The best stories to fuel your feminist fire

Based on the Essex witch hunts during the English Civil War in 1644, this is so much more than a historical novel. The writing is poetic and fierce, the emotions riveting and unexpectedly moving. And our heroine, clever Rebecca West faces the danger of simply being a low-born, impoverished woman when ‘The Witchfinder General’ (a real historical figure) launches a patriarchal inquisition to ‘clean up’ society. How will Rebecca learn to protect both herself and her cantankerous mother in a cruel world hungry to claim marginalized women as scapegoats? Betrayal and heartbreak, solidarity, and mercy are all brought to vivid, unforgettable life in this literary gem.  

Speaking of witch hunts… oh wait, #MeToo was most definitely not a witch hunt when it came to exposing the predatory behavior of one Harvey Weinstein. This non-fiction book probably needs no introduction: it’s written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalists who finally broke the story of the century. It is a must-read in terms of understanding how one man’s power enabled him to get away with assaulting and terrorizing women for so long. Megan and Jodi’s final confrontation with Weinstein himself is chilling. And if you think the story ends there, a powerful coda centers on Christine Blasey Ford and her decision to speak up against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. This book’s humane, empathetic account offers a small modicum of justice in the wake of all the pain, destruction, and trauma caused by a perpetrator like Weinstein. 

This novel is razor-sharp, as infuriating as it is funny. Adapted into an award-winning 2017 film with Glenn Close, the original source material is actually much more satirical, suspenseful, and insightful. Joan Castleman is the long-suffering wife of a revered novelist, who is soon to be honored with a lifetime achievement award (think: the Nobel Prize). They journey to Helsinki for the ceremony, but Joan has more than a few resentments building inside her. And how much exactly does Joe Castleman owe his successful career to his wife? Was she more than just supportive spouse and homemaker to him? An entertaining diatribe showing how women’s talent and labor often go unrecognized—and even co-opted—by the men in our lives. 

Unrecognised female labor is also the subject of this captivating non-fiction book by Hochschild, a sociologist drawing upon decades of research with fifty heterosexual couples in the Bay area. Hochschild is well-known for identifying ‘the second shift’ of childcare and domestic chores that working women often perform at home, on top of their professional commitment. This results in a rampant inequality of leisure time, and compounded with unequal pay in the workplace, exacerbates gender injustice in contemporary American society. But Hochschild also provides powerful examples of couples who counter-act this norm, while showing how individual attitudes towards gender and domestic responsibilities are influenced by class, ethnicity, and upbringing. Fascinating and illuminating. 

I loved this atmospheric debut, often described as a collection of interlinked short stories. Set on an isolated group of islands off the coast of Virginia, the stories span more than two centuries of the same family’s history: from the 19th century and far ahead into a post-apocalyptic, post-pandemic future. There are intimations that a supernatural ‘second sight’ runs in the family and the book’s Southern Gothic vibe is nothing short of intriguing. But for all the hints of magic realism, the focus on female characters contending with obstacles of class and gender at different points in history is rooted in an understandable reality. Beautifully written descriptions of the natural environment, poignant characters, and local color all demonstrate Taylor’s imagination to be visionary and impressive.