A 19th-century bookbinder struggles with race and identity in 'The Library Thief'

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/ [login to see] /kuchenga-shenje-the-library-thief-book-review
The examination of race and identity can be seen throughout literature, and increasingly today.

In her debut novel, The Library Thief, Kuchenga Shenjé explores these concepts — and the associated expectations that arise when society demands that every group be neatly categorized. Shenjé delves into the past in this work of historical fiction, posing inquiries about Black people's lives in the Victorian era.