ankh_hpl | Entries tagged with women's literature

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nicky Gonzales's debut novel, Mayra, is as much about the power of teenage female friendship as it is about its dark plotline. Not that said power is always a force for good -- it certainly isn't in this case -- but its strength is undeniable. And it lasts far longer than the teen years, an undertow tugging at mundane adult life.

Set in the Cuban-American community of Hialeah, FL, Mayra is sparked by viewpoint character Ingrid (a cautious young working-class woman) getting an invitation from a childhood friend she hasn't seen in years. Mayra is everything Ingrid currently isn't: college student, confident thrill-seeker, impulse follower. She's spending a weekend with her boyfriend at a house in the Everglades -- and she'd love to reconnect. Several hours and many struggles later, Ingrid finds herself in what can only be described as a tropical Southern Gothic manor.

From this point on, the story becomes a slow-burn journey into the mystery of this house, and of Mayra's boyfriend Benji's relationship to it. Benji's a great host -- possibly to a fault. Days slip by in elaborate meals and long boozy conversations, leaving the two friends with plenty of time to explore the house, grounds, & their own shared history. There are lots of flashbacks (probably not a good read for those who prefer a strictly linear plot), culminating in Ingrid's discovery of a diary possibly kept by another woman who lived in this house decades ago.

Whether the dreamlike, hallucinatory feel of this novel gets it close enough to horror will depend upon the reader's patience, though there is some explanation late in the game. Ingrid is left with one last choice to make in her friendship with Mayra -- and Mayra herself is no help at all.

Three and a half stars, rounded up for writing quality and how many passages I highlighted. Recommended for readers looking for a very different modern Gothic, with a focus on the troubled dynamics of female friendship.

[My thanks to NetGalley, who provided me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.]

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White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this as the 2024 selection for One Book Westminster (CO), a library reading program. I look forward to the upcoming discussions & author talk, etc., but wonder if the novel would have had quite the same effect on me if it wasn't so local. This is a Denver-area dark mystery/fantasy, with many local references & locations which painted vivid pictures in my mind as I listened. Would this have quite the same effect on a reader / listener living elsewhere? YMMV, though I suspect anyone interested in a solid modern ghost story with Urban Native connections will probably enjoy it.

Kari, the first-person protagonist, is a young woman with a troubled past & plenty to be haunted by -- until her long-dead mother takes up the challenge. The overall plot is as much mystery as horror or fantasy, leaving the reader guessing until near the end whether this actually IS a fantasy novel or something more mundane. (Take a guess as to which way I was hoping.) The writing style is serviceable enough, but what impressed me were its deeply felt characters & the indigenous details (all of which were pretty much new to me). This one is woman-focused, though there are sympathetic male characters as well, & a balanced sense of justice.

A fun, atmospheric read for anyone looking to expand their dark fantasy horizons. Well worth a full credit purchase on Audible.

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Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.]

Darkly lyrical and dreamlike, this feminist Gothic vampire tale examines the lives (un-lives?) of two women trapped in circumstances they never chose, struggling to sustain themselves through fragile relationships and disappointments. One, sold by her family as a consort/menu item for the local undead lord, finds herself abandoned and adrift through Europe and into 19th century South America. The other, a single mother in modern Buenos Aires, is sinking under the weight of her own mother's terminal illness and a difficult connection with her small son.

The first half of this tightly plotted narrative is a blood-tinged historical, with many classic vampire tropes put to good use. The second half -- linked by a somewhat artificial device -- is a family drama sliding toward tragedy. When the two narratives mesh, a third option for both women emerges -- something neither is entirely prepared for.

This is Marina Yuszczuk's first novel to be translated into English. I'm left wondering what other shadowed gems we've been missing, and how quickly the problem will be corrected. Highly recommended for vampire fans in search of more substance, dark feminist fiction enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a thoughtful approach to undeath.

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The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I chose to read this collection for National Poetry Month because it followed me home from a favorite used bookstore, because it is by the current Poet Laureate of the US, & most importantly because I've previously enjoyed Limon's work.

I found this particular group of poems to be much more personal than others I've read by her, however. Some seemed nearly confessional, which I wasn't expecting. Quite a number of them dealt with fertility concerns, though never obsessively -- the concern was simply interwoven with anything & everything else in the poem. It felt natural, but didn't happen to be something this reader could easily relate to. Other aspects of her daily life, & the incredibly lyrical way she launched her thoughts from them, made much more of an impression on me.

