'Women's' books (not chick lit)

Rosy Posy

I have recently been enjoying reading books with strong female characters and feminist undertones. Would love some recommendations for more in this vein...

Anything by Anita Diamant, especially The Red Tent

Sugar Island by Sanjida O'Connell

Anything by Jane Austen

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival

SVG

Have you read any Margaret Atwood? My favourite of hers is Surfacing but I think most of her books would fit your criteria.

Denerick

Why pigeon hole them as 'womens books'? I'm genuinely curious. (I also wonder aloud about things like the Orange prize for women's fiction, but thats another matter)

Arlecchina

Seconding the Atwood rec.

If you're into Austen, then I'm sure you've read stuff from the three Brontës (Charlotte's Villette is my favourite.) Along similar lines, Gaskell's North and South has a great female lead in Margaret Hale.

Other authors to check out: Sarah Waters, Angela Carter, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver.

Rosy Posy

Denerick wrote: »

Why pigeon hole them as 'womens books'? I'm genuinely curious. (I also wonder aloud about things like the Orange prize for women's fiction, but thats another matter)

Books about women, from a women's point of view or with feminist leanings. Not necessarily to be read only by women, but in my experience a lot of men (my husband in particular) are not particularly interested. I suppose that because the majority of the literary cannon is biased in favor of describing the male experience, these books stand out as something different. I agree 'women's' books is probably not the best way to describe what I'm talking about but I have a new baby and my descriptive powers are not at their height (not sleeping a lot but reading HEAPS)

Rosy Posy

love Alice Walker and Toni Morrison...will check out the others- thanks

Denerick

Rosy Posy wrote: »

Books about women, from a women's point of view or with feminist leanings. Not necessarily to be read only by women, but in my experience a lot of men (my husband in particular) are not particularly interested. I suppose that because the majority of the literary cannon is biased in favor of describing the male experience, these books stand out as something different. I agree 'women's' books is probably not the best way to describe what I'm talking about but I have a new baby and my descriptive powers are not at their height (not sleeping a lot but reading HEAPS)

Is Anna Karina a feminist book?

Not all of us men are bear hunting, steak eating, backslapping brutes (Present company excepted, of course )

coffee_cake

i'll third atwood

emeraldstar

I second Sarah Waters.

biko

"The Mists of Avalon"

Amazon.com Review
Even readers who don't normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon's Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes. Young and old alike will enjoy this magical Arthurian reinvention by science fiction and fantasy veteran Marion Zimmer Bradley. --Bonnie Bouman

Jelly2

Kate O'Brien's books are really good. The Ante-Room is the most well known.

coffee_cake

Since avalon is being recommended, I can strongly recommend kate elliot's "crown of stars" series as well as the cold mage series. Also Katharine Kerr's deverry cycles. those are fantasy.

Kinski

I don't know that they have "strong" female characters exactly, but some suggestions: Doris Lessing's The Grass Is Singing (flawed, and very bleak, but an interesting read all the same); Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (I liked Esther Greenwood so much better than feckin' Holden Caulfield); Carson McCuller's The Member of the Wedding (I heart Carson).

emeraldstar

Kinski wrote: »

I don't know that they have "strong" female characters exactly, but some suggestions: Doris Lessing's The Grass Is Singing (flawed, and very bleak, but an interesting read all the same); Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (I liked Esther Greenwood so much better than feckin' Holden Caulfield); Carson McCuller's The Member of the Wedding (I heart Carson).

Oh gosh, I wouldn't recommend this. I struggled to finish it.

iguana

David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife is worth a look. It's set in two time periods, one modern day and the other at the establishment of the Mormon religion with particular attention paid to The Principle, ie polygamy. The historical part of the book is told through the fictional diary of the real life Ann Eliza Young who was one of the wives of the church's second prophet leader Brigham Young. The modern part of the book is told as standard first person fiction from the perspective of a young gay man who returns to the fundamentalist Mormon compound where Polygamy is still practised, that he grew up on after his mother is arrested for his father's murder.

Do NOT watch the television adaptation.

Callan57

I've recently been binging on Kate Atkinson & Joyce Carol Oates ... both brilliant IMHO

Toby Take a Bow

Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone tends to go down well with women readers, despite being written by a man. Three of my female friends read it and all enjoyed it. I too liked it.

I'd second (or third or fourth at this stage) Margaret Atwood, I can't think of a writer that would more fit into your description than her (feminist, female characters). Personal favourite would be The Handmaid's Tale. A definite feminist work, and absolutely brilliant.

Lorrie Moore is a writer I'm really enjoying at the moment. I haven't read much of her longer fiction, but her short stories are wonderful.

SBWife

Curtis Sittenfeld (yes, she's a woman) American Wife and Prep.
Kathryn Stocket - The Help
Anything written by Isabella Allende.

Callan57

Quite an interesting read is How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

and I absolutely second Margaret Atwood

amtw

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini.

A fantastic book with really strong female characters. This book was written (unbelievably) by a man, he also wrote The Kite Runner.

emeraldstar

emeraldstar wrote: »

Oh gosh, I wouldn't recommend this. I struggled to finish it.

So did I.

On the other hand, one Doris Lessing book I couldn't put down was The Good Terrorist.

Written in 1985, it's the story of a middle-class middle English university-educated thirtysomething woman who has rejected her upbringing and background in favour of a life of Marxism, squats and communes. The story is about how she organises a squat and gets drawn into a plan to commit violent acts. She is intelligent, organised and tough - but at the same time hopelessly naive.

The book is well written (though very much "of the 80s") and clips along at a fair old pace.

Highly recommended.

Callan57

The Cleft was the first Doris Lessing book I read & I thought it was magnificent

Travel is good

iguana wrote: »

David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife is worth a look. It's set in two time periods, one modern day and the other at the establishment of the Mormon religion with particular attention paid to The Principle, ie polygamy. The historical part of the book is told through the fictional diary of the real life Ann Eliza Young who was one of the wives of the church's second prophet leader Brigham Young. The modern part of the book is told as standard first person fiction from the perspective of a young gay man who returns to the fundamentalist Mormon compound where Polygamy is still practised, that he grew up on after his mother is arrested for his father's murder.

Do NOT watch the television adaptation.

This was a really good book, interesting story about polygamy in the US, among certain religions during the 19th century.

I also loved the Caitlin Moran book, and "She's come undone by Wally Lamb. I love all the Wally Lamb books.

I've just finished Patti Smith's autobiography, "Just Kids", you might like that too. A poignant story of her love affair and friendship with the artist/photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Patti started her career in New York, and it is really uplifting to hear how she started off and how she met Robert.

Animord

Somebody mentioned Amy Tan - I really loved her books when I was going through my last 'strong female' period. The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter's Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning - all brilliant books (imo).

Callan57

Animord wrote: »

Somebody mentioned Amy Tan - I really loved her books when I was going through my last 'strong female' period. The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter's Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning - all brilliant books (imo).

Oh yes absolutely brilliant writer.