Nov 15, 2021
What a delight to chat with world traveler and book lover Carol Yee about her favorite book. “The World Unseen” is a slim love story that manages to touch on racial, sexual, and political tensions, while somehow manages to also be a compelling love story. We also discuss how travel and reading are similar, and the rules of Turkish coffee.
One note about our conversation: Carol and I use the word “colored” a lot in the context of the book, which is the correct terminology for the time and place this book is set. When Carol and I talk about this term, we are, in fact, discussing the ridiculousness of these complex and nonsensical forms of racist distinctions. We talk about the traditions of a culture we are unfamiliar with, and grapple with the social implications of such distinctions, and, as always, marvel at the way fiction can bring us to the truths of the lives of other people.
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Host: Julie Strauss
Guest: Carol Yee
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Discussed in this episode:
The World Unseen by Shamim Sarif
Welcome Back to Abuja Once Again: How I Became a Citizen of the World by Carol J. Yee
Georgetown University Book Creators Program
I Can’t Think Straight (Movie)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I Can’t Think Straight by Shamim Sarif
Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif
The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif
The Shadow Mission by Shamim Sarif
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman
From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Many Meanings of Meilan by Andrea Wang
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