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California Uncovered: Stories For The 21st Century
Hear and feel this dynamic California in the words of established writers like John Steinbeck, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Joan Didion, as well as compelling new voices that reveal California in all its complexity. California Uncovered is a central component of the California Stories Uncovered campaign—a statewide program sponsored by the California Council for the Humanities designed to inspire people to tell and listen to stories that get at the reality beneath the headlines, statistics, and stereotypes about the state and its people.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
379 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
About the author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
65 books7,184 followersChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.Her novels One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart and Palace of Illusions are currently in the process of being made into movies. http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books.... Her newest novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman.") Simon & Schuster.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 4, 2011
some stories better than others. gave a good overview of a number of different perspectives of california. However, I felt that all of the perspectives were of relatively recent immigrants-- what does it mean to be a native son? are there any?
January 24, 2012
A diverse assortment of stories/poems shedding different lights on the California Myth. I'm a California "native son" who had it easy compared to most of the immigrants, railroad workers, and various "outsiders" written about in this book (In fact, just about everyone I know is, or was brought here by, "outsiders"). Out here, with our mild climate and freeway-close access to mountains, deserts, ocean, etc. it's easy to forget that this place has been the "end of the line" for American easterners, Central and South Americans, people from the Pacific Rim and other places worldwide for many, many years. A good read and eye-opener for someone who grew up just down the street from D.J. Waldie's suburban "Holy Land," which is excerpted in this book.
September 1, 2007
A great anthology which includes excerpts from The Kite Runner, The White Boy Shuffle and Where I Was From, among others, as well as great short stories all about life in California (the best place ever). The editors did a fabulous job choosing works that reflect the diversity of this great state. Its history of Japanese immigrants, what it’s like as a farmer, a tale of young surfer black boys moving to the hood. It really is worth the read.
November 21, 2017
This is an interesting and yet sometimes uncomfortable read. The stories are meant to celebrate an kind of "California Exceptionalism." It is true, statistically, that the demographics of the State reflect a migration of peoples, of which more than half are not Native Californians.
This book explores an exceptionalism of what kind of literature is being created in California, and what kind of literature best represents California. Are we learning from this clash of cultures? The stories themselves reflect this struggle - that on one hand can be funny and profound, and yet also reflect an hostility and defiance.
The stories are not arranged thematically, but an index in the back of the book explains where to locate the themes ( Loss, Discovery, Encounters, Becoming a Californian) by page number. Should one decide to have a group discussion, there is a discussion guide at the back of the book as well.
This book explores an exceptionalism of what kind of literature is being created in California, and what kind of literature best represents California. Are we learning from this clash of cultures? The stories themselves reflect this struggle - that on one hand can be funny and profound, and yet also reflect an hostility and defiance.
The stories are not arranged thematically, but an index in the back of the book explains where to locate the themes ( Loss, Discovery, Encounters, Becoming a Californian) by page number. Should one decide to have a group discussion, there is a discussion guide at the back of the book as well.
March 18, 2017
What is the California experience from diverse perspectives? California was built by immigrants
and this book brings insight into their experience. Further what is California? I think we as a nation are a culture of movers even while we like to have someplace we identify as home. This book is why I like reading: learning to see the world through others' eyes.
and this book brings insight into their experience. Further what is California? I think we as a nation are a culture of movers even while we like to have someplace we identify as home. This book is why I like reading: learning to see the world through others' eyes.
January 24, 2009
California history and culture is one of my favorite subjects and this is a great assembly of California writers speaking of their experiences today.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews