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By Richard Wright

Summary:

In Native Son, protagonist Bigger Thomas takes a job working for the wealthy Dalton family. He accidentally kills Mary Dalton, the daughter, and attempts to destroy the evidence by burning her body. In his attempt to flee Chicago, Bigger descends into guilt and fear, which dehumanizes him even further. His story illustrates the devastating effects of racism. Bigger Thomas's entire family lives in a single room. After they move to the South Side of Chicago, he's forced to take a job at the Dalton house in order to support his family.Bigger accidentally kills Mary Dalton after she forces him to drink rum with her. To hide the evidence, he burns her body in the furnace. He's forced to flee, however, when police find some shards of bone along with Mary's earring.Bigger plots with his girlfriend Bessie to extort money from the Daltons. When this fails, he realizes that she can implicate him in Mary's murder, so he kills her. He's later arrested and sentenced to death for his crimes.
Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/native-son)

Personal Opinion:
I would read this novel because it sounds like an interesting read, especially from the perspective of a psychotic murder. I feel the plot and action would be handled in a more interesting manner and make me ponder the way I look at the world and black and white matters (e.g., murder).

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By Amy Tan

Summary:

The novel contains four sections, each beginning with a vignette depicting a stage in the life cycle. The four stories in each section explore the relationship between the mothers and the daughters at the same stage.

One series of stories focuses on Suyuan Woo, who comes to America in 1947, having lost her family, including twin daughters, during war. She does not know her daughters were rescued. Now remarried, she settles in San Francisco, has a daughter, Jing-mei (June), and starts a Joy Luck Club similar to one in China with three other women. The four form strong friendships.

As she grows up, Jing-mei and her mother struggle to understand one another. They never completely resolve their differences, and Suyuan dies unexpectedly. At the next meeting of the Joy Luck Club, her mother’s friends tell Jing-mei that Suyuan’s twin daughters have been found. They give her a check so she can visit them. As the novel ends, she meets her sisters in Shanghai.

A second set of stories focuses on An-mei, who lives with her grandmother because her mother has been disowned. When An-mei is nine, her grandmother dies; and An-mei leaves with her mother to live in the home of a wealthy man and his other wives. An-mei learns how her mother was forced into a dishonorable second marriage and why she has no control over her own life. Her mother’s subsequent suicide provides An-mei a better life.

As an adult An-mei comes to San Francisco. She and her husband have seven children, including Rose. Rose marries Ted, a dermatologist, who has an affair and divorces her. Rose is overwhelmed but recovers.

The third series of stories focuses on Lindo. She marries Tyan-yu, but he never sleeps with her. Unable to tell her domineering mother-in-law the truth, she devises a clever plan and is released from her marriage honorably. She comes to San Francisco and marries Tin Jong. They have three children—Winston, Vincent, and Waverly.

Waverly is a child chess prodigy. She and her mother maneuver through their differences throughout her childhood and into adulthood. Their differences climax over Waverly’s fiancé, Rich Schields, and the
two women reconcile.

The fourth series of stories focuses on Ying-ying. Born into a wealthy family, she is a spirited child who nearly drowns when she is four. She grows into a haughty young woman and marries a crude man who abandons her after she becomes pregnant. Ten years later she marries Clifford St. Clair, an American exporter, even though she doesn’t love him. They come to San Francisco and have one daughter, Lena. Their second child is stillborn, and Ying-ying is depressed for months afterward. Her depression affects Lena.

Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/joy-luck-club)

Personal Opinion:
I would read this novel because I like the way that the novel is written, format wise. I feel the contrast and comparison between mother and daughter would be an intersting read.

