In the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, the reawakening about racial inequality in America sparked an interest in literature about race, social justice, and other cultures. Readers eager to expand their literary repertoire are discovering the multicultural novel.

What is a Multicultural Novel?

Definitions vary, but the most important element of multicultural fiction is a minority point of view (POV). The novel can be in any genre, including literary fiction, romance, mystery, thriller, and others. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines minority as “a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment.”

In the U.S., minorities include African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, LGBTQ, Hispanic Americans and Latinos, Jewish Americans, and other cultures. For a novel to be considered multicultural, the story must be told from the POV of a minority protagonist. A novel with minorities as secondary characters but told from the POV of the dominant culture isn’t multicultural.

Here are some of my favorite multicultural novels for adult readers. There are many popular young adult and children’s multicultural novels, but they are not included on this list.

1.     “There There” by Tommy Orange

The parallel paths of several Native American characters living in Oakland converge into a climactic finale during a powwow in the Oakland Coliseum.

2.     “Interior Chinatown” by Charles Yu

A hilarious take on Chinese American stereotypes as told by a protagonist who sees himself as a Generic Asian Man.

3.     “The Son of Good Fortune” by Lysley Tenorio

A coming-of-age story of a young undocumented Filipino whose mother scams men on the internet.

4.     “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng

A Chinese American family living in the Midwest in the 1970s copes with the mysterious disappearance of daughter Lydia.

5.     “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett

Black twin sisters who grow up close live very different lives as adults, with one of them passing for white.

6.     “The Other Americans” by Laila Lalami

The death of a Moroccan immigrant caused by a hit-and-run accident prompts his daughter to return home to a small California town in the Mojave.

7.     “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford

At the height of World War II, a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl form a bond despite the prejudices of the grownups around them.

8.     “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan

The intertwined stories of four Chinese American mothers, all immigrants, and their daughters who are grappling with their Chinese heritage.

9.     “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A young Nigerian couple who separates see each other again in their home country, after she has lived in the U.S. while he lived as an undocumented immigrant in London.

10.  “The Woman Next Door” by Yewande Omotoso

Two South African widows, one white and one black, are neighbors who can’t stand each other.

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Photo by: davidwilson1949 on Visualhunt.com Mural by Paul Noah, Chicago, Illinois.