea for this prompt and When Stars Are Scattered.

I was wondering if the second book of the Outlander series count as this prompt.

I read Beloved by Toni Morrison for this prompt. I know it's set in America AFTER the civil war, but I still think of Sethe as being a refugee from a war torn place.

The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine is a fiction work about the Syrian refugee crisis. Also has LGBTQ representation. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Chrissi wrote: "I can highly recommend A Long Petal of the Sea for this prompt and When Stars Are Scattered."

Thanks for the suggestion, I will read A Long Petal of the Sea!

I listened to The Bad Muslim Discount. It revolves around several characters who come from Iraq and Pakistan to the SF Bay Area. Some of the characters I believe were refugees though this book did not appear on the Master List so I am not sure if this is the right place. I loved this audiobook-5 stars.

I'm going to read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for this prompt

I recently saw All Saints: The Surprising True Story of How Refugees from Burma Brought Life to a Dying Church by Michael Spurlock in a book give away pile, and since "refugee" is right in the subtitle, I grabbed it.

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy features a refugee during WWII as a main character and modern refugees as secondary characters.

I read The Library of Legends by Janie Chang, 4.5 Stars

if you fancy reading young adult/older child book, I highly recommend No ballet shoes in Syria by Catherine Bruton

“There's nothing like living as a refugee in one's own country to turn a generous soul into a hard little fist.” ― Barbara Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible. Several characters live as refugees in this controversial novel.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, by Ann Fadiman

Refugee 4/5

Mel wrote: "I read Beloved by Toni Morrison for this prompt. I know it's set in America AFTER the civil war, but I still think of Sethe as being a refugee from a war torn place."

I agree, Sethe was a refugee from persecution, and that's one of the characteristic mentioned in the description of this prompt.

I chose Yonder by Jabari Asim for this prompt. Characters in this novel are fleeing the horror of enslavement in the American South in the mid 19th century.

I read Rebel : my escape from Saudi Arabia to freedom by Rahaf Mohammed

For this prompt I read:

No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib

I also read No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib
Beautifully written book

I read A Dowry of Blood since they are forced to keep fleeing their countries

I read Under the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian Genocide which was written by a refugee. It is a heart-braking book but it was really well written and informative.

"We Had A Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy" by Kliph Nesteroff.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

I read I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai for this one. Such an incredible young woman. 4 ⭐️‘s

I read X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II. Fascinating account of a part of WWII history that had been completely unknown to me.

Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue, and Redemption by Vinh Chung 5+ stars

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson This soon-to-be Country singer is on the run. Will she be saved by the queen of Country Music? Enjoy .

I read Dear Little Corpses by Nicola Upson, the latest in her Josephine Tey mystery series. The refugees are children put onto trains and then buses before the bombings of London and taken to "safe homes in the country".

I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

I read

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2023...

I also read No Land To Light On. Beautifully written, one of the best books I've read in a while. Completed 6/11, 5 stars.

The Book Thief

The Tattooist Of Aschuitsz

A Noble Groom - Jody Hedlund

The Librarian Spy

I read "The Night Diary" bu Veera Hiranandani

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

I read A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum.

Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina by Michaela DePrince 4.5 stars

I read Gnomon by Nick Harkaway -- a sprawling fantasy novel in which one of the protagonists is a refugee from Ethiopia who settles in London.

I read When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson.

I read Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri. I loved it. His sister also writes on the topic. Their family fled Iran due to death threats.

This is a great topic. I joined late this year but I’m going to try to complete as many as I can by fitting in books I read this year. I’ll find out soon if my reading was diverse enough.

Freedom, Only Freedom: The Prison Writings of Behrouz Boochani is my contribution to this prompt.

I read Lost Path to Solitude, by Maria Sandovici. It's a sequel, and about Romanian refugees who fled the country because the government was cracking down on artists and the well-to-do--the father was a successful architect.

The first book, Dogs with Bagels, was about all they dealt with from leaving--how the father managed to succeed here, too, while his wife hated it--and their marriage had become a mess of resentment and heartache to the point they were separated. Their two children (now adults) had become Americanized, and not in a good way. The story focuses on the mother and daughter, how fractious the relationship is, and how the divide between the old country and new fuels the worst of the problems.

This book has the mother returning to Romania, possibly with the chance of staying there for good--but has America changed her too much for that? And what about her shaky marriage? Will love be enough to bring her back to her husband? And will her daughter ever stop living on wishful thinking and start facing reality?

It's a decent read. Maybe not the greatest, but I would have given it a 3.5.

Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong 4/12/23

https://titlesurfingwithtraci.blogspo...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...