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By Margaret Atwood

Summary:

In The Handmaid's Tale, Offred lives in a dystopian world where a theocracy has taken the place of the United States government, and women have lost all of their rights. Offred has been forced to become a Handmaid, but dreams of escape. In the end, it's unclear if she is rescued or arrested. Offred becomes a "walking womb" for the theocracy, which uses Handmaids like her to breed new white children. Most women have become sterile from pollution and sexually transmitted diseases. Offred has failed to get pregnant twice and will soon become one of the Unwomen who are forced to clean up toxic waste until they die of exposure. Offred, whose name literally means "Of-Fred," the man whose baby she is supposed to conceive, is lured into different illicit affairs. Fred, who is supposed to only have sexual intercourse with Offred in a controlled ceremony, where his wife, Serena Joy, is present, starts giving Offred contraband substances, like magazines, books, cosmetics and clothes. Meanwhile, Serena Joy arranges for Offred to have sex with Nick, her chauffeur, to increase the likelihood of a pregnancy. Nick supposedly arranges for Offred's escape to Canada. When she's taken from her master's house, it's unclear if she's being arrested or rescued, whether Nick was really a member of a resistance movement, or a government employee posing as such. Atwood never clears up this ambiguity.
Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/handmaids-tale)

Personal Opinion:
I would read the novel because I think it has a unique story line and gives a nice female perspective in the matter. It would be quite interesting I imagine.

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By Richard Russo

Summary:
On a quiet afternoon at the Empire Grill diner, Miles Roby, the proprietor and fry cook, is looking out the window. His life has not been easy. His father rarely provided his mother Grace with any financial support for him and his brother David. Instead, Grace Roby worked long hours at the local shirt factory to pay the bills for her family. Miles had dreams of attending college, but those dreams were deferred when his mother discovered she had cancer and Miles came home to take care of her. Moreover, Miles’s wife has recently left him. The one hope that remains to him is the promise that the owner of the Empire Grill, Francine Whiting, made to him twenty years ago: that when she dies, he will inherit the diner. Even this hope is fading. Owning the diner seemed like a good idea to the younger Miles, but the closed storefronts along his street suggest that the Grill may not be worth owning by the time he inherits it.
Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/empire-falls)

Personal Opinion:
I would be on the edge of reading this book but I would finally decide to read the first chapter of the novel. The book doesn't seem original in terms of its plot line but I do think some aspects of the story are relatable (e.g., loved one having cancer.)

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By Jeffrey Eugenides

Summary:
Cal Stephanides, "the most famous hermaphrodite in history" (1.2.1), tells us the story of his life, the life of his parents, and the life of his grandparents. His Greek grandparents, Lefty and Desdemona, are brother and sister living in Turkey (your read that right: brother and sister). When war breaks out between Turkey and Greece, Lefty and Desdemona flee to America. There, they live with their cousin Sourmelina and her husband, Jimmy Zizmo. After a brief stint as a cog in Henry Ford's factory, Lefty helps Jimmy smuggle liquor into Canada while Desdemona weaves silks for the Nation of Islam. They make the Great Depression seem like a grand old time. Lefty and Desdemona have two children, but we really only learn much about Milton, who will be Cal's father. Milton is courting his cousin, Tessie (Sourmelina's daughter), but ends up going off to fight in World War II. Tessie almost marries a priest, but Milton returns not in a casket, so Tessie marries him instead. The priest, Father Mike, marries Milton's sister Zoë. They pop out four kids and Mike regrets his entire life while Zoë drinks and shouts a lot. Now that's a great depression.
Source: Schmoop (http://www.shmoop.com/middlesex/summary.html)

Personal Opinion:
Though the storyline is definitely eye catching, I would not read this novel because I do not feel comfortable with its emphasis on sexuality, especially so graphically throughout the novel.

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by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Summary:

T. Coraghessan Boyle’s sixth novel, The Tortilla Curtain, addresses the clash of cultures inherent in the contemporary Mexican American experience. The novel’s title refers to the border separating Southern California and Mexico, which Mexican immigrants cross illegally in search of work. One such immigrant, Cándido Rincón, is crossing a highway in suburban Los Angeles when he is struck by a car driven by Delaney Mossbacher, a resident of the nearby upper-middle-class community Arroyo Blanco Estates. When the bumbling Delaney offers help, Cándido asks for money and receives twenty dollars. The transaction cynically defines the novel’s ethnic identities: Americans are valueless exploiters who purchase peace of mind with money; Mexican immigrants are desperate victims who sell themselves cheaply in order to survive. The novel parallels Delaney and Cándido’s lives, which are lived in close proximity to each other and occasionally intersect. Delaney, a transplanted New Yorker who writes columns for a nature magazine, is a house husband to his second wife, Kyra, and stepfather to Kyra’s son, Jordan. They live a yuppie dream of the good life, replete with gourmet foods, two cars, and financial security. Their only concern is the invading coyotes, whose assaults on their pets symbolize the predatory world beyond their fenced-in backyard.
Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/tortilla-curtain)

