500 Great Books By Women discussion

This is where you submit books/reviews. While the authors of the 500 GBBW anthology followed a one work per author rule, we will not. For a successful book submission, YOU must have read the book and published a review of it (in any language) on Goodreads. YOUR review (not someone else's) will serve as the "explanation" for the book's entry, and will be linked to accordingly.

Please provide the information found below:

Title, Author, (translated from which language (don't forget this one!) by Translator if appropriate) Year Published, Country Where Book is Set (Author's Country if Different From Book Setting or Setting isn't Specified), NOVEL (or SHORT STORIES/NONFICTION/HISTORY/ORAL HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/LETTERS)

"...Two sentences from the review..."

(Your Name, link to review)

Optional: Which Theme this book fits into. (ex: Friendship and Interactions, Art, Growing Up, etc)

If you're not sure about certain pieces of information, ask away.


Status

# of Original Works Reviewed: 144/508
# of New Works Added: 171
# of New Works Reviewed by Others: 89/171

The book I'd like to submit is Dust, set in Kenya. The author and 2 of the major characters are women. My review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sue wrote: "The book I'd like to submit is Dust, set in Kenya. The author and 2 of the major characters are women. My review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

Thanks for taking the plunge, Sue. As you may have seen from browsing the directory, all of the works from the official book take this form:

Title, Author, Year Published, Country Where Book is Set (Author's Country if Different From Book Setting), NOVEL (or/NONFICTION/HISTORY/ORAL HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY)

"...Two sentences from the review..."

(Review Author, page number)

If you could provide the information required, I can format it accordingly for a new entry. Don't worry about the page number after Review Author; that'll be replaced by a hyperlink to your review.

Aubrey wrote: "Sue wrote: "The book I'd like to submit is Dust, set in Kenya. The author and 2 of the major characters are women. My review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?..."

Do I put that information here?

Yep. I figure that's the easiest thing to do.

Ok. I'll get to it.

Dust, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor , January 28, 2014,
set in Kenya, (author born in Kenya), novel, 384 pages

This may be one of the most difficult books I've ever read and also, in the end, one of the most beautiful. It's human voice is so immense, so painful, so incredibly hard to listen to at times but so real.

I have never been to Kenya and am not likely to ever get to Africa at this point in my life (sadly) but I feel I have seen a glimpse of life that is not on tourists' maps but is of lives lived over the past 50 plus years as colonialism ended and Kenya has striven to become its own land.

link to review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sue wrote: "Dust, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor , January 28, 2014,
set in Kenya, (author born in Kenya), novel, 384 pages

This may be one of the most difficult books I've ever read and also, in the end, one of the..."

Congratulations, Sue! You are officially the creator of the first GR User powered submission to the 500 Great Books By Women database! Hip hip, hoorah! You may view your shiny new discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Are there other criteria? I mean, is it just any book we love by a female author? Does it have to be culturally-important? Does it have to be a novel? Can it be poetry, nonfiction, graphic novel, etc?

It's just any book that you love by a female author that you've reviewed, Jimmy. The original 508 contains nonfiction, oral histories, picture books, and other forms in addition to novels, so we'll follow the authors' example.

This is so cool. I'm thinking of more as I read your response to Jimmy's question, Aubrey.

Sue wrote: "This is so cool. I'm thinking of more as I read your response to Jimmy's question, Aubrey."

Glad to hear it, Sue. The more, the merrier.

are these acceptable submissions? if so, i'm back to browsing the list!


The Last Samurai, Helen Dewitt, 2000, United States, NOVEL

"...if helen dewitt wasn't technically a child prodigy herself, her debut novel cements her as a prodigious novelist ... it pulses with life, stripping away the protective decorations of monumental importance so much literature insulates itself with to get to the emotional core of common intellectual crises...."

(Aidan, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)


Dark Spring, Unica Zürn, (translated from German by Caroline Rupprecht) 1970, Germany, NOVEL/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

"... the book [reads] like something inside the artist that she desperately needed to get out ... you find yourself flipping through it in a single sitting, caught in its spell, trying to free yourself from its stranglehold...."

