African Americans and the Arts - Fiction for Adults
The national theme for Black History Month 2024 is African Americans & the Arts. Here are some recent fiction titles for adults that celebrate Black artists across time, genre, and form. (Created January 2024)
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Black Punk Now
Black Punk Now is an anthology of contemporary nonfiction, fiction, illustrations, and comics that collectively describe punk today and give punks -- especially the Black ones -- a wider frame of reference. It shows all of the strains, styles, and identities of Black punk that are thriving, and gives newcomers to the scene more chances to see themselves.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Weight
A coming-of-age novel about a 20-something black musician living in predominantly white Portland, Oregon, playing in a rock band on the verge of success while struggling with racism, romance, and the legacy of his strict religious upbringing.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Unfortunates
A queer Black college student alchemizes her rage into a mixed-media document exposing how her university has failed its Black community in this inventive debut novel. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Tremor
At the heart of Cole's remarkable new novel is Tunde, a Nigerian American man teaching photography at Harvard who reflects deeply on the past brutality of white Westerners, its continuing resonance and enactment, cultural theft and the need for restitution, the artist's responsibility not to objectify, music as his shield in a white-centered world, and the imagery, ritual, and import of death while clarifying throughout the importance of the personal. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Half-blown Rose
The story of a woman remaking her life after her husband's betrayal leads to a year of travel, art, and passion in Paris.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Dances
Promoted to the principal at the New York City Ballet, Cece Cordell, a young black woman, still feels like she doesn’t belong, and, despite her dream achievement, is faced with a choice that may derail her career.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Life and Other Love Songs
In 1960s Detroit, Deborah dreams of being the next Diana Ross when she meets shy, ambitious Oz. While he fully supports her singing career, her success means she isn't around enough for their daughter, Trinity, or for Oz—she's the only thing that quiets his inner demons and keeps him from obsessing over the past. (Booklist)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Birdcatcher
On the white-washed island of Ibiza, the narrator, writer Amanda Wordlaw, describes in great detail her peculiar relationship with her closet friend, a gifted sculptor, who is repeatedly institutionalized for trying to kill a husband who never leaves her.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Lush Lives
Glory Hopkins, a Black artist who has inherited her great-aunt Lucille's brownstone in Harlem, hopes to make her name in New York's art world. As Glory struggles to make meaning from Lucille's surprising bequest and all of her treasured possessions, she becomes involved with Parkie de Groot, a disabled auction-house appraiser who is as devoted to her work as she is attracted to Glory.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Chicken Hill, a pre—World War II Pennsylvania community, doesn't seem like much: it's poor, with no running water and a population consisting of multiple marginalized groups—Jewish, Black, Italian—all struggling, scheming, and hoping for the best while writhing in seemingly intractable disappointment. But in this latest from McBride (Deacon King Kong), their defeats evolve into triumphs. In this complex novel, McBride takes a mash-up of plots and over a dozen main characters, each with his or her own history, and weaves them together seamlessly with humor, empathy, and a determined sense of justice.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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