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books by women about women
32
items books that illuminate resilience, the search for identity, and the complexities of existence in a world that feels both expansive and isolating. through determination, courage, and the unyielding spirit of femininity in the face of uncertainty
isa and gala are best friends and ready for a summer of adventure when they meet in NYC. they have a place to stay, a few connections, and just a little bit of money. told through isa's diary as a documentation of youth, friendship, and risk
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
jacaranda is in LA and has an on-again, off-again relationship with a married man and glitters among the city’s pretty creatures, blithely drinking, unattached and unworried. yet she lacks a purpose―so at 28, jobless, she moves to new york to start a...
Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz
a con artist is stranded in long island after her rich boyfriend breaks up with her. she goes through various tricks to make ends meet before she crashes his labor day party to try and win him back
The Guest by Emma Cline
a millennial irish expat becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
esther is a college student who, despite winning an internship at a new york fashion magazine in 1953, begins to spirals out of control as she struggles with mental health, relationships, and societal expectations
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
follows three women, Natsu, Makiko, and Midoriko, as they confront their own uncertainties. the three women battle with their bodies, class, and each other. from breast-enhancement surgery to explores the options available for bringing a new life int...
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
follows an unnamed protagonist as she gradually escalates her use of prescription medications in an attempt to sleep for an entire year
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
one of the greats <3 explores modern love, the pressures and debauchery of the wealthy, and the conflict between youth and age through 24-year-old Cleo and 45-year-old Frank, two broken people who find one another in a passionate and loving fling
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
about zauner growing up korean-american, losing her mother to cancer, and finding solace in food. a heartfelt exploration of grief, identity, and the power of cultural connection.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
a woman arrives in florence and she finds an unexpected love. she can fix him—they can fix each other; she feels bound to him, body and soul, but soon they’re both cheating and lashing out, and she becomes more and more convinced he’s not merely a vi...
The Devil's Grip by Lina Wolff
so underrated <3 unnamed narrator remeets a choreographer from her past and begin an interesting relationship. coming-of-age story about lust, punishment, artistic drive, and desires that defy the hard-won boundaries of the self
Little Rabbit by Alyssa Songsiridej
yeong-hye is a young woman who lives an unremarkable life in korea. after violent and disturbing dreams about the death of animals, she stops eating meat—something that is almost unheard of in korean culture
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
will never stop recommending this <3 memoir of the story of a young woman lost in the throes of seeking love and growing up
Pregaming Grief by Danielle Chelosky
an aspiring writer casey strives to move from one phase of her life into the next amidst grief, joy, romance, and artistic fulfillment
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
greta is a transcriber for a sex therapist. she becomes infatuated with a patient she refers to as “big swiss.” when they eventually meet and become close, she is riddled with guilt but desperate to maintain the relationship.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
keiko is a social outcast who has never fit in with her family or at school. she finds peace and purpose working at a convenience store, where she learns the rules of social interaction and copies the mannerisms of her colleagues
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
a young black woman who gets involved with a middle-aged white man in an open marriage
Luster by Raven Leilani
in hollywood, las vegas, and the barren wastes of the mojave desert, it explores a woman and a society in crisis
Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion
tender, funny portrait of a young woman during a disorienting and pivotal year in college, where she learns the intricacies of language and love
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
a woman in tokyo avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that she's pregnant
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
this one broke my heart. novella split into two parts; the first takes place in 1949, when israeli soldiers capture and rape a young palestinian girl. second part takes place in the present day, when a young woman in becomes obsessed with learning mo...
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
isra is a young mother who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage far from her home country, palestine. years later, deya, her daughter, is a teenager growing up in modern-day brooklyn
A Woman Is No Man
a bold and unabashed novel about a young palestinian woman's unraveling as she teaches at an nyc middle school, gets caught up in a scheme reselling birkin bags, and strives to gain control over her body and mind
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
amazing, second fav rooney <3 two best friends from college now on the cusp of 30 grapple with repeatedly in their struggles to figure out how they should live and find meaning in a troubled world that has become increasingly unviable on multiple levels
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
eileen is trapped between caring for her verbally abusive alcoholic father and her dead-end job as a secretary at a juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys and dreams of escape. soon, a new therapist arrives at the facility and things begin t...
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
irina obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her when she is offered an exhibition promising to revive her career. this book explores the taboo regions of sexuality and gender roles in the twenty-...
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
a girl born with her stomach twisted in the shape of a knot. from childhood with her parents on the family meat farm, to a desk job in the city, to finally experiencing love, she grapples with her body, men, and society, all the while imagining a sof...
The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter
feminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a korean-american perspective
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
coming-of-age story about four sisters in new england in the 19th century, follows them as they grow up, deal with their individual personalities, and transition from girlhood to womanhood.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
a theater professor who is convinced staging Shakespeare's most maligned play will remedy all that ails her--but at what cost?
All's Well by Mona Awad
chilling short story collection about fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history--with bracing urgency
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day in...
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman