Rich and royal characters are a mainstay in literature. We do like to know what it is like to have it all. To live in opulence and navigate the world with ease is something we are told to aspire to, so culturally we gravitate to depictions of wealth and plentitude. Plus, we also love learning that wealth cannot buy happiness, but I digress. The well-off are well represented in literature, so I appreciate when fiction of all genres feature characters who struggle in every day ways to make ends meet while their lives and concerns are given center stage in a story. It's nice to read novels in which you do not have to be rich to be matter. Here are some books that turn the limelight on economically disadvantaged characters, who also deserve our attention and emotional investment.
Fantasy especially has historically favored royalty or chosen one narratives, so it's oh so nice when the MC knows what it means to miss a meal or fight for your day to day survival. Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind was a breath of fresh air when it arrived on the epic fantasy scene with its ragged hero Kvothe accounting for every coin he needed to get his education amongst his 'betters.' Here are two recent dark fantasy novels featuring scrappy heroines that come to mind:
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Opal lives in a motel with her biracial brother, Jasper, after their mother died in a car accident. Opal knows that she is not liked in the town, that she is seen as the loser daughter born of a wild woman, so she carves her way through the town with arch, stubborn pride despite the disdain and dismissal. But she feels an odd pull to the mysterious Starling House whose history and present is wrapped in ominous rumors. When Opal becomes a housekeeper for the infamous house, she makes sure to pocket some of the fine silverwear (and sell it on eBay). This dark Gothic novel set in Kentucky features a heroine whose survival instincts were borne of deprivation, but may serve her in ways she never dreamed.
Book of Night by Holly Black is her first foray into the adult fiction realm, delivering an even darker and edgier fantasy than her YA. Charlie Hall is a con-artist working as a bartender in a world where shadows have power and some can wield them for some pretty bad deeds. An incident from Charlie's past resurfaces, stirring up a cauldron of risk and danger she thought she had dodged. Gritty and realistic, Charlie's background as a scheming survivor plays a major part in this compelling urban fantasy.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid delves into the heart of class and race in this compelling, character-driven debut. Emira is a Black college student working as a nanny for Alix, a rich white woman building her empire as an online influencer. When Emira takes Alix's daughter to the corner store and finds herself the victim of racial profiling and footage of the encounter leaks, both Emira and Alix find their personal and professional lives under pressure and scrutiny in this smart, insightful, and nuanced novel.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones is an homage to the slasher, narrated by the sarcastic teenager Jade Daniels. Jade's town was the site of a mass murder years before at the summer camp nearby, and she has the sneaking suspicion--and even a death-wish, really--that they are poised for a repeat. The signs start to align, and Jade is busy looking around for the final girl--because it couldn't possibly be her, could it? Jade is an indigenous teenager with a troubled family history who has had to care for herself most of her life.
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan is a short novel set in a Red Lobster restaurant in Connecticut during a snowstorm. O'Nan has been called a "bard of the working class" for his propensity for exploring the lives of blue collar and everyday people. Manny is a marvelous main character, a manager at the restaurant, whose dedication to food service work and his crew is depicted with such an honorable lens. If you ever worked in fast food, or even if you didn't, this book brings that hectic world to life in vivid detail.
What are some of your favorite books featuring characters struggling to make ends meet?
~Posted by Misha S.
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