I've read quite a few books by women writing in languages other than English this year, thanks to my And Other Stories subscription. I've picked the three that have stuck with me the most, each written by an audacious woman about an audacious woman.
1. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (translated by Elisabeth Jaquette) - Shibli's novel tells the story of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land from the perspective of a Palestinian woman. Structured in two parts, the first deals with a true event in 1949, a year after what Palestinians call the Nakba and Israelis call the War of Independence. The second part deals with the story of a Palestinian woman born on the same date as the incident, but 25 years later, who reads a newspaper report about it and sets out on her own investigation, with tragic consequences. It gave me context for the current war, explaining how the new state of Israel protected its borders from the start and how Palestinians have navigated the restrictions on their movement.
2. Traces of Enayat by Iman Mersal (translated by Robin Moger) - Mersal’s account of trying to find out more about a young Egyptian author who died by suicide before her novel was published weaves together a biography of Enayat al-Zayyat with a history of the modern state of Egypt and the way in which women had freedoms on paper but in reality were subjugated by unwritten patriarchal rules. Mersal is Egyptian but lives in Canada, and the book also explores her sense of displacement and alienation from her own culture.
3. Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq (translated by Julia Demcheson) - Tagaq is an Inuk poet and musician and Split Tooth combines prose with poetry and lyrics to tell a story about abuse of and within an Inuit community in Arctic Canada. It follows the fortunes of an unnamed Inuk girl from Nunavut and her immersion into Inuit culture and folklore as a way of coping with the difficulties in her life. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. It's a tough read, but also magical and funny.
One of my favourites this year was a novel I picked totally at random! It’s called WHALE FALL by Elizabeth O’Connor, published by Pantheon Books this year. Such a haunting tale about a young girl or woman whose circumstances would seem primitive to us but are not of real concern to her. She sees her world as her Normal but the challenges are great and she struggles against Nature mostly…until the Mainlanders arrive on her family’s island. I won’t give away anything more. It’s short and it continues to stay with me.
The Safekeep is next on my list! One of my favorite books this year was Ketanji Brown Jackson's memoir Lovely One. Talk about audacious, and smart as hell!
I re-read an old favorite this year, “West With the Night” written in 1947 by Beryl Markham. Loved it again.
And I read “The Red Tent” for the first time. My daughter-in-law handed it to me saying that every woman on her side of the family had read it, and so then, must I. It was good.
I devoured Monkey Grip by Helen Garner she became my writing muse for 2024. Followed by latest publications by Debora Levy and Elizabeth Strout
Ooh and may I encourage you to tune into a new podcast The Bibliotherapists I interviewed Anne Boyd, she recommended some brilliant books, you should definitely tune in 🎙️📚
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Soundings: Journeying North in the Company of Wales by Doreen Cunning and Some of Us Just Fall by Polly Atkin.
So glad to hear you are reading Rachel Cusk. I just love Outline and have read it three times. But not everyone likes Cusk. She gets a lot of criticism while others consider her brilliant. I love her innovative approach. Outline is my favourite and Second Place is next.
I also really enjoyed Lotus Girl, Helen Tworkov's autobiography detailing how she became a Buddhist. I couldn't put it down. She's a fabulous writer and the editor of Tricycle, a Buddhist review.
Toko-pa is also interesting. She has a new book The Dreaming Way. She's kind of an off-beat Jungian and audacious in her own way. An original.
I will check out Safekeep and maybe even On All Fours since so many women recommend it.
Great post as usual! So many interesting readers here.
The Lives of Lee Miller a biography about the most audacious Vogue model of the 1920s who became a combat photographer in World War Ii Europe for Vogue, written by her son Antony Penrose. One of the most remarkable women photographers and journalists of the 20th century. It was the basis for the 2023 Film “Lee” starring Kate Winslet, produced, written and directed by a female team. Superb.
So many wonderful recommendations here. I loved The Women by Kristen Hannah, Kokoro by Beth Kempton, and Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World by Katie Arnold. The last one is a book about Zen and running which I didn’t expect to enjoy but ended up underlining whole sections.
I've read quite a few books by women writing in languages other than English this year, thanks to my And Other Stories subscription. I've picked the three that have stuck with me the most, each written by an audacious woman about an audacious woman.
1. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (translated by Elisabeth Jaquette) - Shibli's novel tells the story of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land from the perspective of a Palestinian woman. Structured in two parts, the first deals with a true event in 1949, a year after what Palestinians call the Nakba and Israelis call the War of Independence. The second part deals with the story of a Palestinian woman born on the same date as the incident, but 25 years later, who reads a newspaper report about it and sets out on her own investigation, with tragic consequences. It gave me context for the current war, explaining how the new state of Israel protected its borders from the start and how Palestinians have navigated the restrictions on their movement.
2. Traces of Enayat by Iman Mersal (translated by Robin Moger) - Mersal’s account of trying to find out more about a young Egyptian author who died by suicide before her novel was published weaves together a biography of Enayat al-Zayyat with a history of the modern state of Egypt and the way in which women had freedoms on paper but in reality were subjugated by unwritten patriarchal rules. Mersal is Egyptian but lives in Canada, and the book also explores her sense of displacement and alienation from her own culture.
3. Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq (translated by Julia Demcheson) - Tagaq is an Inuk poet and musician and Split Tooth combines prose with poetry and lyrics to tell a story about abuse of and within an Inuit community in Arctic Canada. It follows the fortunes of an unnamed Inuk girl from Nunavut and her immersion into Inuit culture and folklore as a way of coping with the difficulties in her life. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. It's a tough read, but also magical and funny.
