Artwork by Valeria Araya for ArtistsForClimate.org
Stick your nose in a land rights book
Land rights isn't just for policy makers and academics
From the greatest love stories ever told to grand adventures, period dramas and so much more - amazing stories about land rights are everywhere! You might even have some in your library.
Check back often as we collect popular titles of books written about and by women, youth, peasants, farmers, forest dwellers, fisher folk and Indigenous Peoples who have one thing in common - the fight for their right to land.
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Artwork by Borislava Karadjova (Borislava Madeit) for ArtistsForClimate.org
THINGS FALL APART (CHINUA ACHEBE)
NIGERIA, 1890s
Communal land ownership is the heart of traditions and identity for the Igbo clan in Nigeria. Okonkwo, our tragic hero, wins status and wealth because he's good at cultivating yams. He struggles with society’s idea of manliness. Meanwhile, the Igbo's culture and social fabric are violently threatened by British colonizers who impose a system of private land ownership and cashcropping. Things fall apart.
BRAIDING SWEETGRASS (ROBIN WALL KIMMERER)
UNITED STATES, 2013
In Robin Wall Kimmerer's memoir-like work of non-fiction, the botanist explores themes of colonization and displacement, writing about Indigenous Peoples' land stewardship practises, and their deep-rooted spiritual connection to their territories. She calls for restorative justice and reparation for Indigenous communities.
100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE (GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ)
COLOMBIA, TIMELESS
Welcome to Macondo, Colombia. Time might not exist, but yellow butterflies do. The Buendía family's fortune depends on the land. Macondo grows. A banana company pounces on the surrounding area, destroying the environment. The company massacres its underpaid workers. Aureliano falls in love with his aunt. A baby is born with a pig’s tail.
HOUSE OF EARTH (WOODIE GUTHRIE)
UNITED STATES, 1930S
A really passionate couple gives birth while building a house on the land they farm. The land they farm isn't theirs because of big ag and banks. ouch. They remain hopeful because 'this land was made for you and me.' Also, Guthrie might have predicted global warming.
GONE WITH THE WIND (MARGARET MITCHELL)
UNITED STATES, 1861 - 1873
In Georgia during the Civil War, Scarlett O'Hara fights to protect her family's plantation, Tara, vowing to never be poor again. She becomes a business woman in Atlanta and falls in love with Ashley, her cousin's husband. Her selfish pursuits lead her to lose 3 husbands and her dignity. But it's ok because she still has Tara and “tomorrow is another day.” Trigger warning: expect racism, miscarriages, and war scenes.
THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS (ARUNDHATI ROY)
INDIA, 1969 - 1993
In post-colonial India, Ammu leaves her abusive husband. Because of gendered land inheritance laws, she eventually dies poor. Before that, she has a passionate affair with Velutha. Their lovemaking stops time. Velutha, an 'untouchable,' cannot own land and joins the Communist movement to redistribute it. He is violently murdered because of his love for Ammu. Expect a sorrowful, if poetic, ending.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH (JOHN STEINBECK)
UNITED STATES, 1939
Land lord evicts tenant farmers. evicted farmers lose land and identity. Despearte, they migrate. They find terrible work. Also, they survive, disrupt power, and some good things happen. Oh, and their ecosystem desperately needs restoring.
ANNA KARENINA (LEO TOLSTOY)
RUSSIA, 1874
Yes, Anna's love life is a trainwreck, but whose isn't? 1800s commentary on farmers rooted to their land and the dizzying life in industrializing cities. Also, peasants are freed from serfdom and no longer have to slave away for super rich land owners.
CROOKED PLOW (Itamar Vieira Junior)
BRAZIL, LATE 1800S
Welcome to Brazil. Slaves have been 'freed.' Despite this, they are prevented from owning the land they harvest. Two Afro-Brazilian sisters sneak into abuela's room and find a magic knife under the bed. Things get tragic. Expect themes on women, race, and land.
No time for novels?
Check out our photo essays from real people fighting for land rights
