BookTok…BookNot

The best book recommendations that you’ll never find on BookTok.

Dear Reader, 

Author Haruki Murakami once tweeted, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” Upon reading this, I was scared – petrified, actually. The first thing that came to mind was BookTok: even though I find great recommendations from it, it’s repetitive with what books it suggests to read, and worse, everybody reads BookTok recommendations. I swear, if I am recommended another Colleen Hoover book or They Both Die at the End one more time, I’ll go crazy. 

And so, I’ve taken it upon myself to curate a sophisticated, diverse, top-tier list of book recommendations. You’re welcome. 

The first book I recommend is The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya, a true story about the Rwanda Genocide, told through the eyes of a young girl over the course of her childhood and adolescence. This book not only explains the Rwanda Genocide in a comphrehensive way, but presents the life of a young woman who struggles to escape her war-torn past and start anew in the United States. 

Clementine, the author and main protagonist of the book, has a funny personality, and has even more funny childhood stories to tell – a welcome contrast to the slightly solemn tone of the book.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads is a good mix of history, adventure, and self-acceptance. If you’re interested in learning about the Rwanda Genocide in an educational and enternaining way, The Girl Who Smiled Beads is perfect. 

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway is similar to The Girl Who Smiled Beads, but nevertheless a book you should consider reading. If you know me, you know that I’m Bosnian, and that my love for Bosnia and Herzegovina is so great, it borders on annoying. The Cellist of Sarajevo is a fictional story based on true events: Bosnian cellist Verdan Smailović played Adagio in G Minor for twenty-two days in memory of twenty-two civilians who were killed in a street queue for bread. The book follows three (fictional) civilians – Dragan, Kenan, Arrow – and the Cellist. (Arrow is actually my favorite character; she is a sniper for Sarajevo Defense Corps, and in my opinion, so much cooler than Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games.)

If you want to learn about the Siege of Sarajevo without falling asleep to a dull book, read The Cellist of Sarajevo. Historical importance aside, The Cellist of Sarajevo is a highly-acclaimed historical fiction book, especially because it is adventurous, written incredibly well, and a page-turner!

Okay, I may or may not be recommending yet another semi-historical book. Actually, I will recommend three semi-historical books, all of which pertain to Russia. But don’t worry – I’m not going to recommend War and Peace, Anna Karenina, or anything that an old Russian man wrote in the late 18th century. 

Have you ever wondered who the daughter of Joseph Stalin (yes, the Joseph Stalin) was? I didn’t think so. In fact, up until I discovered Stalin’s Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan on my “recommended for you” list on ThriftBooks, I would’ve never guessed that the life of Svetlana Alliluyeva was not what I, nor the rest of the world, imagined. I mean, how many people are the daughter of a Russian dictator? Not many. 

Svetlana, much like Hannah Montana, is “no ordinary girl.” In addition to being the daughter of one of the world’s most hated men, and losing her mother at a very young age, she struggled to express herself and be accepted by other people, and was often misconstrued to be like her cruel father. Thankfully, Svetlana was the polar opposite of Stalin, and rebelled against him: after never stepping foot outside of Russian soil, at eighteen Svetlana finally decided to travel the world and see for herself what her father had shielded her from for so long. It was her defiance and curiosity that made her so well-read, inquisitive, and empathetic for other people. Her daring personality is what, I think, made her life so interesting to read about, in addition to the fact that she was constantly trying (and failing) to prove herself to the world. 

Though Stalin’s Daughter is an autobiography, readers will learn of Svetlana’s emotionally-taxing struggle to escape the Russia she knew, and the memories along with it. Having left Russia to embark on a new, unprecedented life, Svetlana struggled to “belong,” yet managed to make a family for herself, one that would be there for her when nobody else would. 

The next Russia-related book I recommend is A Terrible Country by Keith Gessen. To paint you a picture, A Terrible Country follows the life of Andrei Kaplan, a Russian-American scholar who moves back to Moscow amid the 2008 financial crisis. When his self-made brother asks him to take care of their grandma Seva, an eighty-nine year old woman with accelerating dementia, Kaplan reconnects not only with his beloved grandmother, but himself.