One of my favourites this year was a novel I picked totally at random! It’s called WHALE FALL by Elizabeth O’Connor, published by Pantheon Books this year. Such a haunting tale about a young girl or woman whose circumstances would seem primitive to us but are not of real concern to her. She sees her world as her Normal but the challenges are great and she struggles against Nature mostly…until the Mainlanders arrive on her family’s island. I won’t give away anything more. It’s short and it continues to stay with me.
The Safekeep is next on my list! One of my favorite books this year was Ketanji Brown Jackson's memoir Lovely One. Talk about audacious, and smart as hell!
Yes! Loved her memoir, too!
It’s been a year of really good books for me. Did I hear about The Paris Novel here first? That was one of my favorites.
I also loved Tammy Oberhausen’s The Evolution of the Gospelettes. It’s reminiscent of Lee Smith’s best novels.
Rachel Khong’s Real Americans kept me reading to find out what was going to happen. It’s rare that I become so interested in plot.
Danielle Evans’s Office of Historical Corrections was a fantastic short story collection.
One more—Jazmina Barrera’s Cross-Stitch was also wonderful.
I continue to be drawn to stories about travel, audacious women seeking change.
So many interesting titles here. Thank you, Monica!
I re-read an old favorite this year, “West With the Night” written in 1947 by Beryl Markham. Loved it again.
And I read “The Red Tent” for the first time. My daughter-in-law handed it to me saying that every woman on her side of the family had read it, and so then, must I. It was good.
Two classics I have yet to read. Thank you for reminding me about them!
Ooh so many great books being discussed here.
I devoured Monkey Grip by Helen Garner she became my writing muse for 2024. Followed by latest publications by Debora Levy and Elizabeth Strout
Ooh and may I encourage you to tune into a new podcast The Bibliotherapists I interviewed Anne Boyd, she recommended some brilliant books, you should definitely tune in 🎙️📚
Yes, indeed! I can’t wait. Thank you again, Tanya! And thank you for these recommendations.
Oh gosh, it would be hard to limit to just three! Here's my list of Audacious Women in books for 2024. These are all highly recommended by moi:
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Life Span: Impressions of a lifetime crossing and recrossing the Golden Gate Bridge by Molly Giles
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
Absolution by Alice McDermott
Educated by Tara Westover
The Change by Kirsten Miller
So many good reads this year! (Books I list below that are by male authors feature an audacious female protagonist/subject)
Fiction
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Antarctica, short story collection by Claire Keegan
The Hunter, Tana French
Tom Lake, Anne Patchett
Roman Stories, short story collection by Jhumpa Lahiri
Sleeping Giants, Rene Denfeld
The Good of The Woods, Liz Moore
A Room Made of Leaves, Kate Grenville
Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor
Chenneville, Paulette Jiles
Persuasion, Jane Austen (3rd time reading this)
The Muse, Jessie Burton
The Coast Road, Alan Murrin
Long Island, Colm Tóibín
Non-Fiction
Rooted, Lynda Lynn Haupt
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Jean-Yves LeLoup
American Mother, Colum McCann
Poetry
New Collected Poems, Eavan Boland
The Asking, Jane Hirschfield
I'm raiding others' lists for books to add to my TBR stacks!
What an amazing list! Thank you, Julie!
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Soundings: Journeying North in the Company of Wales by Doreen Cunning and Some of Us Just Fall by Polly Atkin.
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett.
I've never read anything by Ann Patchett, yet she keeps coming up, especially in connection to Elizabeth Gilbert. I guess it's time I read her!
Tom Lake was another really good one. one fiction. one non fiction.both good.
This past year I was blown away by Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa. It's an audacious memoir I can't stop thinking about.
So glad to hear you are reading Rachel Cusk. I just love Outline and have read it three times. But not everyone likes Cusk. She gets a lot of criticism while others consider her brilliant. I love her innovative approach. Outline is my favourite and Second Place is next.
I also really enjoyed Lotus Girl, Helen Tworkov's autobiography detailing how she became a Buddhist. I couldn't put it down. She's a fabulous writer and the editor of Tricycle, a Buddhist review.
Toko-pa is also interesting. She has a new book The Dreaming Way. She's kind of an off-beat Jungian and audacious in her own way. An original.
I will check out Safekeep and maybe even On All Fours since so many women recommend it.
Great post as usual! So many interesting readers here.
Aren’t there though! I wish I could keep with everyone. Love these recommendations!
The Lives of Lee Miller a biography about the most audacious Vogue model of the 1920s who became a combat photographer in World War Ii Europe for Vogue, written by her son Antony Penrose. One of the most remarkable women photographers and journalists of the 20th century. It was the basis for the 2023 Film “Lee” starring Kate Winslet, produced, written and directed by a female team. Superb.
So many wonderful recommendations here. I loved The Women by Kristen Hannah, Kokoro by Beth Kempton, and Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World by Katie Arnold. The last one is a book about Zen and running which I didn’t expect to enjoy but ended up underlining whole sections.
So many I could name! But the three I'd pull out from this year in this category...
1. Wild Hope, Marisa Bate (she is also on Substack!)
2. She Who Struggles: Revolutionary Women Who Shaped The World, Marral Shamshiri and Sorcha Thomson
3. Grandmothers, Sally Vickers
📚
Also just remembered The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell - I wasn’t sure from the blurb but then I couldn’t put it down
I love everything Maggie writes- she's extraordinary!
Totally agree—mind-blowing genius! Her memoir, “I am, I am, I am” is stunning, too.