Some of these poems are fairly highly structured, while others -- mostly the longer ones -- are free-form to the point of stream of consciousness. For me, the more structured ones worked better. I'm formalist poet myself, so this obviously influenced my view. In nearly all these poems, however, I came to at least one moment or line which made me catch my breath & reread more carefully. I'm not sure I can ask a lot more from poetry read for pleasure, which The Carrying definitely is.

Recommended for anyone seeking a strongly female, modern, & highly accessible view of daily life in quiet natural surroundings, or simply looking for something lovely to read in small doses.

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As I'm sure most bookish folks have read online a few hundred times already, it's (finally) National Poetry Month!

https://poets.org/national-poetry-month

I usually post a few links for where to get more poetry into your Inbox, or just read more poetry online. I may be doing that later in the month, but for now I'd just like to report on my own National Poetry Month reading this year.

Ada Limón's The Carrying followed me home from a used bookstore a few weeks ago. I'm not sure I even remembered that she is the current Poet Laureate of the United States, but I did remember reading her poems elsewhere & really enjoying them. So . . . I've started reading this collection, which has 62 poems. If I nibble a few a day, I'm sure I'll be finished well before the end of the month -- and possibly better off for not having inhaled the whole thing at once. Good poetry is sometimes a bit like very rich (burp) chocolate, or at least it is for me.

For more information & a few poems by Ada Limón:

https://tinyurl.com/4vvfundt

I'll be posting my Goodreads review for The Carrying when I've finished.

Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Set in the post-Roman days of Dark Age Britain, this story of two very gifted (and, of course, persecuted) sisters walks a fine line between historical fiction and historical fantasy. I spent a long time trying to decide whether magic was or was not real in this narrative, but finally realized that it didn't matter. Magic is real to the people living at this time, in this place -- which has a number of consequences, some of them horrifying.

The area in and around ruined Londinium in 500 AD is a setting I haven't seen used before, which drew me in immediately. I did have trouble at the beginning getting all the people & past events straightened out, because this is the sort of book that drops you in the deep end from Ch. 1. Many clues and background events don't become relevant until much later, which works better for some readers than for others. I was happy to be carried along for the ride, checking the odd tribal names & such which popped up (Wikipedia on Kindle is helpful).

The plot itself is strongly feminist / female-centered, with a whiff of YA. I occasionally felt that it got slightly New Age-y, but YMMA. Isla & Blue, the sisters, are both well-developed characters, though I enjoyed Isla more for her unusual training as a smith -- first as assistant to her father, a Great Smith, then as a cherished but hunted member of a women's community in the ruins of proto-London. Her younger sister Blue is an herbalist, healer, & possible seer -- closer to fantasy stereotypes. A few of the men in the sisters' lives are decent people, but most are drawn in extremely broad villainous strokes.

The final chapters include a rather dissonant paraphrase of Shakespeare (Macbeth, naturally) and a rapid series of shifts forward in time. The author is trying to make a point, & she makes it well, but I wasn't quite prepared for the abruptness.

This has the feel of historical fantasy rather than straight fiction, and might appeal most to readers of Marion Zimmer Bradley and her successors. Solid summer reading for Anglophile fantasy fans.

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The Jane Austen Collection: An Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This rating is only for Mansfield Park, included in Audible's Original Drama version of Austen's novels. I have no quibble with the narration, or the full-cast presentation. I simply don't find this to be one of my favorite Jane Austen novels -- which is why I've only read it once & listened to it once so far. But it's spring, so I need some Austen!

Mansfield Park seems unusually judgmental & scandal-ridden for an Austen novel. The heroine, Fanny Price, is not as witty / well-spoken as some Austen heroines, though she gets in more than a few perceptive comments. The plot revolves around the fallout from an ill-advised attempt at amateur theater (yikes!), which entangles the characters in flirtation, speculation, & scandal until the very last chapter.

This novel gives a clearer view into the alien nature of the Regency world: money is discussed without a lot of reserve, social status is clearly demarcated, & there are no second chances after a bad moral misstep -- at least, not for a woman. (Yes, the heroine does comment on this -- she's still an Austen girl, after all.) As such, I'd still recommend it to any Austen readers who haven't tried it yet, or haven't revisited it in some time. This one lays out The Rules of country gentry Regency society, no question -- & certainly gave me a better understanding of these novels as a group.

