To close off the FWG Awareness week for March, we’ve reached out to editors, authors, and publishers in the furry fandom to bring you a short reading list of works touching on post-colonialism and the development of cultural identity in former colonies. While not a common topic both within furry literature and outside it, such themes can be found in the stories listed here. Please bear in mind that this is by no means a comprehensive list, though!
Furry Short Stories:
- “We Are One” by Thurston Howl (from ROAR 8), a sci-fi horror story about finding a paradise supposedly untouched. To say more would give away spoilers.
- “Migration Season” by J.A. Noelle (from Seven Deadly Sins), a story about the clash between cultures and the cost of pride.
- “Long Time I Hunt” by Erin Lale (from ROAR 7), which follows a wild cat spirit through time, starting with its connection to Native Americans through to present day.
Furry Novels:
- Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada, which follows three generations of polar bears in a circus.
- Barsk: The Elephant’s Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen, set in the distant future where humans have vanished and their uplifted animal creations have built their own society.
You can find the furry anthologies and novels here:
- ROAR 8: https://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=905
- ROAR 7: https://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=877
- Seven Deadly Sins: http://thurstonhowlpub.storenvy.com/products/21737903-seven-deadly-sins-furry-confessions
- Memoirs of a Polar Bear: https://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Polar-Bear-Yoko-Tawada/dp/081122578X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521217819&sr=8-1&keywords=memoirs+of+a+polar+bear
- Barsk: https://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=838
Non-Furry Novels and Series:
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a novel with two overlapping story arcs, both of which focus on Okonkwo. The first arc focuses on his fall from grace within his tribe, and the second focuses on the culture clash that devastates Okonkwo’s world when aggressive European missionaries arrive.
- Cities of Salt by Abdul Rahman Munif, a story of the disruption to a poor oasis community after oil was found there.
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, set in Kerala, India, 1969, this story follows the trials and tribulations of a family as it tries to cope with cultural changes.
- The Alliance-Union books by C. J. Cherryh, an expansive series that follows Earth and its interstellar colonies as they declare independence, expand and encounter other species, and the conflicts that ensue.
- The Ancillary Trilogy by Ann Leckie follows a former ship’s AI trapped in a human body as she tries to learn what it means to be an individual, and uncover the act of treachery that tore her former life away.
(All of these can be found either at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com!)
Many thanks to Mary E. Lowd and Kiris, whose suggestions helped us put this list together!
Furry Writers’ Guild 