(Aidan, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)


The Notebook, The Proof, The Third Lie (Trilogy), Ágota Kristof, (translated from French by Alan Sheridan, David Watson, Mark Romano) 1997, Hungary, NOVEL

"...kristof's fictional universe is immersive, then seems to disintegrate completely ... but it doesn't ... the kind of writing that feels more genuine than the world around you, that leaves you deprived & broken when you finally set it down...."

(Aidan, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Adding some non-Anglophone ones, hope I get this right:

War's Unwomanly Face, Svetlana Alexievich, (translated from Russian by Keith Hammond and Lyudmilla Lezhneva) 1988, Soviet Union, NON-FICTION

"...Taken one by one, the stories become little novellas spanning from the prosaic ("Four years in men's underwear!") to the deeply tragic. When Alexievich puts them all together, they become something entirely different, a choir of voices, often identified only by first name and rank, finally telling what they went through during one of the bloodiest wars in history, and of the other war they've had to live with since."

(Bjorn, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Iran Awakening, Shirin Ebadi (translator not named anywhere I can find), 2006, Iran, AUTOBIOGRAPHY

"For all the horrific (or at times darkly comic) examples she cites, it's very hard not to be impressed by her ability to keep ducking and weaving despite being harassed, jailed and finding her own name on official death lists. With no strict law to argue, she often finds herself arguing theology with judges - and even if they occasionally simply have her thrown out of court when they run out of arguments ... simply keeping the debate alive in a country that's on its second generation as a theocracy, can mean the difference between life and death."

(Bjorn, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Véronique Tadjo, Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice (translated from French by Amy Baram Reid), 2009, Côte d'Ivoire, NOVEL...ish

"Queen Pokuaa or Pokou led her people to a new country, in the process sacrificing her newborn son to the gods so that they might cross a river and escape the soldiers chasing them down... Then Tadjo picks up her metaphorical tenor sax and starts playing different variations on it; what if, what if, what if?"

(Bjorn, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Bjorn and Aidan, the submissions are good, but not all of them use your own reviews. It's one thing for members of this group to submit their own work for this endeavor, and quite another for them to scour the Internet for the work of others that is to their liking. If you like, you may message the users whose reviews you wish to make use of and recruit them for this project (in that they join the group and make submissions on their own), but otherwise it is much preferable you use your own work.

I will clarify that in the first message.

Gotcha. I've edited my post accordingly.

ah! ditto

Thank you both your submissions, Aidan and Bjorn. One question, Bjorn: what is the original language of Iran Awakening?

Persian, I assume.

Unless she really did write it in English, I get the impression she's not fluent in English but I just checked my copy and there's a co-writer (Azadeh Moaveni) credited as well. But I don't have the American edition so I can't really check if there's a translator credited in the actual book.

Thanks. I'll put it as Persian until information is revealed attesting otherwise.

Well, Aubrey, I'm not one for lists, but this group (clearly you have invested a great deal of effort in it) goes well beyond a list!

I have a submission:

Higuchi Ichiyo, (translated from Japanese by Edward Seidensticker, Robert Danly, and others) 1894/6 (not sure exactly when), Japan, NOVELLA

Higuchi Ichiyo (1872-1896), whom Donald Keene termed the "principal woman novelist of the Meiji period," wrote the novella Takekurabe (given both "Growing Up" and "Child's Play" as titles in English(*)) in the final year of her lamentably brief life, struck down by tuberculosis at the age of 24. Despite her necessarily small output, Ichiyo is an influential figure in Japanese literature.

Steve

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Could I suggest;
Efuru by Flora Nwapa 1966, Nigeria, NOVEL

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I hope that is the link to my review!

Paul wrote: "Could I suggest;
Efuru by Flora Nwapa 1966, Nigeria, NOVEL

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I hope that is the link to my review!"

It is indeed, Paul, but which two sentences do you want featured in the entry from your review?

