Books That Are Inherently 'Woman'

Eli
Mar 18, 2017
3 min read

When I was a child and throughout my teens I would spend my summer holidays reading continuously and infinitely. One of the things I'm most excited about completing my degree is the fact that -hopefully- I can read something a little less dry than analytic philosophy and a little more inspirational.

"Life imitates art", said Oscar Wilde, and if this is so, it'd be good to have some strong women in our art to take after. At least, that was my theory growing up and the books on this post have some of the strongest female characters I've ever met.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE - Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood has a keen sense of feminism that strikes through many of her works but The Handmaid's Tale is something else altogether. Dystopian, cynical and cautionary, The Handmaid's Tale is a book that stays with you for years. It tells the story of Offred, a girl who has been proven to be fertile "a two legged womb", in a world where women of a certain class are made to partake in fertility rituals with men who are married to infertile women. Even if men are infertile, it is the women's fault and it cannot be known that a male can be infertile. With Offred we see the problems of using women for reproduction and with Serena Joy (the possibly infertile wife) we challenge the pre-existing definition of womanhood.

THE GOOD WOMEN OF CHINA - Xinran

In this collection of stories Xinran recounts the experiences of various Chinese women. These women have had particularly difficult lives. Some were sexually abused and most lived in poverty ridden communities where a woman's voice was not heard. The story that struck me most was that of a child and her fly. The child would do things that would admit her to hospital in order to escape the distraught family life she suffered.

THE COLOR PURPLE - Alice Walker

"“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” The Color Purple is a book that emphasises the struggles of being a black, Christian, lgbt woman in the southern states of America in the 1930s. Even through the suffering Celie goes through, she remains strong and true to herself and is unapologetically Celie. Words can't really describe this book, but the world needs Celie's around.

NERVOUS CONDITIONS - Tsitsi Dangarembga

Tambu, this story's protagonist, begins the story as a child who loses her brother. Regardless of the pain and poverty that surrounds her life in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Tambu overcomes the conditions around her to focus on educating herself. The challenging themes in this book contain the issues of race, religion, colonisation and the education of women. Gendered oppression is central to the book in all areas.

POMEGRANATE SKY - Louise Soraya Black

Living in a society in which a woman must find a husband, Layla goes against the norm. She chooses love over custom in a risky and passionate story. Unlike your average rom-com, things do not go as planned, as is life, and Layla finds herself risking her status in society for less than perfect circumstances. The role of women in middle eastern societies is challenged in this book as is the value and loyalty in love.