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Umami: Laia Jufresa
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Currently reading, but it's a great book so far. NPR has featured this author and she has received a lot of great press.
La historia de mis dientes: Valeria Luiselli
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Full or dark, dry and weird humor. It's a short but entertaining read. The main character is a modern and twisted Don Quijote.
El último tango de Salvador Allende: Roberto Ampuero
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This book is a great historical fiction novel. The main character is an ex CIA agent who must look back at his involvement in Chile's history and its effects on his own family in ways he never understood. My favorite quote is at the end when he is asked by a Chilean if he is one of the good or the bad Americans. His response is that he is the kind that learns.
El fútbol a sol y sombra: Eduardo Galeano
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Anything and everything by the Uruguayan poet and writer, Eduardo Galeano, deserves to be read. This book is made up of short essays and vignettes about the history of soccer which has never been more beautifully or poetically told.
Señales que precederán al fin del mundo: Yuri Herrera
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A very short novel about immigration between México and the U.S. A powerful read full of symbolism. Pay attention to the names she uses and the nine chapters of the journey Makina takes represent the nine levels of Mictlán. My students have this as their current summer reading book and I have paired it with Luis Urrea's poem, Codex Luna.
Ruis​
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Read any and all of his works. He is Mexico's most celebrated cartoonist and certainly has plenty of opinions (he lovingly refers to Coca Cola as "las aguas negras del imperialismo yanqui"). His work is accessible for students and it would hard to find a topic he hasn't covered.
El ruido de las cosas al caer: Juan Gabriel Vásquez
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A study of the long lasting effects or fear caused by Colombia's drug war.
La fiesta del chivo: Mario Vargas Llosa
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I absolutely loved this novel. It flips between the present and past as well as several different characters. It is historical fiction based on the last days of the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Skip the movie adaptation, it wasn't well done.
The Lucky Ones: Julianne Pachico
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This book is very well written and hooks you with the first story. Its main theme deals with the emotional and physical scars left by the War on Drugs and the FARC in Colombia. It weaves between the present day and the 1990s, and all of the stories are interconnected. Definitely a worthwhile read!
Tell Me How It Ends: Valeria Luiselli
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This book is an incredibly short and fast read, but its content is timely and profound. It serves as a great introduction to the refugee crisis of children that are fleeing to our border from Central America. Luiselli worked as a volunteer translator for children in immigration proceedings. This book contains a brief history of the causes as well as the stories of the children who come.
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