artattemptswriting:
fiveminutesbeforemidnight:
thatfeministkilljoy:
(I know Ive probably asked...
(I know Ive probably asked before but) Recommend me feminists books and authors!
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. They did a tv series last year I think. I recommend you both. People classify it as a feminist book, I’m not pretty sure about it but anyways it’s worth it.
The Handmaid’s Tale is gritty and disturbing, but so wonderful. And there’s Moira, the amazing lesbian friend. She’s probably the most vibrant, feminist character in the whole thing. It does take some thought to see the feminist angle, but that’s the point. The world in it is one so firmly under the patriarchy that nobody is certain anymore whether or not they believe women are people, too. There’s a huge conflict of women being the most important members of the society (without them, it would collapse), but also the most objectified and repressed. By virtue of being ignored and having power taken away, the women in tHT are left with no choice but to empower themselves in whatever ways they can, which is how it should be anyway.
Also, Jane Eyre, if classic lit is your cup of tea. Everything in it is so relevant to today’s view on feminism, and thanks to Brontë’s unflinching resolve and independent life, is less tainted by institutionalised sexism than some modern feminist works.
I would also recommend And the Mountains Echoed and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Both novels have strong feminist themes— through a middle-eastern cultural lense rather than a Western one, which makes them very important reads. They focus on strong female relationships and the struggles that women face, and in Splendid Suns, the idea that women “can only see one another as threats” appears to be perpetuated at first, but is then thoroughly dismantled.
Finally, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Although not classified as a feminist novel, LAL centres around a strong female lead and tackles issues around sexism/feminism throughout the book.
I stumbled across this small publishing house literally called Feminist Press. Haven’t read any of their books I don’t think, but all they publish is work by women about women with feminist themes, both fiction and non-fiction it looks like.
