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Chinelo Okparanta shares her 6 favourite books

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Chinelo Okparanta
Happiness, Like WaterUnder the Udala Trees

 
Chinelo Okparanta, the award-winning author of Happiness, Like Water and Under the Udala Trees, shares her favourite reads.

There are so many books I love. But I will say that I particularly appreciate satires, or novels that are in some way reflective of the social issues of the time and also simultaneously transcend the time, so:

Candide, or Optimism
Candide by Voltaire, because it’s funny but so real. Bits about buttocks being cut off. It’s a book that cautions against misguided optimism.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver’s Travels by Swift, because it’s brilliant and inventive. It is a satire, and is a novel that is reflective of the social issues of the time and also simultaneously transcends the time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Little Prince
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, because it is sweet and poetic and honest and simple (in a good way). And it’s about love, and it’s about a rose.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Awakening
The Awakening by Kate Chopin, because it speaks to the plight of women in society, then and now.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Achebe, because, let’s face it, colonialism is still a problem.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

God Help the Child
I am a huge fan of Toni Morrison. I love The Bluest Eye. But I also love God Help the Child. My favorite lines in all of literature just might be: “What you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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