Read this historical novel about protests and community
Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
What to Read This Week
Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
What It’s About
While this book was published in 2016, it feels as though it could have been published yesterday, with the main events of the book actually taking place in 1999.Â
In 1999, Seattle was selected to host the WTO Ministerial Conference, dealing with trade and organization rules of trade between nations. This spawned a series of large, organized protests across the city, especially as the conference approached and delegates from around the world began arriving.Â
The book recounts one afternoon during the protests, following several characters as they try to make their way around the city safely—from Victor, a young man who ran away from home to sell marijuana to the protestors to the police chief in charge of maintaining order across the city. There are protestors who are trying to remain peaceful no matter what, and people not involved with the protest trying to cause mass chaos.Â
It’s a surreal book to read after the events of the summer of 2020, but an increasingly important one, to learn about the effectiveness and use for protesting city-wide. Yapa’s writing is also incredibly propulsive and feels like it transcends time and reader, like it’s meant to speak to you, directly, right now, and only you.Â
Who Will Like It
Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award, but since that’s a less-well-known award, this one may have flown under many award reader radars. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading the NYT Best Books of the Year, Pulitzer Prizes, or National Book Awards. It’s one that is well worthy of its distinction and should be added to more of these lists.Â
It’s also a great fiction pick for anyone who has read books like Stamped from the Beginning or The 1619 Project and wants to read more about protesting, systemic change, and marginalized communities from a fictionalized, storied perspective.Â
Next Up
I’m on a YA kick at the moment, tearing through Night Bus, a graphic novel about different young people on a bus that takes them through fantastical landscapes and prompts them to think about the change in their own lives. I’m also starting You’ve Reached Sam, a book about a young couple who’s careful plans are upheaved in one tragic moment.Â
Let me know what you’re reading in the comments!
More Books
Can’t get enough, or looking for a different recommendation? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations:Â
This newsletter is sponsored by Can We Read?. Check out this post for more information, or a recent issue to get an idea of what it’s like. Thank you to Can We Read? for sponsoring!
Reply to this newsletter to inquire about sponsoring a newsletter and featuring your book or publication!