Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Gender
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
A story of courtship, romance and social class in which a young woman discovers her own identity.
The novel is set in rural England in the early 19th century. Mrs. Bennet attempts to persuade Mr. Bennet to visit Mr. Bingley, a rich bachelor recently arrived in the neighbourhood. After some verbal ... (Wikipedia)
Persepolis, Volume 1
by Marjane Satrapi
A graphic novel narrative of a young girl's coming of age during the Iranian Revolution.
Note: The summary of the English editions of the novel is divided into two sections, one for each book. Persepolis 1 begins by introducing Marji, the ten-year-old protagonist. Set in 1980, the novel ... (Wikipedia)
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel
An autobiographical story of a daughter's complex relationship with her father and her own journey of self-discovery.
The narrative of Fun Home is non-linear and recursive. , Incidents are told and re-told in the light of new information or themes. , Bechdel describes the structure of Fun Home as a labyrinth , ... (Wikipedia)
The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner
Tragic story of the decline of a southern family, exploring the human condition.
The first section of the novel is narrated by Benjamin "Benjy" Compson, a source of shame to the family due to his diminished mental capacity; the only characters who show genuine care for him are ... (Wikipedia)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
A woman's journey of self-discovery, liberation and empowerment.
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person – no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three ... (Goodreads)
Disgrace
by J.M. Coetzee
A professor's fall from grace in post-apartheid South Africa, reckoning with the consequences of his actions.
David Lurie is a South African professor of English who loses everything: his reputation, his job, his peace of mind, his dreams of artistic success, and finally even his ability to protect his own ... (Wikipedia)
Women
by Charles Bukowski
A collection of stories exploring the lives of various women and their relationships with men.
Women focuses on the many dissatisfactions Chinaski faced with each new woman he encountered. One of the women featured in the book is a character named Lydia Vance; she is based on Bukowski's ... (Wikipedia)
A Mercy
by Toni Morrison
An exploration of the human condition and the consequences of slavery in America.
In the 1680s the slave trade in the Americas is still in its infancy. Jacob Vaark is an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh North. Despite his distaste for dealing in ... (Goodreads)
The Color Purple
by Alice Walker
A young woman's story of resilience, finding her voice and identity against the odds.
Celie is a poor, uneducated 14-year-old girl living in the Southern United States in the early 1900s. She writes letters to God because the man she thought was her father, Alphonso, beats and rapes ... (Wikipedia)
The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction
by Michel Foucault
Examination of the power dynamics and social constructions of sexual behavior.
Michel Foucault offers an iconoclastic exploration of why we feel compelled to continually analyze and discuss sex, and of the social and mental mechanisms of power that cause us to direct the ... (Goodreads)
Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics
by bell hooks
Exploration of feminist thought and its applications to everyday life.
Acclaimed cultural critic bell hooks offers an open-hearted and welcoming vision of gender, sexuality, and society in this inspiring and accessible volume. In engaging and provocative style, bell ... (Goodreads)
Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Story of two sisters navigating a civil war in Nigeria, and the effects of colonialism.
The novel takes place in Nigeria prior to and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70). The effect of the war is shown through the relationships of five people's lives including the twin daughters of ... (Wikipedia)
The Blind Assassin
by Margaret Atwood
A complex, interwoven story of family secrets, love, tragedy, and mystery.
The novel's protagonist , Iris Chase, and her sister Laura, grow up well-off but motherless in a small town in southern Ontario. As an old woman, Iris recalls the events and relationships of her ... (Wikipedia)
Alias Grace
by Margaret Atwood
A psychological thriller that examines the true story of a 19th century Canadian murderess.
Grace Marks, the convicted murderess, has been hired out from prison to serve as a domestic servant in the home of the Governor of the penitentiary. A Committee of gentlemen and ladies from the ... (Wikipedia)
The Complete Novels
by Jane Austen
Collection of six classic novels exploring the romance, comedy, and tragedy of life in 19th century England.
This new, enhanced leather-bound edition includes all the completed novels of beloved author Jane Austen. Jane Austen’s stories of clever women, elusive love, and social mores have struck a chord ... (Barnes & Noble)
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
by Balli Kaur Jaswal
An unlikely group of women come together to embrace their freedom and explore their sexuality.
Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages—a spicy and alluring mix of, Together Tea, ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Woman Destroyed
by Simone de Beauvoir
A collection of three novellas exploring the consequences of societal expectations on women's lives.
Three long stories that draw the reader into the lives of three women, all past their first youth, all facing unexpected crises. ... (Goodreads)
The Woman in White
by Wilkie Collins
A thrilling mystery of secrets and hidden identities, with a hero on a quest for the truth.
Walter Hartright, a young art teacher, encounters and gives directions to a mysterious and distressed woman dressed entirely in white, lost in London; he is later informed by policemen that she has ... (Wikipedia)
Orlando
by Virginia Woolf
A fantastical journey through history and gender, exploring the complexities of identity.
The eponymous hero is born as a male nobleman in England during the reign of Elizabeth I . He undergoes a mysterious change of sex at the age of about 30 and lives on for more than 300 years into ... (Wikipedia)
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
by David Foster Wallace
Collection of stories exploring male relationships and the complexities of human behavior.
In his startling and singular new short story collection, David Foster Wallace nudges at the boundaries of fiction with inimitable wit and seductive intelligence. Venturing inside minds and ... (Goodreads)
The World According to Garp
by John Irving
A humorous and heart-wrenching journey of life, love and literature.
This is the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields—a feminist leader ahead of her times. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; theirs is a ... (Goodreads)
Shirley
by Charlotte Brontë
A young woman's turbulent journey to find her place in a restrictive society.
Robert Moore is a mill owner noted for apparent ruthlessness towards his employees. He has laid off many of them, and is apparently indifferent to their consequent impoverishment. In fact he had no ... (Wikipedia)
The Power
by Naomi Alderman
A world where women have the power to control electricity, and use it to fight against gender-based oppression.
In a matriarchal society, a gushing male writer writes to an influential author about his fictional account of how the matriarchy came to be. Five thousand years earlier (in our current time), men ... (Wikipedia)
Lady Chatterley's Lover
by D.H. Lawrence
A working-class man's affair with an aristocratic woman, and their coming to terms with the strictures of society.
Lawrence's frank portrayal of an extramarital affair and the explicit sexual explorations of its central characters caused this controversial book, now considered a masterpiece, to be banned as ... (Goodreads)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
An empowering story of female friendship, courage, and detective work in Botswana.
Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, ... (Goodreads)
The Buddha in the Attic
by Julie Otsuka
A story of Japanese picture brides, told through a chorus of their collective voice.
There is no plot in the usual sense of specific individuals going through particular events. The novel is told in the first person plural, from the point of view of many girls and women, none of whom ... (Wikipedia)
The Thing Around Your Neck
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Collection of stories about the struggles and triumphs of Nigerian immigrants in America.
Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, the stories in The Thing Around Your Neck map, with Adichie's signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply ... (Goodreads)
Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
by Christopher Ryan
An exploration of the evolutionary and cultural origins of human sexuality.
Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science–as well as religious and cultural institutions--has maintained that men and women evolved ... (Goodreads)
The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A collection of short stories exploring the struggles of women in a patriarchal society.
Best known for the 1892 title story of this collection, a harrowing tale of a woman's descent into madness, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote more than 200 other short stories. Seven of her finest are ... (Goodreads)
The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings
by Octavio Paz
Investigation of Mexican culture, challenging traditional values and exploring ideas of solitude.
Octavio Paz has long been acknowledged as Mexico's foremost writer and critic. In this international classic, Paz has written one of the most enduring and powerful works ever created on Mexico and ... (Goodreads)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
Story of two women in 19th-century China, exploring the power of female friendship.
In rural Hunan province called Puwei (nicknamed the Common Beauty Village), a county in China, Lily is destined to become a, laotong, pair with Snow Flower, a girl of the same age from Tongkou (the ... (Wikipedia)
Assata: An Autobiography
by Assata Shakur
A powerful memoir of her struggles and triumphs in the face of racism and oppression.
On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the ... (Goodreads)
Every Day
by David Levithan
A story of love, identity and acceptance, as a person wakes up in a different body each day.
Every Day is about the story of A, a person who wakes up occupying a different body each day. As described by Frank Bruni of The New York Times , "A. doesn't have a real name, presumably because they ... (Wikipedia)
To the Lighthouse
by Virginia Woolf
Exploration of the complexities of human relationships and family life.