Edit: scratch that, I just realized Efuru's one of the original 508 and that you're submitting a review for it, which means you don't need to choose sentences. Apologies, Paul, you're good.

Oops; how about:
Efuru, beautiful and respected, is loved and deserted by two ordinary undistinguished husbands. This is a great novel; much too neglected and well worth looking out for.

Aubrey, did you miss my submission, or would you prefer that I delete it?

Steve wrote: "Aubrey, did you miss my submission, or would you prefer that I delete it?"

I saw it, Steve, and didn't comment on it due to not having an issue with it. I'll make up an entry for it as soon as I'm at a computer.

Paul wrote: "Oops; how about:
Efuru, beautiful and respected, is loved and deserted by two ordinary undistinguished husbands. This is a great novel; much too neglected and well worth looking out for."

That's good, Paul, but it turns out you don't need to come up with sentences, as the original 500 GBBW authors chose Efuru as well. A link to your review will be posted in the first post of this discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Steve wrote: "Well, Aubrey, I'm not one for lists, but this group (clearly you have invested a great deal of effort in it) goes well beyond a list!

I have a submission:

Higuchi Ichiyo, (translated from Japanes..."

Thank you for the submission, Steve. You can see it in its final form here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith, 1943, NYNY, novel

a wonderful story of a young girl growing up in early twentieth century Brooklyn with her parents and brother. The life was hard with family foremost but not perfect. The details were perfect, from the multiple uses for bread to stretch out meals to details from school experiences to conversations between mother and daughter revealing depths of honesty and past despair.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Summer Book, Tove Jansson, (Thomas Teal -translator), 1972, Finland, novel

A grandmother and child and nature, all three somewhat wild and uncontrollable, live along with their son/father, during the summer, on a barren island they all love. This was written 40 years ago but is really timeless in its story of a child's unrelenting thirst for knowledge and stubborn daily brawls with the world at large.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Native Guard, Natasha Trethewey, 2006, United States, Poetry

The author writes of black regiments during the Civil War, her experiences as a mixed race child in Mississippi, her parents' marriage. It's a short but packed volume...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Okay since I posted in this thread before the guidelines were announced I have deleted my earlier post. Now to make submissions based on those guidelines -

1)The Black Unicorn: Poems, Audre Lorde, 1978

"The implications hidden between her verses do not reinforce a kind of self-obsessed confessionalism as often found in Sylvia Plath or Anne Sexton's works or the heavy-handed inclusion of so many allusions that the poet's urge to communicate is buried under towering ambitions of dismantling poetic conventions.

Sometimes, her words give the impression of mildly cryptic messages casually scribbled at the back of a notebook, perhaps, while she may have been staring out of her window distractedly. Sometimes, they are her anguished lament, her impassioned protest, wrenched out of her by the brutality of the world or the injustice perpetually dished out to those clinging to the lowermost rungs of the societal ladder for dear life."

My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/993321845

2)Letter to a Child Never Born, Oriana Fallaci (possibly not a translation), 1975 , Setting irrelevant (Italy probably)

"Oriana Fallaci writes with a poetic flair, fearlessly lending her voice to many questions which nearly all of us (specially women) battle with in solitude over a lifetime, but are often unable to articulate these ideas in front of an audience in fear of backlash by a predominantly conservative society. The central ideas are presented in the form of a young woman's internal monologue, in which she confronts her own fears, doubts, misgivings and suppressed anger while pretending to converse with her unborn child."

My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/734737732

3)The Translator, Nina Schuyler, 2013, Set in Japan and USA

"The essence of The Translator consists not so much of the life events of one particular Hanne Schubert, who effortlessly navigates the world of various languages, but of the basic human fallacy of failing to understand another, the pangs of miscommunication and the tragedies that transpire as a consequence. "


My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/669338225

4)Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, Xiaolu Guo, 2008, Set in China

"Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth brings into focus the position of women in a country rapidly elevating itself to a position of profound importance in the global arena but curiously enough, lacking conspicuously in the human rights department.
It explores themes of isolation, urban boredom, the sheer tragedy of everyday life, personal freedom and the deep disconnect between an increasingly authoritative Communist regime and disillusioned citizens, in a quintessentially nonchalant manner."

