There has been a turn in literature in which the depths of feminine rage are not merely possessed but harnessed and released. Cue Amy Dunne’s “Cool Girl” monologue from Gone Girl.
Although this isn’t a new phenomenon, the genre has gained significant popularity in recent years through social media and various artistic forms. It can be understood as a response to millennia of systemic oppression, with this list dating back as far as the Bronze Age, as seen in Madeline Miller’s Circe.
Women of various backgrounds have been subjugated throughout history, as evidenced in the relatively recent granting of the Voting Act, to, in daily life, being told they are “too much.”
It is only fitting, then, to create a list that embodies and unleashes the pain of women. Rage on with these 8 fabulous books filled with feminine rage.
Difficult Women
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Bad Feminist comes a collection of stories, centered on women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, in both relationships marked by love and haunted by hardship.
In a national bestseller, Roxanne Gay effectively portrays a modern picture of America through delving into the emotional complexity of her characters, all while employing her signature subversive humor.
I Who Have Never Known Men
Largely considered a modern classic, Jacqueline Harpman, inspired by her own background as an exile during World War II, writes the story of thirty-nine women trapped in an underground cage.
Guards police the women, who have no memory of their lives before or how they wound up imprisoned. But one young girl, the fortieth prisoner who keeps to herself, will be the key to breaking them free.
In Love & Trouble
Named as “one of the best American writers of today,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, Alice Walker, debuts her first short story collection.
In Love & Trouble follows various stories of Black women, navigating their complicated presents, while balancing the burden of unrealized dreams.
Some from the South, others from the North, the women come from various backgrounds, while attempting to achieve a sense of purpose under the limiting conventions of society.
My Sister, the Serial Killer
Shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize, Oyinkan Braithwaite, in a punchy blend of humor and thriller, tells the tale of a Nigerian woman, covering up her young sister’s habit of murdering her boyfriends.
Korede has become accustomed to cleaning up blood. But when Ayoola, who has of late assumed the title of serial killer, threatens to go after the handsome doctor Korede has long been in love with, she must figure out a way to end her sister’s deadly inclination.
Circe
Madeline Miller has gained immense popularity through her ability to reimagine Greek mythology, often through a modern lens. Circe is no different, exploring a strange child named Circe as she navigates being born in the house of Helios, yet lacking any abilities.
But she learns she does, indeed, have powers, those of witchcraft, which threaten Zeus and lead to her banishment on a deserted island. Now, she must learn to navigate the world as a woman alone, while protecting the mortals she loves in the process.
Breasts and Eggs
Described by the New Yorker as a novel that “considers the agency [...] women exert over their bodies and charts the emotional underpinnings of physical changes,” Mieko Kawakami delivers a moving, contemporary depiction of womanhood in Japan.
Makiko travels with her daughter, Midoriko, from Osaka to Tokyo to visit her sister, Natsu. But, on the journey, Makiko is finding it increasingly difficult to dismiss the silence of Midoriko, who is struggling to articulate the overwhelming feelings that accompany the coming-of-age experience.
Together over the next few days, the women will come to confront their own fears and secrets.
The Days of Abandonment
In a “raging, torrential voice,” Elena Ferrante explores the devastating aftermath of a husband leaving his wife after over fifteen years of marriage.
Named one of the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, Olga must find a way to take care of her two young children while battling unimaginable heartbreak.
Navigating her feelings, from denial to pure rage, alone in what was once their apartment, Olga must confront a past she has been hiding from and forge a new sense of self.
The Vegetarian
Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, The Vegetarian explores a woman’s fight to gain independence over her life and body in a world and among people who seek to contain her.
Yeong-hye is being tortured by violent nightmares that interrupt her regimented life with her husband.
To regain control over her mind, she decides to stop eating meat. But soon she is beset by a disturbing onslaught of actions from her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, who desire to strip her of agency.
Featured image: Ekaterina Utorova / Canva