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The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not quite sure what to call this: fantasy novel of manners? Razor-edged Jane Austen with a side order of telekinesis? Whatever this strange hybrid is, it managed to keep this non-romance-reader close to her Kindle until the very last plot twist had been unraveled.

The overall plot arc (which other reviewers have done a wonderful job on, so I won't) covers two Grand Seasons in a fantasy variant of London/Paris/Elsewhere. There's an intelligent and nonconforming young woman, a somewhat older and equally nonconforming romantic hero, and one of the nastiest highborn villainesses one could ask for. The first two have a "talent" (i.e., telekinesis) which is regarded as Not Quite Respectable. The third has a love/hate history with the hero stretching back over a decade. Add a full set of Austen-style social strictures, a few juicy scandals, and stand back.

I can't say that all the plot twists were complete surprises for me, but I've read a little more science fiction than some. And I wasn't disappointed, just glad to be right.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia doesn't seem to write the same book -- or even the same genre of book -- twice, but one thing she does write with great reliability is excellent summer reads. I don't mean brainless beach books, either . .. just compelling, character-forward spec fiction that I have a hard time putting down on long midsummer evenings.

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A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Women's viewpoints seem to be everywhere lately in classical mythology and related fiction (think The Silence of the Girls or Circe), but I'm still glad I made time for this one. Rather than telling the story of one woman/goddess, Haynes moves through the Trojan War & its aftermath through the viewpoints of many women -- Greek and Trojan, mortal & immortal. Although this approach is occasionally disorienting, it adds depth to the familiar plotline while making the most of the author's research. The returning voice of the muse of epic poetry creates a useful but unobtrusive frame.

The novel itself feels less lyrical / emotional than some I've read in this subgenre, but this tone makes the events no less chilling. Haynes' choice of multiple viewpoints allows the examination of some events through more than one woman's eyes. Penelope's voice in letters to her long-absent husband also helps to keep the overall narrative on track, as the faithful but frustrated Penelope hears of Odysseus only from the random songs of bards visiting her court.

The author's own narration might push this one from 4.5 to 5 stars, but perhaps that's only because I'm a sucker for classical /mythological material delivered in a no-nonsense academic British accent. However that extra half-star manifested itself, I'd strongly recommend enjoying this one on audio.

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Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is this a Native American take on urban (OK, rez) fantasy? Post-apocalypse climate change SF with a side order of monsters & a kick-A female hunter? A slightly YA-flavored adventure with mainly Navajo protagonists & a deep dive into tribal mythology?

Yes.

I've been meaning to listen to this one for some time (it came highly recommended by at least one reviewer I trust on such topics), & I'm glad I didn't put it off any longer. Despite the apocalyptic setting, which may not be what some readers are looking for right now, this is a remarkable SF/F novel of its type.

Maggie Hoskie, the monster hunter, is orders of magnitude more complex than a traditional "slayer." Sure, she's got mysterious fighting skills (clan powers) & an arsenal of her own (including shotgun shells loaded with obsidian & corn pollen, wow), but she also has some all-too -believable personal demons. Rather than being a loner, she is a full part of her community, responsible to it & protective of it -- even when not everyone in that community loves her back.

I hesitated between 4 & 5 stars due to more romance than I'd signed on for, but had to go with 5 for the sheer freshness of the Navajo mythology, & because I am fascinated by all things Southwest. And I'll definitely be reading/listening to Storm of Locusts, the next in this Sixth World series.

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The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2)

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This sequel to The Handmaid's Tale actually felt much more optimistic than its predecessor, with more world-building and more insight into the lives of women other than Handmaids. The addition of one Canadian viewpoint on Gilead helped me realize that all of the former US had not become this horrific theocracy . . . and, as per usual in near-future SF, California & Texas were once again their own countries.

As an over-40 reader, I particularly appreciated the Testament of one of the series' villains: the infamous Aunt Lydia. She quickly became one of my favorite characters, allowing a glimpse into the secret (but uniquely powerful) world of Gilead's Aunts. Saying more than that about her, however, would mean committing Spoiler. This book is way too much sheer fun -- as well as creepily insightful -- for me to risk doing that.

I enjoyed this one on Audible, an experience I would recommend. The performances are all first-rate, with cameos from Margaret Atwood herself.