The novel is set in the Ramsays' summer home in the Hebrides , on the Isle of Skye . The section begins with Mrs Ramsay assuring her son James that they should be able to visit the lighthouse on the ... (Wikipedia)
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For
by Alison Bechdel
Collection of comics exploring the lives of queer women in all their complexity.
From the author of Fun Home – the lives, loves, and politics of cult fav characters Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and others For twenty-five years Bechdel’s path-breaking Dykes ... (Goodreads)
Giovanni's Room
by James Baldwin
A man's struggle for identity and acceptance amidst a tumultuous romantic relationship.
David, a young American man whose girlfriend has gone off to Spain to contemplate marriage, is left alone in Paris and begins an affair with an Italian man, Giovanni. The entire story is narrated by ... (Wikipedia)
Women, Race & Class
by Angela Y. Davis
Examining the intersections of women's liberation, civil rights, and class struggle in the United States.
From one of our most important scholars and civil rights activist icon, a powerful study of the women’s liberation movement and the tangled knot of oppression facing Black women.,"Angela Davis is ... (Goodreads)
Black and Blue
by Anna Quindlen
A woman's journey of self-discovery, as she escapes an abusive marriage and reclaims her life.
For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret. And hid her bruises. And stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father. And because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then ... (Wikipedia)
Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides
A multigenerational story of a hermaphrodite's journey to discovering his identity.
"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Miniaturist
by Jessie Burton
Set in 17th century Amsterdam, a woman is given a mysterious gift of a dollhouse replica of her home.
Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam–a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion--a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, ... (Goodreads)
The Time Regulation Institute
by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
A story of change, struggle and nostalgia in a rapidly modernizing Istanbul.
The main character is Hayri İrdal, who narrates the novel and presents it like a memoir. , The novel discusses his and other people's formation of the Time Regulation Institute, which changes the ... (Wikipedia)
Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
A woman awaits her execution in 19th-century Iceland, reliving her story of hardship, loss and faith.
Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put ... (Wikipedia)
The Bad Girl
by Mario Vargas Llosa
A young girl's rebellious journey of self-discovery and exploration of her own identity.
¿Cuál es el verdadero rostro del amor? Ricardo ve cumplido, a una edad muy temprana, el sueño que en su Lima natal alimentó desde que tenía uso de razón: vivir en París. Pero el rencuentro con un ... (Goodreads)
Girl on Girl
by Brian K. Vaughan
A coming of age story of a young girl's exploration into her sexuality and identity.
On July 17, 2002, all living mammals with a Y chromosome —including embryos and sperm —simultaneously die, with the exception of a young amateur escape artist named Yorick Brown and his Capuchin ... (Wikipedia)
A Year of Biblical Womanhood
by Rachel Held Evans
A journey of personal exploration, seeking to understand what it means to be a woman of faith.
Strong-willed and independent, Rachel Held Evans couldn't sew a button on a blouse before she embarked on a radical life experiment–a year of biblical womanhood. Intrigued by the traditionalist ... (Goodreads)
The Awakening and Selected Stories
by Kate Chopin
Exploration of women's identity and social roles in a patriarchal society.
11 stories: The Awakening Beyond the Bayou Ma'ame Pelagie Desiree's Baby A Respectable Woman The Kiss A Pair of Silk Stockings The Locket A Reflection At the 'Cadian Ball The Storm ... (Goodreads)
If I Was Your Girl
by Meredith Russo
A trans girl's story of coming to terms with her identity while navigating her new life.
A new kind of big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are. Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a ... (Goodreads)
The Secret History of Wonder Woman
by Jill Lepore
The story of the origins and evolution of Wonder Woman and her creator, William Moulton Marston.
A cultural history of Wonder Woman traces the character's creation and enduring popularity, drawing on interviews and archival research to reveal the pivotal role of feminism in shaping her ... (Goodreads)
Cover Her Face
by P.D. James
Detective investigates the murder of a young woman in an English country house.
The story opens with a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Eleanor Maxie at Martingale, a medieval manor house in the (fictional) Essex village of Chadfleet. Mrs. Maxie's son and daughter, Stephen Maxie and ... (Wikipedia)
Lilith's Brood
by Octavia E. Butler
Humanity's struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, amongst a new species of aliens.
Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected – by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an ... (Goodreads)
The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A diplomat's mission to a distant planet, exploring themes of gender and identity.
The protagonist of the novel is Genly Ai, a male Terran native, who is sent to invite the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen, a coalition of humanoid worlds. , Ai travels to the Gethen planetary system ... (Wikipedia)
Passing
by Nella Larsen
A story of a woman caught in a racial dilemma, struggling to define her own identity.
The story is written as a third person narrative from the perspective of Irene Redfield, a black woman with a European or near-European appearance, who lives in the Harlem neighborhood of New York ... (Wikipedia)
The Witch Boy
by Molly Knox Ostertag
A young boy's struggles against the gender expectations of his magical family.
Nella famiglia di Aster, una cosa è certa: tutte le ragazze sono destinate a diventare streghe, e i ragazzi saranno dei mutaforma. Non sono ammesse eccezioni. Peccato che Aster sia affascinato dalla ... (Goodreads)
A Conspiracy in Belgravia
by Sherry Thomas
An investigation into a mysterious murder with implications that could shake the foundations of British society.
The game is afoot as Charlotte Holmes returns in the atmospheric second novel in, New York Times, bestseller Sherry Thomas's Victorian-set Lady Sherlock series. Being shunned by Society gives ... (Goodreads)
Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie
A sci-fi epic of revenge and redemption, exploring the far reaches of the galaxy.
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking ... (Goodreads)
Lady Audley's Secret
by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
A young woman's descent into madness, unraveling the secrets of her past.
The novel opens with the marriage in June 1857, of Lucy Graham, a beautiful, childlike blonde who enchants almost all who meet her, to Sir Michael Audley, a middle-aged, rich, and kind widower. Lucy ... (Wikipedia)
Hidden Figures
by Margot Lee Shetterly
The untold story of the African-American women who made invaluable contributions to NASA's space program in the 1960s.
The #1 New York Times Bestseller. Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space ... (Goodreads)
The Crimson Petal and the White
by Michel Faber
A prostitute's journey of self-empowerment as she navigates the seedy underbelly of Victorian England.
Sugar, 19, prostitute in Victorian London, yearns for a better life. From brutal brothel-keeper Mrs Castaway, she ascends in society. Affections of self-involved perfume magnate William Rackham soon ... (Goodreads)
Wide Sargasso Sea
by Jean Rhys
A woman's journey of self-discovery in the Caribbean, her story of emancipation from the shadows of colonialism.
The novel, initially set in Jamaica, opens a short while after the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on 1 August 1834. , The protagonist Antoinette relates the story of ... (Wikipedia)
Lady Susan
by Jane Austen
A witty and manipulative widow manoeuvres her way through society to find suitable marriage prospects.
Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted ... (Goodreads)
The Stepford Wives
by Ira Levin
An unsuspecting woman discovers a sinister conspiracy in her seemingly perfect suburban town.
The premise involves the married men of the fictional Fairfield County town of Stepford, Connecticut and their fawning, submissive, impossibly beautiful wives. The protagonist is Joanna Eberhart, a ... (Wikipedia)
The Argonauts
by Maggie Nelson
A personal exploration of gender, sexuality, and love, weaving together memoir, criticism, and philosophy.
An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family. Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, ... (Goodreads)
Gather Together in My Name
by Maya Angelou
A young woman's compelling memoir of her struggles for independence and identity.
The book opens in the years following World War II. Angelou, still known as "Marguerite," or "Rita," has just given birth to her son Clyde, and is living with her mother and stepfather in San ... (Wikipedia)
Dawn
by Octavia E. Butler
An epic science fiction story of a post-apocalyptic future and humanity's struggle for survival.
Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien ... (Goodreads)
God Help the Child
by Toni Morrison
A dark tale of the consequences of childhood trauma and its effects on identity and relationships.
A young girl with blue-black skin is neglected and abused by the light-skinned parents who are ashamed of her. Lula Ann Bridewell, who calls herself "Bride", is blue-black beautiful, the kind of ... (Wikipedia)
Bad Feminist
by Roxane Gay
A collection of essays exploring feminism, race, and gender, and their intersections.
Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be, cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read, Vogue, and I’m not doing it ... (Goodreads)
Sula
by Toni Morrison
Story of two childhood friends, exploring social and racial issues in a small Ohio town.
