The Porter is a new eight-episode fictional drama now streaming on CBC-TV. The show is inspired by real events and will celebrate the lives, stories, and achievements of the Black train porters and their families in the early 1920s who played an essential role in forming the many Black communities across Canada — including across the GTA. It airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV and is available on CBC Gem. Mouna Traoré is one of the local stars on the show. The Toronto native plays the character Marlene Massey.
Here are five great books that matter to her and what Traoré has to say about each.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Unfortunately, I saw the film before I knew the book even existed, and although they are very different, (I love both), I still wish I had read the novel first. It reads like a puzzle, and I think the deeper story is something that needs to be felt. The novel slowly builds momentum as the reader progresses through the six nested stories that span six lifetimes over many centuries. It blends genres and utilizes different writing styles to create a work of fiction that is brilliant and wholly unique. For me, the novel carries underlying messages about purpose, karma, and the evolution of the soul that I resonate with deeply. I think each person takes something different away after reading because of Mitchell’s subtle writing style, making it the kind of book you want to read again as soon as you finish.
Lilith’s Brood (Xenogenesis Trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler
This was my first foray into the world of Octavia E. Butler, and I was immediately taken by her unique style and perspective. This collection of books follows Lilith Iyapo as she awakes in a spacecraft after being asleep for centuries. The ship is controlled by alien life forms who are seeking to save humanity from extinction after an atomic war destroys most of the earth. I found Lilith’s journey to be utterly fascinating and disturbing, and it forced me to examine my own beliefs about society, family, humanity, as well what it means to be truly human.
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
I loved this novel as soon as I picked it up. It is an epic work of historical fiction that follows the life of an enslaved woman and French colonists on the island of Saint-Domingue prior to and during the Haitian Revolution. I love how well researched this novel is. In university, I majored in Caribbean studies and took a course on this specific time period in Haiti, and it was heartening to read a work of fiction that didn’t simplify or reduce the characters or their world.
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan
I was in a toxic relationship with a guy and he suggested I read this. I’m sure at the time it was a way for him to justify his bad behaviour, but I found the book to be very enlightening when it comes to understanding monogamy, sex and relationships. It debunks a lot of conventional beliefs and offers verifiable research, information and theories about the history and current state of human sexual behaviour. It really supported me in forming my own understanding of sex and relationships, and many of the subjects are great conversation starters!
Red Rising (series) by Pierce Brown
I have been a huge sci-fi fantasy fan since I was a kid, and the Red Rising series has got to be one of my favourite sagas of all time. Brown is a master at world-building, and this series completely sucks you into a dystopian future where humans have colonized and socially stratified the entire solar system using a colour-coded caste system. Brown is a genius, not only at developing complex characters and storylines, but also riveting plot twists that leave you on the edge of your seat. No other books have caused me to scream out loud at an airport or weep in my bed for hours.
