November and December Book Picks: Family Sagas

And now we come to the time of year that it is most difficult to read a book. However, I am aiming high with family sagas for November/December. Family saga fiction tends to be hefty reading, so why now? Because it is a season of family and a good time to remind myself. Family saga novels generally tend to play out over a period of time. This gives us the chance to really get to know our characters. Villains don’t seem so villainous when they are portrayed over a period of time, and good people don’t look so good after getting to know them at length. In the end it is books like these that show us our flawed humanity. These novels are well-known classic reads which include two multicultural family sagas. So, pick one or pick all November and December book picks to read and share your thoughts below.

November and December Book Picks

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. This has been on my list for quite a while and highly recommended. There is a TV adaption, but I have not seen it. The story line involves the decline and division of a prosperous English family over several generations in the early 20th century. An exiled son abandons his wife for the governess, a landowner who views his wife as his property and commits an unspeakable crime against her, a jilted young woman betrayed by her best friend, an adulterous wife, and family grudges. Yet, despite all this is a certain moral ambiguity that exists as the characters show us we are all flawed.

The Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. One of my college reads but am pulling it out again because it has been so long. Like the Forsyte Saga, juicy storylines dominate with strong themes of decadence. And like the Forsyte Saga there is a presence of moral ambiguity as we witness the decline of a successful German family to their eventual extinction at their own hands. Several generations of Buddenbrooks make decisions that alter the course of their lives and the family fortune which eventually runs out.

The House of Spirits by Isabella Allende . And I cannot even believe I have not read this by now. This novel details four generations of the Trueba family in post-colonial Chile. Clara, the matriarch is endowed with mystical powers that help shape the course of the Trueba family. This novel is intriguing, and I am looking forward to this one.

Makioki Girls by Junichiro Tanazaki. The prestigious and traditional Osaka family faces a culture clash with the reality of the new modern world and their changing family. Their four daughters are young adults trying to make their way in the world pre-WW2 with life decisions that often fly in the face of tradition. Arguably one of the greatest novels in Japanese literature.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. The story begins with a teenage girl, Sunja who finds herself in a comprising position when she becomes pregnant by a wealthy man. She takes the harder road and marries a minister she meets. The story has a broad range of characters with themes of racism and stereotypes in this little-known period of Japanese occupation in Korea.

Enjoy your reading!