One of my goals this year is to read more diverse books. This doesn't just mean race, gender, or sexuality; I'm also interested in seeing different nationalities and reading about characters who are from places other than America. It helps that I'm taking a class centered around transnational literature! Here I've compiled a list of five novels that I'll be reading this semester that I recommend checking out.

1. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García

This novel tells the family story of Celia del Pino, her husband, daughter, and grandchildren. It's set in the mid-1930s to 1980 during the Cuban revolution. Celia's family is divided by politics and geology during this time period.

2. Dragonfish by Vu Tran

This thrilling novel tells the story an Oakland cop, Robert, who can't let go of his Vietnamese wife who left two years prior. Her new husband, a Vietnamese smuggler and gambler, blackmails Robert into finding her for him when she disappears for a second time. As Robert searches for her through the underbelly of Las Vegas, he finds himself learning more about his ex-wife.

3. Exit West by Moshin Hamid

The unnamed country these two young people meet, Nadia and Saeed, is falling into a civil war. As they begin their love affair, their intimacy kickstarts by the stress of the city's unrest. When the bombs explode, they hear about the doors that take people to a faraway place. The lovers decide they have no choice and find a door.

4. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

In the aftermath of Germany's bombing of Warsaw, the city's zoo fills their empty cages with Jews as they escape from Germany. The keepers of the zoo take care of both the human and remaining animal inhabitants of the zoo. This novel is based off a true story.

5. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

This story is told from the point of view of a communist double agent. He is a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arrives in America building his life as a Vietnamese refugee in Los Angeles. The whole time, he is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors. It's an exploration of identity while also being a thrilling spy novel.