12 - A book that passes the Bechdel test

[Drakeryn]

poshpenny wrote: "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."

Oh, sorry, my bad. I've often saw that version of the test so I thought it was official.

[Rafael]

poshpenny wrote: "Ladies First: 15 Books That Pass the Bechdel Test

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

Yeeeees, I'm going to read Little Women for this prompt. Thanks for the help. :D

[Dea]

Drakeryn wrote: "Sorry for rambling, I just find the Bechdel test really interesting. If you want an extra challenge, you could try and find a book that meets both the Bechdel and reverse Bechdel tests! Probably a multi-POV book."

If you're a fan of fantasy fiction, the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson passes both. (The side novella probably won't pass the reverse test, since it's entirely from a female POV.) The first book is The Way of Kings. Be warned, though—these books are behemoths, from 1007 to 1248 pages each!

[Dea]

Rachael wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Karin wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Do all the Hunger Games books count, or just the first one?"

As for the second two, she does speak to other female characters, but I could not tell you if she manages to speak about something other than men"

I don't remember Catching Fire well enough to say for sure. However, Mockingjay definitely counts. I don't remember everything in detail, but (view spoiler)[Katniss and Johanna have several private conversations, some about training, some about homesickness, and not all of them include their desire to kill President Snow. (hide spoiler)]

[poshpenny]

Drakeryn wrote: "I've often saw that version of the test"

Yeah lots of people have made that their standard, understandably. 'Cause it's pretty awesome when women have, ya know, names.

[Thomas]

I think it’s a case by case thing. The one I picked both women have names but one of them is still a minor character. Some would say that’s not in the spirit either.

[#artdamnit]

Just finished Gideon the Ninth and it totally passes.

[Thomas]

poshpenny wrote: "Drakeryn wrote: "I've often saw that version of the test"

Yeah lots of people have made that their standard, understandably. 'Cause it's pretty awesome when women have, ya know, names."
Yes but sometimes an author doesn't name certain characters. Doesn't mean its sexism

[Johanne]

... and sometimes authors purposely leave out names at all.

[Thomas]

Johanne wrote: "... and sometimes authors purposely leave out names at all."
Precisely

[Joanna G]

Sueann wrote: "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."
Yes, it does. Read it in December. There are a number of conversations between women having to do with their lives, their desires, and other things not involving dudes.

[Sherri]

I read Girl,Woman,Other by Bernardine Evaristo for this prompt.

[Shelley]

I read Changeless. It's a Victorian-era, paranormal, romantic mystery and prefect for getting me over my no-read funk. The main character is a woman and there's 4 female secondary characters. Lots of talk about science, politics, and ugly hats.

[Thomas]

Stayed up till four in the morning finishing my pick for this prompt The Turn of the Key

[Mirel]

Almost finished with Lights on the Sea. Although the first half of the book has few conversations at all other than between the two main characters, Harold and Mary Rose (husband and wife), but in the second half, there are some lovely conversations between women that is totally unrelated to men. ...And the story is a) a beautiful read b) available on Kindle Unlimited with free audible. This book has been "listen while I work."

[Kelly]

Does anyone know if The Girls at 17 Swann Street works for this?

[Caley]

I was hoping to save the Bechdel test for later, since seems like such an easy one for books I read. However, can't find another fit for Little Fires Everywhere.

[Mahi]

Caley wrote: "I was hoping to save the Bechdel test for later, since seems like such an easy one for books I read. However, can't find another fit for Little Fires Everywhere."

You could use Little Fires Everywhere for a book with a good first line, a book by a WOC, or a book with a 3 word title. Unless you already have those filled! Did you like the book?

[Caley]

Thanks for those reminders! I'm still reading; it's interesting so far, particularly since I was in high school at the same time as some of the characters.

[Ilham]

The Giver of Stars By JoJo Moyes- I finished reading it in about 30 hours! Loved it! And the 2 main leads are women and most of the supportive characters that form the Packhorse Library are women. There are plenty of scenes featuring just the women librarians talking about their lives, joking with each other, training one of the newer female Librarians on the mountain route to take, young women leading search and rescue operations during a devastating and fast-moving flood and discussing how they are even going to organize their fledgling library, before another female character, a black women by the name of Sophie, comes into the scene. Highly recommend this female centric recent release book, which is set during the Great Depression and is about the real-life travelling/packhorse library which operated in the Appalichian until 1943.

