12 - A book that passes the Bechdel test

[Rachel]

Rachael wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Karin wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Do all the Hunger Games books count, or just the first one? I read them so long ago that I cant remember"

I would say just the first one because it chan..."

For some reason, I completely discounted Rue as part of this kind of test, I guess because she was a child, not an adult woman. I know Katniss has conversations with Johanna and maybe Effie in the later books, but I can't remember specifically what they talked about.

[Tanu]

Thanks, Brandon!

[Karin]

Katniss also speaks with her friend Madge more than once in The Hunger Games but I can't remember if it was partly about men. I don't want to give any spoilers so can't say more than that. I was very sorry that Madge wasn't in the films! ALSO she trades her with at least one woman at the market, but I don't recall the conversation(s) exactly now.

[Rachel]

Does anyone know if Girl, Woman, Other would pass?

[poshpenny]

I imagine it would be really embarrassing if Alison Bechdel's own books didn't pass, so I'm going on what I think is a pretty safe assumption here

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama

[Thomas]

Anyone know if The Starless Sea passes? I was going to make it my 4 star rating book but its rating keeps slipping.

[Joanna G]

Rachel wrote: "Does anyone know if Girl, Woman, Other would pass?"

Just finished it, it definitely would. Probably on a number of occasions, but particularly thinking of a conversation between Amma and Dominique about their lives.

[Karin]

Thomas wrote: "Anyone know if The Starless Sea passes? I was going to make it my 4 star rating book but its rating keeps slipping."

If you read it soon; it just came out in November so much of its high rating probably comes from people who received netgalley copies etc, and that can artificially inflate the rating. However, the average rating from the reviews of the 9 GR friends of mine who have rated it so far is very close to the average rating showing, so it is possible it will stay around the same (hard to say).

It has a rating over 4 stars on Amazon as well, so it's looking good so far.

[ｄａｎｉｅｌａ]

Does anyone know if The Obelisk Gate passes? The Fifth Season passed but I'm not sure if the followups are the same.

The Fifth Season was a very hard read for me, despite how high I rated it, so any encouragement to continue would be helpful.

[Reenah]

The Listopia list mentions One of Us Is Next, which will come out in January. I'll read it anyway, so if it's accurate, I'll count is as my read for the prompt!

[Drakeryn]

☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "Does anyone know if The Obelisk Gate passes? The Fifth Season passed but I'm not sure if the followups are the same."

Yeah, it does.

[ｄａｎｉｅｌａ]

Drakeryn wrote: "☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "Does anyone know if The Obelisk Gate passes? The Fifth Season passed but I'm not sure if the followups are the same."

Yeah, it does."

Thank you!

[Joanna G]

Can anyone comment on Little Fires Everywhere? It seems like from the summary that it should, since that only references female characters...

[Karin]

Joanna wrote: "Can anyone comment on Little Fires Everywhere? It seems like from the summary that it should, since that only references female characters..."

I didn't finish this, but it might work. Other people really liked this book, but I ended up ditching it. There are male characters in it, though, and they do get discussed; I just can't remember if there were discussions that didn't involve discussing men.

[poshpenny]

Joanna wrote: "Can anyone comment on Little Fires Everywhere? It seems like from the summary that it should, since that only references female characters..."

Little Fires passes.

[Joanna G]

Thanks for the Little Fires info, will add it to my plans!

[Nicole]

some more lists

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

speculative fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

crime fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

[Ally]

Gina wrote: "The Farm by Joanne Ramos??"

Absolutely.

[Ally]

I believe The Dominion Trilogy by Joe Hart (The Last Girl; The Final Trade; and The First City) would all be great options for this category. I've read the first two, and they pass, and I'm thinking I'll finish the First City for this prompt.

[poshpenny]

Ladies First: 15 Books That Pass the Bechdel Test

Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Turtles All the Way Down
Pride and Prejudice
Little Fires Everywhere
Jane Eyre
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
The Handmaid's Tale
The Devil Wears Prada
Sourdough
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Power
Mrs. Dalloway
Beloved
The Hunger Games
Little Women


https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...

[poshpenny]

Poked a bit in my read shelf

The Deep
What Rose Forgot
Cheshire Crossing
A Darker Shade of Magic
Fruit of the Drunken Tree
The Calculating Stars
The Collapsing Empire
The Consuming Fire
Girl Waits with Gun

[Mary]

poshpenny wrote: "Ladies First: 15 Books That Pass the Bechdel Test
what is a Bechdel Test? I am new kid on the block.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Turtles All the Way Down
Pride and Prejudice
[book:Little Fires Everywher..."

[Lisa]

I'm assuming Children of Blood and Bone works, but can anyone confirm?

[Jen K]

Lisa wrote: "I'm assuming Children of Blood and Bone works, but can anyone confirm?"

Yes and a very good read!

[Allie]

Anabell wrote: "Grey Sister or if I read that this year then Holy Sister"

Does that mean Red Sister would work?

[poshpenny]

Thomas wrote: "Anyone know if The Starless Sea passes? I was going to make it my 4 star rating book but its rating keeps slipping."

Yes it passes.

Interlude I, beginning page 106 in the US edition.

[Hilary]

I'm hoping that "The Giver of Stars" by Jojo Moyes passes this test and I can use it for this prompt. I'll be reading it regardless so will update after I read - my hold should become available from the library soon!

[Sara]

Just finished Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, and it definitely passed the test.