The novel begins when the construction of a golf course is announced, the site being the destroyed remnants of what used to be the Bottom. The Bottom is a black neighborhood on the hill above the ... (Wikipedia)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
by Ntozake Shange
A powerful collection of stories exploring the struggles and triumphs of African-American women.
In celebration of its highly anticipated Broadway revival, Ntozake Shange’s classic, award-winning play centering the wide-ranging experiences of Black women, now with introductions by two-time ... (Goodreads)
Island Beneath the Sea
by Isabel Allende
Epic story of a young slave's journey of resilience, emancipation and freedom.
The story opens on the island of Saint-Domingue (current day La Hispaniola ) in the late 18th century. Zarité (known as Tété) is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white ... (Wikipedia)
Men Explain Things to Me
by Rebecca Solnit
Examines the cultural phenomenon of men explaining things to women without full understanding of the topic.
In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things ... (Goodreads)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
by Jeanette Winterson
A young girl's journey of self-discovery, navigating the boundaries between religion, sexuality and identity.
Alternate cover edition for 9780802135162 This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a ... (Goodreads)
The Diaries of Adam and Eve
by Mark Twain
A humorous exploration of the differences between men and women, as seen through the eyes of Adam and Eve.
"Good deal of fog this morning. I do not go out in the fog myself," notes Adam in his diary, adding, "The new creature does. It goes out in all weathers. And talks. It used to be so pleasant and ... (Goodreads)
Antigone
by Sophocles
A tragedy about a woman's struggle to uphold justice amidst oppressive laws.
The curse placed on Oedipus lingers and haunts a younger generation in this new and brilliant translation of Sophocles' classic drama. The daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Antigone is an ... (Goodreads)
How to Be Both
by Ali Smith
Exploring duality and interconnectedness through the life of a girl and a Renaissance artist.
Passionate, compassionate, vitally inventive and scrupulously playful, Ali Smith’s novels are like nothing else. A true original, she is a one-of-a-kind literary sensation. Her novels consistently ... (Goodreads)
The Passion
by Jeanette Winterson
A story of love, loss, and enduring passion between two people across time and space.
Jeanette Winterson’s novels have established her as one of the most important young writers in world literature. The Passion is perhaps her most highly acclaimed work, a modern classic that confirms ... (Goodreads)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
by Maggie O'Farrell
Story of two women's struggle to uncover a dark family secret and reclaim their freedom.
In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her ... (Barnes & Noble)
Morality for Beautiful Girls
by Alexander McCall Smith
A tale of adventure and morality as a young woman navigates complex relationships.
Mma Ramotswe's business, the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has clients but needs to cut costs and increase revenue from fees. To reduce costs, she and her fiancé Mr JLB Matekoni decide to move the ... (Wikipedia)
Empress Orchid
by Anchee Min
A young girl's rise to power as the last empress of China.
To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, seventeen-year-old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor's wives. When she is chosen as a lower-ranking concubine ... (Goodreads)
North and South
by John Jakes
A story of two families divided by the Civil War and their journey to reconciliation and understanding.
Part history, part novel, this book chronicles two great American dynasties over three generations. Though brought together in a friendship that neither jealousy nor violence could shatter, the ... (Goodreads)
Stone Butch Blues
by Leslie Feinberg
A transgender woman's journey of self-discovery and search for acceptance in a hostile society.
The narrative of Stone Butch Blues follows the life of Jess Goldberg, who grows up in a working-class area of upstate New York in the 1940s. Her parents, frustrated with Jess's gender nonconformity, ... (Wikipedia)
Women & Power: A Manifesto
by Mary Beard
A look at the history of female power and the cultural obstacles preventing women from achieving it.
At long last, Mary Beard addresses in one brave book the misogynists and trolls who mercilessly attack and demean women the world over, including, very often, Mary herself. In Women & Power , she ... (Goodreads)
King Kong Theory
by Virginie Despentes
A candid and controversial exploration of gender, power and sexuality.
J’écris de chez les moches, pour les moches, les frigides, les mal baisées, les imbaisables, toutes les exclues du grand marché à la bonne meuf, aussi bien que pour les hommes qui n’ont pas envie ... (Goodreads)
The Time in Between
by María Dueñas
A remarkable tale of resilience and courage, as a woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
The story begins in 1934. Between Youth and Adulthood... Sira Quiroga is a young and attractive seamstress living a humble life in Madrid with her single mother Dolores. During a festival she meets ... (Wikipedia)
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho
by Sappho
Poetic exploration of love and desire, reflecting on the beauty of life and nature.