[Kristin]

would The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes work? I think so, but I'd love confirmation.

[Kristin]

clearly, I didn't see the comment directly before mine! Goodreads on my phone is so different! thanks, Illham Alam!

[Becky]

Caley - the author of Little Fires Everywhere is a year younger than me and I live in the area (one of the HSs they mention in the book was where I graduated from). I grocery shop at Heinen’s (there are maybe a dozen in the area) and have eaten at Yours Truly. It is crazy reading a book describing places I actually know about! So I’m probably a little biased, but I really enjoyed the book.

[Evil Secret]

I read The Huntress
there are several conversations between Jordan and her step mother that involve what Jordan wants with her life. There are also several conversations with the night witches that do not revolve around men.

[Leah]

Such a Fun Age passes! I really enjoyed the book.

[Alyssa]

Crystal wrote: "Has anyone read The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, would it count. I am trying to pair it with a ATY prompt."

I'm not sure if this would count. Although it is not about women talking about a guy as a romance book would, it does include them talking about a guy. Hope this answers the question while not giving away any spoilers.

[Ashley Marie]

Evil Secret wrote: "I read The Huntress
there are several conversations between Jordan and her step mother that involve what Jordan wants with her life. There are also several conversations with the ni..."

Seconded! I loved this book.

[L Y N N]

I am currently reading The Recipe Club: A Novel About Food and Friendship which would definitely qualify and has some excellent-sounding recipes as well! It is an epistolary novel. I am really enjoying it.

I read Twisted Twenty-Six which would qualify.

[Alison]

I also read The Giver of Stars for this prompt! 5⭐️’s...I devoured this book and highly recommend it! I knew nothing about the WPA program and the packhorse library so enjoyed the history, the description of mining in the 1930’s and the relationship between the women in the book!

[Rachel]

Alyssa wrote: "Crystal wrote: "Has anyone read The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, would it count. I am trying to pair it with a ATY prompt."

I'm not sure if this would count. Although it is not about w..."

Actually, I was wondering about that in general. Does the rule mean that the woman should not be talking about a man at all, or not talking about men in the context of relationships? I always assumed it was any kind of dating talk, but now I'm thinking it's any discussion of a man.

[Nadine in NY]

It’s not an anti-romance thing. It’s that the women should not be talking about a man at all. Because men dominate the plot, even when off-screen, they are what the women discuss, so often. (In movies. It’s a lot easier to find a book. I can confirm Red Sister works.)

[Rachel]

Nadine wrote: "It’s not an anti-romance thing. It’s that the women should not be talking about a man at all. Because men dominate the plot, even when off-screen, they are what the women discuss, so often. (In mov..."

Oh, I didn't mean it as anti-anything. I just thought a woman talking about a male boss, male relative, etc. wasn't quite what the test was about, for some reason.

[Mahi]

Rachel wrote: "Nadine wrote: "It’s not an anti-romance thing. It’s that the women should not be talking about a man at all. Because men dominate the plot, even when off-screen, they are what the women discuss, so..."

I think what Nadine meant was that the test isn't meant to be anti-romance, it's just anti-male focus all the time. Not that you were being anti-anything :)

Also, there just has to be at least one conversation not about men, it's not fully prohibited. (I'm not sure you thought that, but I think some other people in the thread did, so just want to clarify).

[Nadine in NY]

Mahi wrote: "... Also, there just has to be at least one conversation not about men, it's not fully prohibited ..."


Right! good reminder :-) It's just ONE conversation. I think some members are stumbling on that because it seems too easy so they think it must be wrong.

[Karin]

Johanne wrote: "... and sometimes authors purposely leave out names at all."

Yes, and in Annihilation names are left out on purpose.

[Jennifer]

saw this one on the list, found it fun...

[Kristy]

Nadine wrote: "Mahi wrote: "... Also, there just has to be at least one conversation not about men, it's not fully prohibited ..."


Right! good reminder :-) It's just ONE conversation. I think some members are s..."

