As we anticipate the March 8 lecture by prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen in Ketchum, co-sponsored by The Community Library and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, we will explore his novel and two other seminal American novels from the second half of the 20th century. The reading list is constructed by recommendations from Nguyen, who also is a professor of American Studies (see the interview with him in The New York Times Book Review from January 30, 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/books/review/viet-thanh-nguyen-by-the-book.html). We will begin with Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, then read Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and conclude with Nguyen’s The Sympathizer. The discussions will be moderated by Jenny Emery Davidson, the Library’s executive director.

2 – February 7: Invisible Man

We’ll discuss the novel in its entirety, so try to finish it before we meet! We also will have a brief introduction to the memoir Woman Warrior.

As we anticipate the March 8 lecture by prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen in Ketchum, co-sponsored by The Community Library and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, we will explore his novel and two other seminal American novels from the second half of the 20th century. The reading list is constructed by recommendations from Nguyen, who also is a professor of American Studies (see the interview with him in The New York Times Book Review from January 30, 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/books/review/viet-thanh-nguyen-by-the-book.html). We will begin with Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, then read Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and conclude with Nguyen’s The Sympathizer. The discussions will be moderated by Jenny Emery Davidson, the Library’s executive director.

3 – February 14: Woman Warrior

We’ll discuss the first three chapters of the memoir (approximately the first 100 pages).