By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Danish Girl
by David Ebershoff
A journey of transformation, exploring the power of courage and acceptance.
Now a major motion picture starring Eddie Redmayne and directed by Tom Hooper, THE DANISH GIRL is a shockingly original novel about one of the most unusual and passionate love stories of the 20th ... (Goodreads)
Paradise
by Toni Morrison
An exploration of faith, hope, and the resilience of the African American spirit in the face of tragedy.
"They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time." So begins this visionary work from a storyteller. Toni Morrison's first novel since she was awarded the Nobel Prize for ... (Goodreads)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
by Anne Brontë
An exploration of 19th-century gender roles, revealing a woman's struggle for independence.
The novel is divided into three volumes. Part One (Chapters 1 to 15): Gilbert Markham narrates how a mysterious widow, Mrs Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby mansion. A source of ... (Wikipedia)
My Year of Meats
by Ruth Ozeki
A journey of self-discovery as a Japanese-American woman investigates controversial issues in the US meat industry.
A cross-cultural tale of two women brought together by the intersections of television and industrial agriculture, fertility and motherhood, life and love—the breakout hit by the celebrated author ... (Goodreads)
A Man in Full
by Tom Wolfe
A portrait of Atlanta's elite and the racial and economic divides that plague society.
The setting is Atlanta, Georgia — a racially mixed, late-century boomtown full of fresh wealth and wily politicians. The protagonist is Charles Croker, once a college football star, now a ... (Goodreads)
My Own Words
by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Collection of writings and speeches from Justice Ginsburg's long and distinguished career.
The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993—a witty, engaging, serious, and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a ... (Goodreads)
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference
by Cordelia Fine
Exposing the deeply embedded gender biases in our culture and beliefs.
It’s the twenty-first century, and although we tried to rear unisex children–boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks--we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay ... (Goodreads)
Daniel Deronda
by George Eliot
Story of a man's struggle to reconcile his Jewish identity and the expectations of English society.
Daniel Deronda contains two main strains of plot, united by the title character. The novel begins in late August 1865 , with the meeting of Daniel Deronda and Gwendolen Harleth in the fictional town ... (Wikipedia)
And I Darken
by Kiersten White
A young woman's quest for power and revenge in a world of political intrigue and warfare.
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their ... (Goodreads)
Stay with Me
by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
A sweeping tale of love, betrayal, and the power of family, set in Nigeria.
This celebrated, unforgettable first novel, shortlisted for the prestigious Women's Prize for Fiction and set in Nigeria, gives voice to both husband and wife as they tell the story of their ... (Goodreads)
Difficult Women
by Roxane Gay
A collection of stories exploring the complexity of womanhood through the eyes of diverse characters.
Award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay burst onto the scene with, An Untamed State, and the, New York Times, bestselling essay collection, Bad Feminist, (Harper Perennial). Gay returns ... (Goodreads)
Everyday Sexism
by Laura Bates
An exploration of the various ways sexism manifests in society and the need for change.
In 2012 after being sexually harassed on London public transport Laura Bates, a young journalist, started a project called Everyday Sexism to collect stories for a piece she was writing on the issue. ... (Goodreads)
The Breadwinner
by Deborah Ellis
A young girl in Afghanistan must take on the mantle of breadwinner to protect her family.
Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives in Kabul , Afghanistan with her mother Fatima, her father, her older sister Nooria, and two younger siblings, Maryam and Ali. Taliban soldiers enter her house ... (Wikipedia)
Motherland
by Brian K. Vaughan
A powerful story of resilience, courage and hope in the midst of a dystopian future.
The saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed and unmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the world after a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. ... (Goodreads)
How Not To Be a Boy
by Robert Webb
A humorous yet poignant look at the expectations of men and the search for self-acceptance.
Rules for being a man: Don't Cry; Love Sport; Play Rough; Drink Beer; Don't Talk About Feelings But Robert Webb has been wondering for some time now: are those rules actually any use? To anyone? ... (Goodreads)
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