Monday, June 01, 2020

Seven novels that show the range and depth of gentrification fiction

Lisa Braxton is an essayist, short story writer, and novelist. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University, her Master of Science in Journalism Broadcasting from Northwestern University and her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media from Hampton University.

Her debut novel is The Talking Drum.

At CrimeReads, Braxton tagged "seven books [that] tackle the theme of gentrification through different lenses: eerie plots, a whodunnit-mystery, family drama, and reimagining of a classic tale." One title on the list:
Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

Family loyalty is tested in this novel in which mental illness is the centerpiece. Miranda is elder sister to Lucia, a brilliant journalist whose periodic descent into severe psychosis has taxed their relationship and left Miranda emotionally exhausted. The characters’ world comes to life in vivid descriptions of the gentrifying Lower East Side of 1990s New York City, the heavily immigrant towns along the Hudson River, and several communities in Ecuador.
Read about another entry on the list.

Everything Here is Beautiful is among Lynda Cohen Loigman's eight compelling books of sisterly friction.

My Book, The Movie: Everything Here Is Beautiful.

--Marshal Zeringue