Female Fiction

I think this might be a year of the female author. I’ve been thinking for weeks now that I’ve read some really great books by women this year, and the last two weeks I’ve read amazing books by women. I’ve even thought at some points about only reading female authors for the second half of this year, but I’m not one to restrict my reading list in any way. Plus I’m about to give Cormac McCarthy another shot. 

I veer away from saying “the” year for female authors, because that makes it sound like one has never happened before and will never happen again. But here’s a list of good books by women that have come out this year so far, and that I’ve read.

  • Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Karen Russell
  • Frances and Bernard, Carolyn Bauer
  • Life After Life, Kate Atkinson
  • Z, Therese Ann Fowler
  • The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner
  • The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer

But don’t take my word for it…

In the past, people appreciated artwork. Now artwork appreciates? That’s what we’re coming to? Well, I guess it’s always been the case, but I’ve just been naive about it.
Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings, page 225
Instead they thought about their temp jobs; auditions; graduate school; finding a rent stabilized apartment; and whether, if you’d slept with someone twice, it meant you were involved. They were trying to figure out the world through a series of experiments, an mental illness was not one of them.
Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings, page 53