At the same time Andrei cares for his grandma, he observes the Russia his parents left behind, to pursue a better life in the United States. Andrei looks for a job amidst Russia’s economic chaos, tries to find true love; and, most importantly, tries to find his purpose in a country that has no guidance itself! 

I know that this book (like most of the ones I’ve recommended so far) sounds a tad glum, but Andrei Kaplan is an opinionated, knowledgeable, and relatable character. What makes this book especially interesting is the fact that he experienced life in both America and Russia, and couldn’t quite situate himself in either place. It’s his grandma Seva that explains her experience of watching her country win, fail, and everything in between, for all of her life. 

Perhaps reading A Terrible Country will give you an idea of what it’s like to live in Russia, and what its society values over anything else.  

I would also suggest A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova, a novel very similar to Keith Gessen’s A Terrible Country. This novel is about the author, Elena, and her childhood in Saint Petersburg, leading up to her immigration to America. 

The stories and memories that led up to Elena’s immigration include the wisdom of older people (such as her relatives who have lived amid the Soviet Union’s rule) and her own stories of school, family-life, and friendships. Her mother, who was a Doctor and professor in medicine, described Russia as “an ill country,” a notion that Elena didn’t understand herself until she grew older, and her perception of home changed. 

The decision to leave the only place a person calls home is a tough one, though it is something many people – not just in Russia and Ukraine – are bouting with today. Though this book explores the life of a Russian girl in Saint Petersburg, no matter where a person comes from, having to leave one’s home is never a thought people want to entertain. 

If you, like me, are the child of immigrant parents and are curious about the memories and stories that precede a person’s immigration, read this book. And if you don’t have immigrant parents, you should still read this book. 

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi is the best graphic novel that I’ve ever read (and no, it’s not historical fiction!). When famous musician Nasser Ali discovers that his beloved Tar is irreparably damaged, his heart is broken. The musician is so dejected that he finds no purpose in going on with life, takes to his bed, and eventually makes the decision to die. Over the course of eight days, as Nasser Ali deprives himself of everything he needs to live, he reflects on his family, marriage, and life-long friendships. 

Nasser Ali is a funny man. If the Tar was going down, so was he, basically. But, jokes aside, Chicken with Plums is a poignant story about a man who lets go of life, even though he isn’t sure if he wants to. Nasser Ali is a father, friend, and a romantic, who had aspirations he never fully achieved. He silenced the monotony of his life with his music; once he lost his ability to do so, he was subjected to his inescapable reality, once and for all. 

And finally, the last book: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha. I’d first like to say that I’ve read this book twice, and am looking forward to reading it again for the third time. 

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha is a novel that follows the lives of three roommates – Ara, a mute, KPOP-obsessed hairstylist; Kyuri, a financially-struggling waitress who is obsessively engrossed with her appearance; and Miho, a naturally beautiful and creatively talented artist. In the apartment below them is Wonna, an unhappily married woman who fears she will never be able to have a kid. Each of the four characters provides a glimpse of what South Korea demands of its people – ostentatious living, a picture-perfect life – through the individual perspectives of four women, all of whom have been devastated by life in a myriad of ways. 

Though each character had their own narrative to tell, they all suffered the brunt of South Korea’s cultural demands. And because Ara, Kyuri, Miho, and Wonna are different in their own ways, I especially liked to see which characters complied with South Korean culture and which didn’t. 

Much like the other books I’ve recommended, If I Had Your Face presents an interesting side of the world, one where cultural values can interrupt the quality of a person’s life. This novel, I think, is especially important to read because it explains the complexities of human connection, and how our values can prevent it. 

And I know that I may have recommended one, two, maybe five historical books. Repetitive as I may have been, you won’t find these suggestions plastered all over TikTok, and you’ll probably learn a lot about the world after reading these literary masterpieces. 

All I hope is that these book recommendations are a breath of fresh air – they sure were for me. If any of these happen to interest you, then I have done my job, and I expect a five-page book report on whatever book you read first, and the ones you’ll read next.

And, once again, you’re welcome.