Personal Opinion:
I would not read this novel because I do not find the storyline intersting nor the charachters. For me, I find it would be a boring read and a drag, as the plot is somewhat of a cliche.

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By Truman Capote

Summary:

In In Cold Blood, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock kill Herb Clutter and his family. They think that Clutter, a rich farmer, has thousands of dollars lying around. Capote gets to know the killers, studies their motives, and decides the murders were committed in cold blood.Nancy Clutter and her brother Kenyon are exemplary young students. Their father, Herb, is a successful farmer, and their mother, Bonnie, has reason to believe that she's going to recover from a recent illness that has left her disabled.Perry and Dick drive hundreds of miles to the Clutter home, having heard from a former cellmate of Perry's that Clutter keeps up to ten thousand dollars in the house. When they arrive, they find just $40 in Clutter's wallet.Nancy, Kenyon, Herb, and Bonnie are killed not long after midnight. Perry and Dick are arrested and sentenced to death. Capote, who interviews them, watches the hanging.
Source: Enotes ( https://www.enotes.com/topics/cold-blood)

Personal Opinion:
I would definitely read this book because I find murder mysteries appealing and this one has the general feeling of one. The plot is overall engaging and interesting, enough to make me read the first chapter.

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By F. Scott Fitzegerald

Summary:
Amory Blaine is the only child of an alcoholic mother and an absent father. As his mother’s companion, he spends his early childhood traveling and living in hotels. When Beatrice’s alcoholism results in a breakdown, Amory goes to live with an aunt and uncle in Minneapolis, where he resides for nearly two years. These years are encapsulated in the description of a party and first kiss shared with Myra St. Claire, and the pattern of Amory’s subsequent life is established as one of anticipation and disappointment. His fledgling character also emerges, as Amory assumes an aristocratic posture.
Source: Enotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/this-side)

Personal Opinion:
I would not be interested in reading this novel because I do not really find the plot (as described by the summary) interesting and something that will ensnare my attention for a period of time.

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By Maya Angelou

Summary:

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou recounts the story of her life up to the birth of her child. Though she faces many hardships in her life, including being raped and living in a junkyard, she's able to find love and happiness as a mother.A young Maya Angelou, then known as Marguerite Johnson, is raped by a friend of her mother's. This results in Marguerite being mute for five years.Marguerite moves to San Francisco, where she makes history as the first black employee of the San Francisco streetcars.In California, she begins to explore her sexuality and quickly becomes pregnant. At age 16, she gives birth to a son—an event Angelou describes as the best moment of her life.
Source: Enotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings)

Personal Opinion:
I would not read this book because I feel the author is not someone who I could personally relate with and thus cannot be truly interested in this book.

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By Sylvia Plath

Summary:

