Disgrace
by J. M. Coetzee (Penguin Books, 1999, 2008) Reviewed by James E. Leck

This is the story of a South African English professor David Lurie who refuses to take the necessary steps prescribed by a committee to save his job after seducing a student. Lurie moves to rural Eastern Cape to live with his daughter, Lucy, where he assists her at her kennel and on her small farm. Lucy’s interactions with neighbors, the kennel animals, and a tragic event open Lurie’s eyes to a world beyond his teaching and obsessions, and expose him to the way of post-apartheid South Africa, or at least a slice of it. Aspects of rural White and Black cultures are explored as they react to one another in the light of the radical transitions of power and social standing. Coetzee is a Nobel Laureate and this book proves why. The writing is spare and revealing. The reader experiences South Africa’s rural life and the struggles that are still at play more than fifteen years after the end of apartheid. The story includes some violence that may be disturbing.

Husband, Lover, Holy Man: An Intercultural Comedy
by K. B. Rao (Intercultural Press, 1992) Reviewed by James E. Leck

This is a wordy, but fun story of an Indian scholar who is given a scholarship to a college in the U.S. When he fails to complete his master’s degree and returns to India, he pursues some rather novel schemes that will allow him to return. His wife attempts to expose him. The writing, the cultural interactions, and characters are at once enjoyable and telling. While this comedy remains close to the surface of cultural understanding, it can be a useful starting point for thinking about family, relationships and the need for possessions in two different cultures.

Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000) Reviewed by James E. Leck

Jumpha Lahiri’s writing, like J. M. Coetzee’s, is spare and vivid. This is a collection of short stories set in the U.S. and India. Most are about immigrants or visitors, yet Lahiri does not focus on seeing the opposite culture through the eyes of the “other”; the culture and the cultural clashes are there, but as organic parts of human situations.

Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers
An anthology of twenty-eight works of literature from 20 countries never before published in English.
(Anchor Books, a division of Random House, 2007) Reviewed by James E. Leck

Each piece in this collection of short stories, essays and excerpts from novels was chosen by well-known authors to introduce us to writers who have not yet been published in English. The story lines vary dramatically, but most are set within the writer’s home country and shed a fascinating light on their cultures in prose written primarily for readers from their home. Words Without Borders is also an online magazine of international literature. It includes short stories, book reviews, interviews, and resources for educators. It can be found online at: www.wordswithoutborders.org.

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
by Dinaw Mengestu (Riverhead Books, 2007) Reviewed by Nancy E. Young

This is a serious book that moves slowly and with a detailed look at the experience of an Ethiopian immigrant to the U.S. Sepha Stephanos lives in Washington, D.C. where he survives in very tight economic conditions as he manages a small grocery store in a poor African-American neighborhood. The story includes the journeys of two fellow immigrants, as well as a friendship he makes with a White woman and her daughter who move into the neighborhood. Race, class, and the immigrant experience are examined in the isolated and difficult life of one man.

The Last Chinese Chef
by Nicole Mones (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007) Reviewed by Nancy E. Young

This novel is a recipe for fascinating reading that follows a reluctant traveler, Maggie McElroy. The plot involves her personal reasons for going to China, to respond to a paternity suit filed against her dead husband. Since already making the trip, she adds an assignment to profile a rising chef, in her role as a food writer. The chef is Sam Liang, an Asian-American who returned to China to immerse in his family’s strong reputation as leading chefs. Blending historical events and ancient writings, with a dash of the author’s own experience doing business in China, and stirring in the salient role of food in culture leaves the reader with the satisfied feeling of having eaten a well prepared and nourishing meal.

The English American
by Alison Larkin (Simon & Schuster, 2008) Reviewed by Nancy E. Young

This is fun exploration of cultural differences between the British and U.S. Americans. The plot focuses on Pippa Dunn, who was adopted and raised in Britain. As an adult, she reunites with her birth parents who are from the southern U.S. Pippa literally and metaphorically moves back and forth between these two cultures and families as she forges her identity to a new level. The writer is a comedian and this book is a good escape from the seriousness of the world.

The White Mary
by Kira Salak (Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2008) Reviewed by Nancy E. Young

Kira Salak is an adventurer, writer, journalist, and more. After previously writing non-fiction, she shares some glimpses into her lifestyle through her first fiction book, The White Mary. Salak travels alone to remote places, where, like the protagonist, she is often the first White woman to be in the region. In real life, she was the first White woman to traverse Papau New Guinea. In fiction, journalist Marika Vecera travels from the war-torn Congo to Papau New Guinea. Marika is a young U.S. American journalist who covers genocide and war with a deep commitment to truth and an abandon of her personal safety. She sets out on a personal quest to resolve the mystery surrounding the reputed death of an icon in the field. Through her trek in Papau New Guinea, questions are raised as to what is knowledge, what is truth, what is civilized as cultures collide. This book contains intense and graphic violence (comparable to The Kite Runner) and challenges the reader long after the cover is closed.