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Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't comment on the scholarship of this one -- I listened on Audible & had no access to any notes the book may have offered. However, I finished it feeling much more informed about the lives of two remarkable women I've been meaning to learn more about for years. My exposure to Wollstonecraft's writing was limited to (portions of!) A Vindication of the Rights of Women back in college, & I've read nothing of Mary Shelley's beyond Frankenstein. Bad, bad recovering English major . . .

This double biography is lively -- maybe a bit sensational, but fully justified by the facts -- & entertaining, and Susan Lyons offers a satisfyingly plummy narrative voice. Anyone hoping to retain a good opinion of either Shelley (the poet) or Byron might want to look elsewhere, however. Like her mother before her, Mary Shelley had enough trouble with both men & money to supply material for a couple of country albums! There is also the very real question of women living free lives before reliable birth control, & Gordon's work doesn't whitewash those details either. Nor does she make her subjects into feminist saints who never made bad life decisions or wronged another woman. They were highly gifted, but very human, people.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in women's literary history, or British lit in general.

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The Power by Naomi Alderman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an effective & unsettling listening experience, at least partly because the book did not deliver what I was expecting. And that's probably a good thing.

I'd heard The Power described as a feminist dystopian novel, sometimes compared to The Handmaid's Tale. For me, at least, this wasn't accurate. Rather than being centered on the USA, or triggered by abusive religion, this is a global dystopia triggered by a truly science-fictional concept. (I suspect everyone reading this knows the concept, but no spoilers from me.)

The book offers multiple sympathetic viewpoints from diverse characters: an emotionally scarred African-American girl "savior," a politically driven American mother with a troubled daughter, an ambitious male Nigerian journalist, a vengeful young woman from a British criminal clan. Within the novel's framing story (again, no spoilers here), the setting is disturbingly modern, complete with Eastern European chaos and social media trolls. When the author's SF concept changes just one thing, the world begins to fall apart with alarming rapidity.

In the end, this may be less a feminist dystopia than a human dystopia, more about humans & power than humans & gender. It's a thrilling listen (or read), but I can't say the ending gave me a lot of hope or warm fuzzies. Recommended for those ready to accept a solid dose of SF plus a touch of dark fantasy in a thought-provoking novel.

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The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't completely sure whether to give this one 4 or 5 stars, but finally settled on 5 for its sheer emotional power. Yes, there is rather modern British dialogue & slang (but, hey, we already know the PBS Roman Empire speaks British English, why not the ancient Greeks?). Yes, it is occasionally disconcerting when the plot shifts viewpoints between Briseis (first person) and her captor Achilles (third person). And even at the end, I was never completely sure who Briseis was telling her tale to. Other than me, of course.

However, none of this mattered while I was reading this very different, very lovely, & very brutal take on the Trojan War. This is war from the captive's view, and not just any captive. Briseis, a young royal woman from a Trojan city, was Achilles' personal prize -- and the the cause of his refusal to fight after Agamemnon took her away. Most of the novel is told from her POV, and it's every bit as harsh (& conflicted) as you'd imagine. Although Barker never gets gratuitously graphic, there's no question here about what happens to women in war.

If you've read the Iliad, you know the plot already. What matters here -- other than some breathtaking writing every so often -- is how women, mostly enslaved, figured into that plot. And how some men were decent in spite of the situation, and how many weren't.

Recommended (strongly) for Mary Renault fans, and anyone else looking for a different view of classical war. Or, probably, war as it still is.

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Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very different & character-driven Mythos novel, set in America's Cold War era. Aphra Marsh, the tale's first-person POV, is about as far from a standard Lovecraftian narrator as one can imagine, but perfect for this complex story.

Spy-hunting, Red Scare paranoia, and deadly serious practitioners of both dark & (semi?) white magic all figure into this one, along with references to America's Japanese internment camps. Race relations of the time also inform the plot -- as does the status of women, and the very perilous status of non-straight folks (male and female). That's a lot of (justifiable) social commentary, but it never quite gets in the way of the pure fun of a well-crafted Lovecraftian world, Miskatonic University and all.

The references here go way deeper than your standard Call of Cthulhu gaming chrome. Emrys has obviously done her research (both Lovecraftian and historical), managing to tie in most of HPL's major Mythos tales, plus one or two I wasn't expecting. I'll definitely be putting the sequel, Deep Roots, on my Want to Read (or perhaps listen to) list.