My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/535977528

Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon, Nicole Brossard (Translated from French by Susanne de Lotbiniere-Harwood), 2001, Quebec, Novel

" A wonderful novel about four women who come together through common sentiments signified by different life stories and each one of them is in search of some crystallized vision which can bring them closer to an elusive reality. Nicole Brossard is an ingenious writer. Her art is an endearing mixture of old traditions and new ideas. She has a penchant for philosophies but she likes to play with chaotic ambiguities too."

Garima

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Friendships and Interactions topic defines this book perfectly.

Honored Guest, Joy Williams, 2004, Short Stories

"It is one perfect story collection I have read in a long time. It’s perfect in terms of writing, in executing unconventional ideas, in building an ambiguous atmosphere, in gathering a unique set of characters and perfect in keeping the interest of a reader till the very end."

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thank you all for your submissions, Sue and Samadrita and Garima. I'll input them once I'm at a computer.

Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, novel by Marguerite Young, 1960s, set in the US mostly..

First sentence of review, the second is waay too long to include:
"I’ve never been so full of words as after reading this book, itself so very full of words."

Fionnuala

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Garima wrote: "Honored Guest, Joy Williams, 2004, Short Stories

"It is one perfect story collection I have read in a long time. It’s perfect in terms of writing, in executing unconventional ideas, in building an..."

Nice Suggestion!

Fionnuala wrote: "Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, novel by Marguerite Young, 1960s, set in the US mostly..

First sentence of review, the second is waay too long to include:
"I’ve never be..."

Thanks for jumping the hurdles, Fionnuala. Splitting up the work between interested parties expedites everything. I'll input your submission once I'm at a computer.

Sorry for giving you extra work explaining how to jump them, Aubrey.
Anyway, another submission:
Day by A. L. Kennedy, novel, 2007, set in the United Kingdom just after WWII.

"I like books about heroes, unassuming heroes, the quiet ones who never get promotion, never get awards for bravery. Alfred Day, turret gunner in a bomber squad during WWII is one such hero.."
Fionnuala

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Aubrey, is it helpful to have those book and author links as Fionnuala provided? I'd certainly be happy to provide them.

Sue wrote: "Aubrey, is it helpful to have those book and author links as Fionnuala provided? I'd certainly be happy to provide them."

Since my goal is to be able to see all the relevant information at a glance at a single webpage without clicking on anything, links are extraneous. You may put them in, if you wish, but I won't be making use of them if I can help it.

Thanks Aubrey. I'll only put the link to my review.

Fionnuala wrote: "Sorry for giving you extra work explaining how to jump them, Aubrey.
Anyway, another submission:
Day by A. L. Kennedy, novel, 2007, set in the United Kingdom just after WWII.

"I..."

More submissions! Yay!

Also, the two sentences don't have to be next to each other. Just put in some (...) between the two you like most.

Re The Black Unicorn, the list already has a book by Audre Lorde: Sister Outsider

Zanna wrote: "Re The Black Unicorn, the list already has a book by Audre Lorde: Sister Outsider"

Yes, there are no restrictions in the way of one work per author for our submissions, including when taking the original 508 into account.

wait, is there another joy williams book on the list? i searched for one because i was considering submitting the quick & the dead along with the three above, but couldn't find any. i'm glad she's on the list, though--she's easily one of our best living writers.

Apologies for getting your hopes up, Aidan, but that was me mixing up Grace Paley with Joy Williams again. I don't know why I do that.

well, they are both very influential short story writers from the us! gotta read paley one of these days, if only so i can contribute to the review medley

Now I'm at sea - it will become all the books ever written by women, and the garden will be wild
(I like wild nature, but I can only cultivate a corner of the earth)

We have a ways to go till it's wild, Zanna. I'd like to match the 1001 BBYD's current combined updates amount of 1305 works, at least. Then we can talk about wild.

you are brave ; )