Non-Fiction

We each selected one non-fiction book that we consider a must read.

36 Views of Mount Fuji, On Finding Myself in Japan
by Cathy N. Davidson (Plume/Penguin Books, 1983) Reviewed by Nancy E. Young

This nonfiction book about Japan reads like a collection of short stories. Cathy Davidson writes in a very personal yet highly observational style about the life she finds in Japan – and how she finds herself in Japan. She travels to Japan on four occasions, where she teaches English at a women’s university. Nothing is too large or too small to escape her observation, whether it’s about the silence in Japan, the role of the host and guest, or what it means to be typical, she brings sympathy and empathy to her writing. Her insight into her own changes and reactions to what she experiences in Japan are fodder for sensitive thought and conversation beyond this book.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
by Alexandra Fuller (Random House, 2001) Reviewed by James E. Leck

This is the story of a woman whose British family brought her to southern Africa at the age of three. It is a slice of Africa as seen, at once, from the perspective of the outsiders and from a girl (and later, young woman) who bonded with the continent. Though it focuses on Rhodesia during that country’s civil war, the setting moves to Malawi then Zambia as Fuller’s family finds new places to call home. The thread of the story, told with humor and insight, is more about her difficult family than about the countries and cultures in which she lives. Yet, those places shape the story as much as they shape the family and Fuller herself.

Finding New Venues for Professional Development
Providing professional development for staff often focuses on process, procedures, rules, and crisis management. Yet, as international educators, it is in our best interest – and often simply interesting – to get to know cultures with which we are not familiar. Tapping into this vested interest, use the ideas below to motivate staff in your office or organization to work together to learn about specific cultures (or learn more about specific cultures).

If you work in a one-person or small office, consider expanding these approaches to include colleagues on campus with whom you work cooperatively. Also, you may want to invite international education professionals from your area to join you through an online network or by finding times and places to get together in person.

6. Organizing a Staff Book Club
   Choose one of the books from the Thinking Outside the Book Suggested Readings or one suggested by a staff member. Ask everyone in the office who is interested in participating to read the book keeping in the mind the Thinking Outside the Book Reading Guidelines. Take 15 minutes (or more) at the end of the next staff meeting to discuss specifically what colleagues learned about the culture(s) in the story. One way to make this more manageable time-wise may be to have several staff divide up reporting on a book in chapters, thus one book may take four meetings to be reviewed in full.

   Variation – Excerpts from a New Perspective: Instead of reading an entire book (or as an additional exercise after reading and discussing the entire book), take an excerpt from the story to examine from two or more perspectives. The excerpt can be anything from a sentence to a few paragraphs or even an entire chapter. After reading the excerpt, try to imagine how the dialogue or description would be perceived if spoken or heard by people other than those who spoke or wrote them. For example, if a story concluded with “…and then the police arrived.” How might that phrase be read if set in South Africa during apartheid, after apartheid, or in the U.S. post -9/11 versus pre-9/11? How might the reaction vary for a member from either national culture based on race, economic class, or other important dimensions? And drawing from that, is it possible to extrapolate how authority is viewed in general within a given national culture?

7. Using Resources – The Invited Guest
   Invite an international student or scholar who is from the one of the cultures featured in the story to join the staff book club conversation. Ask them to offer their perspective on the conclusions you have drawn from the book. Before the conversation begins, make sure that everyone understands that no single representative from a particular culture is necessarily an “expert” on that culture. You do not want to put your guest on the spot; but to simply add an “insider’s” perspective. This approach would be most useful – and interesting – if the guest has also read the book.
8. Taking Advantage of Lectures
   Take advantage of lecturers who come to your campus or to the area who are from cultures about which you are curious. Before you attend the lecture, read a book the individual has written, or read a book set in their home culture, then see if their lecture reinforces or challenges your notion of the culture. Use the Thinking Outside the Book Reading Guidelines to formulate questions to ask the lecturer that will shed more light on what you have read with regard your understanding of the culture in question.
9. Writing to the Author – A Solitary or Shared Exercise
   Write a letter to the author asking about the culture featured in the story. Identify at least three different specific characters, situations, quotes, descriptions, etc, then explain what you learned about the story’s culture from each of these. Ask the author if your interpretation of the culture is the way s/he would see it. You can choose to send the letter or just keep it for your own review.
10. Combining Personal Development with Pleasure
    Wherever you are, find a comfortable chair, select a book from the reading list, use the guidelines in a way that best suits you, and start reading!