Recommended for Lovecraftians open to social comment and history in their Mythos fiction. I'm not sure that those completely unfamiliar with Lovecraft's work would get the most out of this novel, but they might still appreciate the world-building, history, and magic.

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The Good House by Tananarive Due

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A decent modern Gothic horror novel -- feels like Southern Gothic even though most of it takes place in the Northwest --with some really fascinating Vodou aspects. The story is female-focused with a sympathetic protagonist who refuses to be a victim. All good! This is the first Due novel I've ever read / listened to, and I was hoping to broaden my horror reading experience.

In some ways, the novel did this. Unfortunately, it felt much too long, even given that it was a generational story. Combine this with a nonlinear storytelling style (the entire plot zigzags back and forth, sometimes by decades at a time) and an unsatisfying ending, and you wind up with a book that's rather hard to get through.

I think I may have stuck with it because the Audible narrator was doing an excellent job. I'm not sure I would have been so persistent if I'd had, say, a paperback.

YMMV, especially if you're really looking for a chewy late-summer chiller.

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I've just received my early contributor's copy of Wishbone Moon (Jacar Press), a really lovely little haiku anthology.

Billing itself as "a groundbreaking anthology of haiku by women in the international haiku community," this perfect-bound volume is edited by Roberta Beary, Ellen Compton, & Kala Ramesh.

These three editors hail from Ireland, the USA, and India respectively, and their selections are equally diverse. I haven't finished this anthology yet -- it begs to be nibbled through and paused over! -- but a quick flip through its pages reveals haiku poets from Singapore, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and many other places. This is not a themed anthology, so there's a lot of variety in the haiku themselves as well.

The official publication date for this one is September. It will be available on both Amazon & the Jacar Press website, http://www.jacarpress.com/

Tor.Com http://www.tor.com/ is celebrating Space Opera Week (yes!). Author Judith Tarr has contributed an article of particular interest to those of us intrigued by women's literature:

"From Dark to Dark: Yes, Women Have Always Written Space Opera"

http://tinyurl.com/mfhyeus

This one's worth every minute of reading time, but be warned. It is loaded with useful, fascinating, & time-eating links on female writers of space opera, gender inequalities in the field, & even the Smurfette Principle (of which I was totally ignorant until today).

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSmurfettePrinciple

When it comes to reviews, glad tidings are always welcome!

Hippocampus Press publisher Derrick Hussey recently let me know about some very kind words re my 2015 fiction collection Dark Equinox & Other Tales of Lovecraftian Horror. In Wormwood #27, reviewer John Howard finds that

. . . Schwader unflinchingly shows the disintegration of the personal and the cosmic: and nothing is, or ever again can be, secure. (re 'When the Stars Run Away')

Intense and with a superb sense of place, each tale refers obliquely back to one or more stories or concepts from the Cthulhu Mythos, and runs with it in a refreshingly distinctive way. Lively and intriguing, they are utterly Lovecraftian in spirit. (re my five linked tales of Cassie Barrett)

Dark Equinox is available from the publisher, or from Amazon in both print and Kindle formats.

I'm a day late for her birthday, it seems -- but there is no bad day to post about James Tiptree, Jr., & I only stumbled across this very informative article on Tor.com today.

What James Tiptree, Jr. Can Teach Us About the Power of the SF Community

If you aren't (yet) familiar with Tiptree's groundbreaking work -- most of it short fiction -- Tor.com also has a link for that!

Where to Start with the Works of James Tiptree, Jr.

Either way, happy belated birthday to one of the most unique voices in women's SF.

Or SF, period.

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Yaddith Times

writing, reading, & related remarks

Entries tagged with women's literature

My Goodreads review: Mayra

My Goodreads review: White Horse

My Goodreads review: Thirst

My Goodreads review: The Carrying

What are YOU reading for National Poetry Month?

My Goodreads review: Dark Earth

My Goodreads review: Mansfield Park (Jane Austen Audible collection)

My Goodreads review: The Beautiful Ones

My Goodreads review: A Thousand Ships

My Goodreads review: Trail of Lightning

My Goodreads review: The Testaments

My Goodreads review: Romantic Outlaws

My Goodreads review: The Power

My Goodreads review: The Silence of the Girls

My Goodreads review: Winter Tide

My Goodreads review: The Good House

Wishbone Moon: international women's haiku

a fascinating article on women in space opera

my 2015 fiction collection gets a new review

Happy Belated Birthday, James Tiptree Jr.