Latinx Literature: Should you read it?

A guide on the importance of Latinx Literature and what to read.

(Goodreads)

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Everybody nowadays loves to read the classics and more popular books by Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas, but no one ever gives Hispanic-written novels a chance. There’s a large, profound world of Hispanic literature spanning colonial times to Realism to the Boom and more. Here’s a guide on some good books to read for Hispanic History Month.

Hispanic Literature is important to read because of its decadent history and affliction for Magical Realism. It portrays the rich history of Latin America with complicated and intricate storylines that weave all kinds of themes together. It honors the struggle many of their ancestors have gone through and the traditions kept long alive. Whether you wanna sit down for a long, complicated love story or a short, kind one, we’ve got it covered in this list of books you should read to support Hispanic writers.

Some Classics:

Como Agua Para Chocolate or Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

This is a novel about a young woman forced to give up her one true love to her sister because she is forced to care for her mother. Her cooking becomes magical and invokes emotions in the people who eat her food. The book deals with themes of love, betrayal, family, and the fight for independence.

100 Años de Soledad or 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

This novel follows the seven generations of a family growing up in a village and its small community as it becomes more involved with the politics and corruption of the world outside them. It spans 100 years, and each generation is more and more impacted by the past and their fortunes and misfortunes.

La Casa de Los Espiritus or The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

This novel spans decades following three generations starting with a man and his wife who has secret supernatural abilities. Their daughter has a forbidden love with a man who infuriates her father because he belongs to the native population, and they have a child who gains her grandmother's abilities. The book explores love and politics in between the events that happen in the story.

El Alquimista or The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This classic novel follows a boy who embarks on a journey to the Egyptian pyramids looking for treasure after he dreams of it. The novel follows his journey as he meets new mentors, falls in love, learns more about his identity and focuses on what matters most in life.

Some Modern Books:

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

This novel, set in 1950s Mexico, follows a socialite named Noemí who receives a letter from her cousin, and she goes to check on her. It deals with mystery and love with an amateur sleuth creating a tale of suspense with family secrets in a remote country manor.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

This novel follows a mother’s struggle to help her daughter, who suffers from drug addiction. The daughter, in turn, is trying to understand her family’s history as Cuban immigrants. It follows love across generations, their legacy and migration.

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

This novel follows Olga and her brother Pietro in the Bronx neighborhood who are harboring deep secrets. Their lives as a successful wedding planner and a popular congressman are uprooted by their mother, who comes back into their lives following a hurricane.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

This book is written entirely in poetry following Xiomara, a girl in Harlem who questions her Catholic faith. After canceling her Confirmation, she faces her religious mother. She deals with unrequited love, her family’s expectations and her passion for slam poetry.

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Gabriella Garcia-Urbay is an online writer for Rowdy Magazine who spends her time reading, writing poetry and playing the guitar when she’s not listening to her hundreds of playlists.