Published in 1997 by Karen Tei Yamashita, Tropic of Orange is an interesting fictional novel that takes into consideration a wide variety of ideas and races. The genre unclear and debatable, the book for sure has a sense of 'magic realism' in it because of it's inclusion of things that could never possibly happen in places that less significant things like it have happened (set in Mexico and Los Angles, USA). The novel is part of a series written by Yamashita, being preceded by Brazil-Maru.
Karen Tei Yamashita was born in Oakland, California, but is of Japanese decent. At the University of California, she teaches Asian American literature, since she often writes in this style. Tropic of Orange was her third published novel, gaining more respect than it's literary predecessor. Like Tropic of Orange, many of her novels contain ideas that show how important it is to be involved in today's changing world, and the globalization of the planet.