Esther Greenwood is in New York City the summer that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are to be executed (1953). Ecstatic over having won a position as guest editor on the college board for a well-known magazine for young women, she is puzzled that she is not having the time of her life.On the face of it, she has everything going for her. She is attractive, intelligent, and talented. She is a straight-A student. The magazine arranges concerts, dances, celebrity interviews, fashion shows, and luncheons galore for the twelve college student women who won positions as guest editors. Why is she feeling depressed? Esther’s boyfriend Buddy is in a sanatorium recovering from tuberculosis. She is discovering that her feelings for him are lukewarm. She feels free to date other men, but somehow those dates are not turning out as well as she expects.She and the eleven other young women from colleges across the United States are living in a hotel for women. Doreen, who is cynical and audacious, particularly appeals to Esther. One night on their way to a party, they let themselves be picked up by a disc jockey, Lenny Shepherd. After drinks he asks them to his apartment. After more drinks, Doreen and Lenny dance lasciviously. Esther is disgusted. She leaves Doreen and walks back to the hotel disillusioned with Doreen and later with herself for abandoning Doreen. Doreen is not the only reason Esther is disillusioned. The city glamour she expected manifests itself as a series of shoddy episodes. Behind the glittery surfaces she sees a world of competition, meanness, fakery, and backbreaking work leading to some trivial end. Esther and the other young women are invited to a “ladies’ magazine” luncheon. Beautifully presented crabmeat salad is served, but later they are all violently sick. The crabmeat was tainted. Another event in New York City that was supposed to be wonderful is spoiled. Another spoiled event for Esther is the work she is assigned at the magazine. She is a perfectionist, an overachiever, and always anxious about deadlines. Stress becomes apparent during a photography session. Esther, told to hold a paper rose and smile (to represent her dream to be a poet), bursts into tears.Later, however, she lets Doreen talk her into going out on another date. It is another fiasco. Ripping Esther’s dress and throwing her in the mud, calling her a slut, the “country-club gentleman” date, Marco, tries to rape her. She escapes and once again flees back to her...
Source: Enotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/bell-jar)

Personal Opinion:
I would read the book because I like the protagonist's backstory as it is very relatbale to my own. In that way, I feel like I can really understand her POV and enjoy the complexities of the book.

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by Zora Neale Hurston

Summary:
Janie Crawford's story begins when she's just a little girl living with her grandmother Nanny. Janie describes how she blossomed into womanhood while sitting under a pear tree. Afraid that the beautiful Janie will be taken advantage of, Nanny arranges for her to marry Logan Killicks, an older farmer. Janie soon learns that Logan doesn't want a wife; he just wants a domestic servant. When the charming, romantic Joe Starks offers to take her away from Logan, Janie runs off with him and settles in Eatonville. Starks becomes a successful businessman and mayor, but often belittles Janie, treating her like nothing. When Jody dies, Janie is left a rich widow. Though initially wary of suitors, assuming they just want her for her money, Janie soon falls in love with the young, charismatic Tea Cake. Their relationship is passionate and violent, and Tea Cake often gambles with their money.Tea Cake convinces Janie to move to "the muck" with him. After refusing to flee a hurricane, he and Janie get swept up in a flood. While trying to protect Janie, Tea Cake is bitten by a rabid dog. Janie is later forced to kill him in self-defense. In the end, she returns to Eatonville, tired but at peace.
Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/their-eyes)

Personal Opinion:
I would read this book because the narrator seems quite relateable in her journey and familial background. It seems like an engaging interesting story with a down to earth character.

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by Ernest Hemingway

Summary:
"Jake Barnes plays tennis with Robern Cohn, an insecure Jewish man in the midst of a disastrous affair with Frances. After selling a novel, Cohn becomes dissatisfied with his life and has an affair with Brett Ashley, an Englishwoman with whom Jake is in love. Jake can't act on his love for Brett because of a war injury that left him impotent. He's forced to stand by while she and Robert have a brief love affair in San Sebastian. Later, they all travel to Pamplona to watch the famous Running of the Bulls. Brett falls for a skilled bullfighter named Romero, who soon grows ashamed of her. Jealous, Robert fights with Romero, injuring him before the final day of the fiesta. Nevertheless, Romero excels in the ring, killing a bull that gored a man just that morning. Brett and Romero run off to Madrid together. Three days later, she telegrams Jake, asking for his help. He meets her in San Sebastian, where she bemoans the fact that they can't be together. She tells him she has decided to marry her fiancé, Michael Campbell."

Source: ENotes (https://www.enotes.com/topics/sun-also-rises)

Personal Opinion:
I would be interested in this novel as the plot seems quite interesting and dramatic, as seen by the reference to numerous affairs throughout the novel. It seems like a nice read.