Posted by xuli on 2005-03-05 14:48:50
Post Subject: Feminist Fiction
On Researchasaurus's thread about Ms. Magazine's must-read books, Soapandwater wrote:
Frankly, I want to read feminist fiction, but the only kinds my women's studies classes recommend are really poorly written ones that are great women's studies pieces (Stone Butch Blues made me wince).
I thought the issue was deserving of its very own thread: There are some fiction suggestions on Pudding's Feminism thread, but I believe fiction is important enough to get its own thread.
So, Craftistas, tell us about your favorite feminist fiction!
A few suggestions (I'm sure I'll have more later) include the following:
Margaret Atwood (of course)
Sandra Cisneros (of course)
Alice Walker (of course)
Toni Morrison (of course)
Ana Castillo (of course)
Gioconda Belli -- A Nicaraguan Sandinista fighter, she wrote autobiographical fiction and a memoir about her involvement with the movement. Her best novel is La mujer habitada/The Inhabited Woman, which is available in English, and I believe her memoir El pais bajo mi piel/The Country Under My Skin was also translated.
Julia Alvarez -- Most famous for How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, she also wrote In the Time of the Butterflies, an account of four sisters who worked in the resistance to the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, and In the Name of Salome, a biographical novel about the Dominican Republic's national poet.
Posted by soapandwater on 2005-03-04 13:12:09
Post Subject:
I guess I need to read Manifesta soon.
Oooh, I love hating and loving Inga Muscio. I totally love the book Cunt even though it was one of the first books I've read and liked a lot that has made me also have to disagree with the author. That doesn't make sense, but what I mean is I'd read some of it and go, "That's amazing and dead on." And then I'd read other parts and go, "But that's not."
Inga Muscio also promotes myths about rape that pissed me off.
I give the book Cunt a lot of credit for half of the book, but I don't agree with going, "Oh, Inga Muscio. Feminist of feminists." She's not even a self-proclaimed feminist in the book.
I want to read Manifesta sometime, but I feel like it'd be rehashing stuff I already know (I could be wrong). I'd much rather get a bell hooks book to read, as I've only had the pleasure of reading an article of hers here and there.
I'm wondering-- who reads Ms. magazine? I don't connect with the magazine at all, really. Are they sort of the top experts on feminist lit?
Frankly, I want to read feminist fiction, but the only kinds my women's studies classes recommend are really poorly written ones that are great women's studies pieces (Stone Butch Blues made me wince).
Posted by pudding on 2005-03-14 02:13:31
Post Subject:
I'm reading The House on Mango Street right now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I recommend you give it a try!
I edited my post to add:
You could try doing a google search for lists of 'classic' literature, or look for High School summer reading lists and pick something that appeals to you. That often works for me.
Another source for good books is this forum! The last few books I've read I've chosen because people recommended them in these threads. I've been put onto "worthy works" ;-) mentioned in the feminist fiction thread and the favourites thread.
Posted by KnittyMomma on 2005-03-14 17:25:19
Post Subject:
i knew i would find help here! I think my problem is that I got my GED when I shouldve been in the 10th grade and then never went to college so when I hear people talking about these great books I feel dumb :(. I began reading She's Come Undone and Johnny Got His Gun last night. I've made a list of the books listed here so far and some of the books off the feminist fiction list. Please keep posting and I'll keep adding to the list. With 2 kids and how fast I can read a GOOD book...I'm setting a goal of 15 books by Jan. 1st, 2006.
Posted by Liberty Gooler on 2005-04-08 20:58:31
Post Subject:
Can I throw in a suggestion of another Bronte? Anne Bronte is way less famous then her sisters but I actually like her books more than her sisters. I got hipped to her existence by a Sue Grafton mystery ...
Anyhow I think Agnes Grey is a great book and while maybe not out there feminist, its still good.
Speaking of feminist fiction, I also think there is a lot of feminism in certain mystery series. I used to read more mysteries as a teen and I always remember the female characters seemed so much stronger there than in a lot of fiction I read.
Posted by soapandwater on 2005-05-30 19:45:43
Post Subject:
Oh, I liked Salem's Lot! Such a fun story. The only vampire story I've ever really liked. Well, I don't even read "horror" except for Stephen King. He's such a good warm weather read, too.
