Book recommendations for celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
Sept. 15 marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration of the histories, cultures and contributions of this community. As part of the observance, which continues through Oct. 15, here are a few book selections from the Southern Poverty Law Center Latinx Affinity Group.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
This 1967 novel, which tells the history of a fictional town through the story of a family, is a landmark of modern literature by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1982. The book has been critically acclaimed as “the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race.”
Multitudinous Heart: Selected Poems: A Bilingual Edition
Published in 2015, Multitudinous Heart offers a wide selection of work spanning the career of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, the renowned Brazilian poet, which has been translated into English by Richard Zenith. Drummond has been described as “a master of transforming the ordinary world, through language, into the sublime.”
The House on Mango Street
Mexican American author Sandra Cisneros offers a modern classic of Chicano literature with her 1984 book, which tells the story of a 12-year-old girl growing up in Chicago through a series of vignettes ranging from the joyous to the heartbreaking. The book has been lauded and studied for its exploration of themes such as class, race and gender.
The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom
By Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian novelist, recounts his pilgrimage across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in this 1987 autobiographical novel, which has been described as both an adventure story and a self-discovery guide. The Pilgrimage is considered the beginning of the literary career of Coelho, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
Soccer in Sun and Shadow
Deemed one of the “Top 100 Sports Books of All Time” by Sports Illustrated, this work by Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano offers an ode to soccer by using short stories, poems and vignettes to take the reader through the history of the sport.
Picture at top: In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the SPLC’s Latinx Affinity Group recommends these books offering insights into the histories, cultures and contributions of the Latinx community. (Credit: SPLC)
