Reality Through Fiction

Even in fantasy, in other universes and among supernatural characters— the state of society is mirrored and often easier to look in the eyes.

I said my next Substack would be about the best books I read in 2025 but sometimes being a writer means putting pen to paper and being surprised at what you find. As I began to write, I found I had more to share than just a couple of titles from the past year.

There is no such thing as writing in a vacuum, therefore the greatest works of fiction often become the clearest indicators of the state of the world. Stories told through the lens of a fictional character give us a more intimate look into the social atmosphere of the times than any history book ever could. Each made-up character reflects the realities of those who surround the author because a writer’s pen will always catch bits and pieces of their lived experiences. Whether intentional or not.

Oscar Wilde’s Basil Hallward said,

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”

I am no painter but I firmly believe every story written by a writer displays a portrait of society as they lived it. What stays in a reader’s mind for years beyond is rarely the names of the main characters but the emotions that the world between the pages invoked.

Even in fantasy, in other universes and among supernatural characters— the state of society is mirrored and often easier to look in the eyes.

That is one of the things that makes literature so pressing. No matter what you pick up, you cannot escape humanity’s most troubling sights. Quite the contrary, you find yourself nose to nose with them. To never read fiction literature is to rob yourself of that experience and silence the stories that are happening all around you.

All this to say that I could not sit down and with a clear conscience write a summary of my recent favorite books without addressing the state of our own world today. A large majority of thought-altering literature I have consumed was written by authors whose parents are immigrants or who are immigrants themselves. To point to their work without acknowledging the detrimental setback that our country has been observing would be to drive blind in a snow storm.

In a couple of decades when we look back at the art of the 2020s, whether they decide to call it The Pandemic/Post-Pandemic era, The Age of Disruption or the Polycrisis Era (my personal vote), maybe then the people who are comfortable turning a blind eye to the way our country is losing our humanity will finally find empathy inside of their hearts. Great art makes you understand the point of view it is looking from but often, especially in literature, it reaches audiences too late for it to make a difference.

If we begin opening our minds to art created by those who have immigrated to this country and share that work, maybe we can begin to soften the edges that have hardened almost beyond recognition.

Below are some of my favorite books written by American first/second generation immigrants or about them.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto

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I will be adding to this list, and please if you have any titles, share them in the comments.\