It was a gripping read, but I was left confused by the description of the organism encountered at the end.

Has anyone else read this?

[Nadine in NY]

Yes I read Annihilation and the other two books in the series. I loved them all (first book was the best) but you never get any clarity about the creature. Is it an alien? Another dimension? A hallucination? Something else? It’s up to the reader.

[Kate (Feathered Turtle Press Reviews)]

Sarah wrote: "I would think that most books with lesbian main characters would work for this:

Best Lesbian Fiction
Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian WLW
Lesbian MCs in Fantasy/Fiction
100 Best Lesbian Fiction &..."

This is the excellent because a huge part of the Bechdel test was to point out how alienating movies (and media) are for lesbians.

[Jas]

☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "Does anyone know if The Obelisk Gate passes? The Fifth Season passed but I'm not sure if the followups are the same.

The Fifth Season was a very hard read for me, despite how high ..."
I am pretty sure yes as there are conversations between the lead character and the leader who is female. Also at the end in the Stone Sky. Btw - as hard as these may be to read they are worth it IMHO - I really loved the Stone Sky (I would say that was my favorite, than The Fifth Season and the Obelisk Gate comes third but you can't skip it.

[Aimee]

I'm re-reading the Tiffany Aching sub-series of the Discworld books at the moment, and it occurred to me that - unlike a lot of other Discworld books - they pass the Bechdel test because Tiffany talks to a lot of other witches about magic. They're quick reads; they 'age up' with the MC so the first book is middle grade and they progress slowly to YA. The first book is The Wee Free Men.

[Lucy]

Does anyone know if Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty would pass the test? I'm hoping to fit it in to one of the prompts.

[Melissa]

I noticed "Station Eleven" seems to have several female characters. Anyone read it to know if it passes?

[Eva]

Yes, it passes.

[Adriana]

I’m going to assume Long Bright River counts. I just flipped to a random page to check and I think it qualifies.

[SueAnn]

Would Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo work? It looks like it has some romantic aspects but it doesn't seem to be the driving influence.

[Allegra]

How about Educated? Conversations with roommates and friends at BYU, mom, grandmom.
Does the conversation need to be a certain length?

[Pamela]

Such a Fun Age Do you think Such a Fun Age fits this category? I see a bird in there as well!

[Anabell]

Allie wrote: "Anabell wrote: "Grey Sister or if I read that this year then Holy Sister"

Does that mean Red Sister would work?"

Sorry didn't see your comment. Yes there are plenty of conversations between the girls and nuns that passes this test...

[Christi]

Lucy, yes Truly Madly Guilty does pass. I loved that one of hers - but then I love her books.

[Sherri]

Does Girl, Woman,Other pass by Bernardine Evaristo pass?

[Kristy]

"For some reason, I completely discounted Rue as part of this kind of test, I guess because she was a child, not an adult woman. I know Katniss has conversations with Johanna and maybe Effie in the later books, but I can't remember specifically what they talked about."

The contestants were all children. That's what made the Hunger Games extra horrific. So, if for the purposes of passing the BT, both need to be ADULT female/female presenting characters, I wouldn't base it on Katniss having conversations with other women.

[Drakeryn]

I don't think age matters. The point of the Bechdel test is female representation in media, whether it happens to be adults/kids.

[Ellie]

I would count YA. Teenagers have to deal with sexism too. I probably wouldn't count a conversation between mother and daughter when the mum is just called mum as you're meant to know the characters' names for the test to pass.

I didn't consider this prompt for The Starless Sea as I personally can't remember a f/f conversation that wasn't about Zachary. I am sure there must be one if people are counting it but it's not full of them. I'd rather use a book that repeatedly passes.

I've just started The Vanished Bride which looks like it will fit the bill perfectly.

[Thomas]

Ellie wrote: "I would count YA. Teenagers have to deal with sexism too. I probably wouldn't count a conversation between mother and daughter when the mum is just called mum as you're meant to know the characters..."

I agree with you on the YA thing. But I'm not so pure for my pick. I just found a book I really wanted to read that passed it. Hence I'm currently reading The Turn of the Key

[Karin]

Sara wrote: "Just finished Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, and it definitely passed the test.

It was a gripping read, but I was left confused by the description of the organism encountered at the end.

Has a..."

Yes, and I did NOT like it. One of my daughters read the entire series.

[Drakeryn]

I thought the Annihilation trilogy was okay, but not nearly as strong as the other VanderMeer books I've read. I loved the Ambergris Cycle (starting with City of Saints and Madmen) and also enjoyed Borne a lot.

(An aside: If you're very picky, Annihilation doesn't count, because the Bechdel test requires named female characters, while the Annihilation cast deliberately isn't given names. But it still fits the spirit of the prompt. I believe the naming requirement is just intended to exclude really minor characters who aren't worth naming.)

[Nadine in NY]

Yes it’s incredibly simple. That was Bechdel’s point, she meant it as a joke: look, this very simple thing doesn’t happen in most movies. She never intended for it to become a “rule” but it’s used today as a very low bar.

You’re right, it’s easier to find books that qualify (but there are books I’m reading right now that don’t qualify - Waking Gods involves interviews between a male interviewer and various other people, so there’s not really a conversation between two women).

[poshpenny]

The women do NOT need to be named to pass the test. That is a thing people have added later. If that is a restriction you want to add, go for it, but it isn't required in the original version.