A book of poetry by a professor (but I'm leaving the name out for intense fear of googlers).
Selected Poetry of Rita Dove's-- so good! I can't believe I bought this book when I was fifteen because I'm not sure I understood more than a handful of the poems.
I finished up Stiff by Mary Roach -- it actually took me a semester to read the first half because I didn't have time to read it hardly. Very funny. Moon_lemming sent it to me, and I am so grateful she did. I got a lot of laughs out of learning about dead bodies (NOT death, there's a difference).
I also read The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell which pretty much describes my brand of patriotism, and it was just light and heart-warming. Hopeful, even.
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi was read at the Barnes and Noble, and it was great. I loved it. It's illustrated and reads like a comic.
American Woman by Susan Choi-- pretty good. I even recommended it on the feminist fiction thread. I'm more fond of the plot than the writing style, but the writing style isn't all that bad compared to what's out there.
Right now I'm reading bell hooks, and I'm reading J.K. Rowling. Figure that one out.
Posted by soapandwater on 2005-03-23 09:27:46
Post Subject:
Eh, I'm too lazy to login, but!
I ADORE Foxfire. Yes, it's Joyce Carol Oates. I also liked her book based on Marilyn Monroe, Blonde.
The movie was terrible. I, however, own it because someone gave it to me. The only thing I like about the movie is when Mattie climbs to the top of the bridge, Kristin Hersh plays in the background, and that's just the music dork in me getting excited. Oh, and it has the girl from Rilo Kiley in it. More music dorkiness.
Like, the fact that they made Angelina Jolie a sexy voluptuous dark-haired Legs is just so...wrong.
Oh, man.
I wish I could think of more feminist fiction.
I'm going to go ahead and put down Flannery O'Connor just for the way she tackled race back in the day. Soooo intelligent. I have such a lit crush on Flannery O'Connor.
Posted by Anonymous on 2005-03-06 17:06:00
Post Subject:
Who is Ana Castillo? I've heard of her, but I've never REALLY heard of her in the "of course it's feminist fiction!" sense. I'd better go google.
Hmmm, you're kind of right, now that I think of it. She's not, like, Margaret Atwood or Alice Walker in that sense. But when she came out on the scene, she was *really* young, and wrote all these amazing super-feminist poems (the two best-known collections are My Father Was a Toltec and Women Are Not Roses), and then moved into fiction and she kind of made a big splash in the early 80s and has since moved on to being quietly tokenized on American Women Writers syllabi. But despite not being as widely read as it should be, her work is amazing.
The Mixquiahuala Letters, her first novel, is an epistolary novel told in the form of letters between two woman (exploring womens' friendships), and the idea is that the letters can be read in any order and you get a different narrative.
Posted by Anonymous on 2005-03-23 10:33:18
Post Subject:
Eh, I'm too lazy to login, but!
I ADORE Foxfire. Yes, it's Joyce Carol Oates. I also liked her book based on Marilyn Monroe, Blonde.
The movie was terrible. I, however, own it because someone gave it to me. The only thing I like about the movie is when Mattie climbs to the top of the bridge, Kristin Hersh plays in the background, and that's just the music dork in me getting excited. Oh, and it has the girl from Rilo Kiley in it. More music dorkiness.
Like, the fact that they made Angelina Jolie a sexy voluptuous dark-haired Legs is just so...wrong.
Oh, man.
I wish I could think of more feminist fiction.
I'm going to go ahead and put down Flannery O'Connor just for the way she tackled race back in the day. Soooo intelligent. I have such a lit crush on Flannery O'Connor.
oh, was the rilo kiley lady the one who played violet? so strange! i reallly realllly don't like rilo kiley, but i love kristin hersh and i think that was probably my favorite part of the movie, too. i also got blonde at a thrift store for $1 and i'm looking forward to reading that too. joyce just has soooo many books, i don't know where to start. and if it weren't for the movie, i probably would've never read the book, and i'm glad i did. the book is so much more revolutionary and poignant than the film by far. the film seemed more about fighting against individuals where there was so much talk about womankind in general trying to bring justice to this world anyway they could. i fell in love with the novel! i hope some people reading this forum will try to read it if they haven't already.
and flannery o'connor is awesome, too. she's from my home state. i adore her.