Specifically, do note that although these questions are worded to be used within the U.S. context, they can easily be adapted such that another culture stands in as the point of contrast. NAFSA colleagues living and working in other countries are encouraged to adjust the standpoint as beneficial.

Depending on your personal preference, you might review and consider this list of guidelines as you read your chosen novel so you can pick out cultural clues while the story unfolds; or you may wish to read them over after you turn the last page to help you reflect on what you may have learned about the culture or cultures in which the story was set.

These guidelines may be adapted for individual or group use when accessing the world through words….Happy reading!

12 Frameworks to Consider

1. GENDER: How did the role of gender compare in this book to your experiences?  Did men and women interact in a similar manner?  Was there a distinction in their roles?  How was sexuality expressed or repressed in the book?  How would you characterize communication between genders?  Did members of one gender dominate the other?
2. DAILY HABITS: Consider the daily living habits of the characters in the book. What did they eat, what was their home like, what did they do for leisure? Were these experiences familiar to you or did they involve new concepts? Would an “average U.S. American” be able to adapt to this lifestyle with ease? Why or why not?
3. WORK: What was the role of work in the book? Did the characters partake of work that would be commonly done in the U.S.? How did the working conditions compare? Was their any information about relationships with the boss, or colleagues – and any general views you could discern on the role of authority? What was valued with regard to work? Position? Salary? Hours worked? Was work more important to the characters than other activities/aspects of their lives?
4. POLITICS: Did politics have a role in the story? If so, what kind of political expression (or suppression) was there? Would similar political movements and actions be found in the U.S.?
5. TEN PERCENT CULTURE: Examine the cultural iceberg with regard to “surface culture” (the 10% of the iceberg that is above the water line). Did the reading confirm, challenge, or broaden your knowledge of the contrasting/other/new-to-you culture? What aspects of surface culture, such as art, music, dance, drama, were especially explored in the reading?
6. COMMUNICATION STYLES: What types of communication styles are expressed by the characters? Are they direct or indirect verbally? Did they rely more heavily on verbal or non-verbal cues for understanding one another? Likewise, are they direct or indirect in expressing emotions? Are the styles of the characters in sync or in conflict with one another?
7. NATURE: What is the relationship between humans and nature? Are humans cooperative, controlling, or resigned to the forces of nature? Is the setting such that nature plays a dominant role or is it more background? How does the newcomer experience nature?
8. INDIVIDUALITY/COLLECTIVE: The United States is routinely ranked as the most individualist among national cultures. What did the characters in the reading indicate about where the book’s cultures may fall on the continuum of individualist to collectivist? How do their standings facilitate or impede relationships among the characters?
9. THE TIMES and TIME: In what year or period of time was the story set? Does this influence what you can discern about what is “true” about the culture, or has the culture changed since that time? For example, a novel set in Moscow in the 1960’s would portray a very different culture than is the reality today. There is no doubt that some basic underlying cultural characteristics will remain the same or similar (language, food, certain ceremonies, relationship between humans and nature), but others may have changed drastically (attitude toward work, value placed on income, materialism, use of time, etc.). Also, how is the issue of time handled in the story? Are the cultures represented more oriented to clock or event time? Is the pace of life familiar to your experience?
10. NINETY PERCENT CULTURE: What other aspects of “deep culture” (the 90% of culture that is below the waterline in the iceberg analogy) are explored in this story? Were dimensions such as religion, class, sexuality, mental and physical ability explored, individualism/collectivism? Others? How were these experiences portrayed in light of your own experiences?
11. THE AUTHOR: What do you know about the author? Is the author’s age, gender, socio-economic position, ethnicity, race or other factors significant within the context of the culture about which the story is written? Does the author’s background influence what you can learn about the culture?
12. CLOSING THOUGHTS: What emotional reactions did you experience while reading this book? The above questions, while certainly important, break down dimensions based on intercultural theory and study. Also valid are the feelings – attractions or challenges – that you experienced throughout the book. Are you eager to learn more about this culture? Are there concerns that were raised for you based on the portrayal of the culture’s values? Did this reading confirm what you already knew or experienced? What was the basis of your assumptions? What is your experience with this culture?