I think it's because of the definition of conversation we are using? Because if I'm on the phone with my BFF for 2 minutes, it's 50/50 if we could pass the test if we were in a movie, but if we are on the phone longer than that, we are most definitely not going to pass if our conversation was a screenplay because we hit multiple topics and 99/100, one of those topics is, "You will not believe what stupid thing (some penis haver in my life) just did today."

[Rachel]

Mahi wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Nadine wrote: "It’s not an anti-romance thing. It’s that the women should not be talking about a man at all. Because men dominate the plot, even when off-screen, they are what the wo..."

I think that's why I was confused. The examples I'd seen in the past often seemed to be romance-focused, so in my mind, the test was always about conversations about men in that context. So if two characters discussed their boyfriends, that wouldn't pass the test, but I originally thought if they spoke about a male boss or coworker (in a non-romantic context) then that was fine.

[Thomas]

Rachel wrote: "Mahi wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Nadine wrote: "It’s not an anti-romance thing. It’s that the women should not be talking about a man at all. Because men dominate the plot, even when off-screen, they ar..."

I think opinion is divided on the issue. i originally thought the rule was men can't be the focus of the conversation,. The conversation in the one i picked had an implied reference to a man but I counted it because no man is mentioned by name and he is not the focus

[Susanne]

Kristy wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Mahi wrote: "... Also, there just has to be at least one conversation not about men, it's not fully prohibited ..."


Right! good reminder :-) It's just ONE conversation. I think som..."

In the comic strip from which the test originated, it's three rules were

1) The movie has to have at least two women in it
2) who talk to each other about
3) something besides a man

So I would say the women can also talk about men in this conversation, but not only.

[Amanda]

Looking to hopefully fit one of these into the Bechdel test prompt - anyone know if any of these fit??

Pretty Girls Dancing
A Beautiful Work In Progress
Silent Victim
The Thinnest Air
Lies That Bind Us
The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores
The King Tides
Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption
The Forgotten Hours

[Kim]

refers to a supper club where women get together and tells their deepest secrets, and only occasionally do they have to do with men.

[Becky]

I used Mrs. Everything, but there were a few others I've already read that would count.

Rush
Virgin River
We Met in December
Just for Clicks

[Harry]

My choice for this prompt was Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Not normally something I would read but I did find it very interesting.

[Angelina]

I’m reading The Woman Next Door, definitely counts as two main characters are women and each chapter is from one of their points of view.

[Robyn]

Kim wrote: " refers to a supper club where women get together and tells their deepest secrets, and only occasionally do they have to do with men."

So funny! I'm reading this book right now and came to this thread to tell people it absolutely passes the Bechdel Test. You beat me to it. I was originally going to use this book for another prompt (Elizabeth Berg has written well over 20 books), but there's another book I wanted to stick there, so I'm going to use The Confession Club for this prompt.

[Rachel]

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

Tuesday and her teen neighbor spend a lot of their time talking about music and movies. But they also talk about Tuesday's career, her research and homework.

[Lilith]

I'm reading and loving Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell.

Definitely passes the Bechdel Test. The MC in this series is a hereditary witch who owns a vintage clothing store, and becomes a go-to source/amateur sleuth for a San Francisco PD homicide detective.
Very clever series, very respectful of Wicca, and full of interesting characters. These women have great conversations about herbs, stones, Wicca, jewelry, vintage clothing and, of course, murder. I read for a 2019 prompt, and I'm hooked on the series.

[Melissa]

Line wrote: "I hope this will fit The Priory of the Orange Tree"
I am reading this one now, and I am really enjoying it. So many female characters! The male characters are mostly side characters so far, so yes, this must fit.

[Trish]

I would have thought almost anything written by Anne McCaffrey would count - certainly everything I've read by her does, albeit that's mainly the dragon books.

If you like a good, chunky read, Seveneves is excellent and passes in spades. John Scalzi's Interdependency books would, too.

Lilith wrote: "I'm reading and loving Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell.
Definitely passes the Bechdel Test. "

I think most cozy mysteries would work, as the majority of them have female protagonists going round asking questions of all and sundry. I like the particular series you mention - I've read the first four. I also like the couple of her other series I've read.

If you like the witchcraft one, have you looked at Melissa Bourbon's Magical Dressmaking ones? The first couple of them were quite fun, too.