What I Look For In Multicultural Literature

For those of you who follow my blog or any of my comments on romance and women's fiction, you know that I am a firm believer in stories that represent reality. I want stories that truly show the real world, whether it is a romance and a true growing relationship, or women's fiction with characters the reader can relate to. I want believability in the story. When it comes to multicultural romance and women's fiction, I stick to the same principal. The difficulty comes from the small tweak of making the story multicultural.

With multicultural romance or women's fiction, the author has the difficult task of weaving that cultural element in just like any other character. The "multicultural world" is a living, breathing entity within the story, and therefore, needs to be as authentic and genuine as the human characters in the story. And this is where it becomes difficult.

I see two different twists to this one that often result in rejections. Either the author does not take that world building far enough, or the world building becomes too extreme and often not acceptable to the reader.

When authors don't push the cultural element enough, the reader is left unsatisfied. Often, the author has simply made a reference that one or both characters are from a particular culture. Sometimes, it is simply a name, or a reference to something the person is cooking. While these might certainly be an element of the culture, this DOES NOT make it multicultural.

I also see authors claiming multicultural status by having the hero and heroine being from different cultures. Yes, this can certainly be a great storyline and one that is powerful, just having the two from different backgrounds is not enough. You have to do something with the cultures.

On the reverse side, some people have written fantastic multicultural projects, but the topic is just too much for the standard reader. I often think of the story, BATTLE HYMN OF A TIGER MOM by Amy Chua. Even though this is not fiction, when some people read this story, it often comes across as offensive to those who are outside of the culture. If you write a fiction story that is 100% authentic, you also have to stop and question how your readers will take it.

In the area of YA/MG stories, I think of SHABANU by Suzanne Fisher Staples. I have a lot of colleagues in education that simply have a hard time teaching this story because of some very authentic and real elements of the culture being portrayed.

It is a real fine line between too much and too little. It is also an issue of knowing how to truly blend that culture into the story so the reader is immersed in this unique world.

It is also for this reason that it is one of the toughest genres to write (and also one I tend to reject a lot). Execution is everything!

But, it does not mean I am not going to stop looking. And, if you want a great author to read, check out Anju Gattani! Great author!