Dark Princess Book

I did not dive into this book at all. I felt like I was just pulling myself through the pages. This is a story about an African American doctor falling in love with an Indian Princess. They went through ups and downs but the drive of love took them through the difficulties and struggles that the society brought them. In the end, it reveals that they will be expecting a baby soon, a baby that is mixed race. I don't think the author did a good job on portraying the characters neither. They don't seem real. They have their own problems but they always tent to solve it in a rational way, which is not how people always solve problems. Also, the way they express their love is way too dramatic and I found it hard to believe. Even though I was unable to dive into the story, I liked the how the story had an open ended ending that allows the readers interpret it in their own ways.

I would probably not teach this book in a secondary classroom because there are better books that are relatable to the students that illustrates race, gender and class. The relationship between Matthew and Kautilya's love is somewhat complicated because of the politics and class issues, it might be a little bit too hard for the students to understand.

If I had to teach this book, I would use literary theories because if issues are viewed through one lens, then it's easier for the students to dig deeper. Because Kautilya and Matthew traveled around the world to conferences, they met a lot of people that spoke different kinds of Englishes. I could use the dialogues in this book to teach World Englishes as well as prescriptive/descriptive grammar.