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[tuxedo_cat]

Lone Star!  Must do Lone Star -- such a wonderful film, and also such a brilliant demonstration of all the border issues that have been taken up theoretically in cultural studies.  And students eat that up, plus the film tends to make them come up with smart insights, somehow.  It's weird when a film or novel can do that.  It also shows the split within the Latino community about immigration issues, which is something that the mainstream media don't really pay much attention to.  I imagine there may be some interesting critiques about the film, too, given that Sayles is not Latino.  That and the Cisneros title story (that single one is pretty short) would pair well and provide some good counterpoint to all the sh!t going on right now about anchor babies and the 14th amendment, etc.

Maxine Hong Kingston: I love her writing, but she is a big challenge to teach.

As for boundaries -- well, this is a whole other ethnic group, but of course the radically different ways in which Native Americans imagine boundaries (or the lack of them), and how the whole notion of ownership of land requires the idea of such boundaries.  On that issue I've had students read Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, a profoundly beautiful book, but also maybe a bit of a challenge for first-year students, pretty non-linear.  You might want to read it yourself if you haven't, just for the enjoyment, and to see more from that perspective.

[barred_owl]

You might consider The Latehomecomer, by Kao Kalia Yang, t_r_b.  It's more autobiography/memoir than novel, but it concerns the Hmong and their journey from Laos to Thailand to the upper Midwest U.S.  I'll p.m. you with more details.

[yellowtractor]

Another vote for Oscar Wao, though as others have noted it depends on how advanced your students are.  As for crossing boundaries, there are plenty here, in terms of diction, adult themes, etc.  It's all about transgression--in the moment--though through the flashbacks it's also very much about history, the relationship of past to present.  Even if you don't end up assigning it, I would recommend reading it.  (If you're pressed for time, I can also recommend--yes, yes, it's blasphemy--the very good audiobook version.)

If it were up to me, I'd probably pair Oscar Wao with Chang-Rae Lee's Native Speaker--similar themes, in a sociological sense, but otherwise very, very different books.

[ideagirl]

I'll be prepping a new first-year seminar in the spring and am looking for a novel to include in the syllabus. Any suggestions would be welcome. Ideally, I'd like a book set somewhere between the mid-1900s and early 2000s that provocatively addresses the experiences of Latinos and/or Asian Americans (broadly defined) and themes of immigration and/or living on/around a national border and/or more figurative kinds of boundary-crossing. A traditional college-aged protagonist would be nice. I'm thinking 150-300 pages, though that's negotiable. And it needs to grab and hold the attention of eighteen-year-olds.

Any ideas?

Sure! These rae both just a touch above 300 pages, and the protagonists are adolescents. The first one's set in the 80s and the second in the 70s. They both address immigration and cross-cultural themes:

Sung J. Woo, "Everything Asian"
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Asian-Sung-J-Woo/dp/0312538855

Gish Jen, "Mona in the Promised Land"
http://www.amazon.com/Mona-Promised-Land-Gish-Jen/dp/0679776508

[t_r_b]

Lone Star!  Must do Lone Star -- such a wonderful film, and also such a brilliant demonstration of all the border issues that have been taken up theoretically in cultural studies. 

Oh hell yeah. That one has been in the syllabus since long before there was a syllabus.

That and the Cisneros title story (that single one is pretty short) would pair well and provide some good counterpoint to all the sh!t going on right now about anchor babies and the 14th amendment, etc.

Thank you for the suggestion - I'll check it out.

As for boundaries -- well, this is a whole other ethnic group, but of course the radically different ways in which Native Americans imagine boundaries (or the lack of them), and how the whole notion of ownership of land requires the idea of such boundaries. 

Yes. I left Native Americans out of the OP because they are already pretty well represented in the syllabus, and I'm trying to add a bit more breadth. That said, I would gladly make room in the syllabus for relevant Native American-authored short fiction. Suggestions of specific short stories would be most welcome.

On that issue I've had students read Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, a profoundly beautiful book, but also maybe a bit of a challenge for first-year students, pretty non-linear.  You might want to read it yourself if you haven't, just for the enjoyment, and to see more from that perspective.

Thank you: I'll take a look.

TRB, first-years at my place could definitely do Oscar Wao.  No trouble at all.  Since you know where I teach, that bit of info might help with your decision.

I think the first-year students at my place are a bit behind the ones at your place. Think B-average students from (all too often) underfunded rural high schools. Also, this course will be an elective, and may well draw students who are struggling in their first year.

That said, while our students may trail yours academically, they could more than hold their own at competitive drinking. We do have our pride, you see.

I've not read Days of Awe, but I just read about it on Obejas' website, and it sounds great.

That was my thought as well.

Many thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I am most definitely NOT a lit person, and this is not a lit course, so using fiction is stepping out on a limb for me. It's great to get so many ideas (and especially to see knowledgeable people discussing the books' merits in the classroom). Please keep it coming, as the spirit moves you.

[systeme_d_]

That said, while our students may trail yours academically, they could more than hold their own at competitive drinking. We do have our pride, you see.

If you heard any of the (several!) news stories about fraternities and sororities at my place last year, you'd understand why I'd bet on my students to keep up with yours, but I'd bet on your students to keep more down.

[aandsdean]

I like Oscar Wao and several other suggestions (Sandra Cisneros, for example), but I'd like to put in a word for Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban.  I taught it about 10 years ago in a class on contemporary multicultural fiction that took in some of the ideas TRB is considering (border crossing, immigrant experience, etc.), and it was by far the favorite of the students, two of whom went on to earn graduate degrees in English.

It is a truly wonderful book and doesn't get nearly enough attention.

[elsie]

Another one that comes to mind is Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel American Born Chinese. Yang intermixes the adventures of the Monkey King, a boy named Danny whose cousin has just arrived from China, and another boy named Jin Wang who is the only Chinese American in his new school.

[dr_prephd]

TC Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain

Yes, this one. Paints quite a dramatic contrast between some Mexican immigrants and the rich folks up the canyon