It is hard to pick 10, but in honour of #IWD2021, here are my top ten female reads from my book project. Click on the book title to be taken to each of the 10 reviews.
At 10, it is Our Women on the Ground, edited by @ZahraHankir, a collection of 19 essays written by 19 Arab and Middle Eastern sahafiyat –female journalists.
At 9, it’s Lowborn by @ThatKerryHudson. Hudson investigates her own past and what it means to be poor in Britain today. It is a sad book, but also ultimately hopeful. An essential read for the times we live in. A joy.
At 8 it’s Pachinko by @minjinlee11. Pachinko is an epic novel, telling the story of 4 generations of the same Korean/Korean-Japanese family, going from Busan in 1910 South Korea to Tokyo in 1989.
At 7, it is Holiday Heart by Margarita García Robayo, translated by @CMCTranslations, published by @CharcoPress. Gender, motherhood, identity, racism, the end of love and dis-belonging are all at the heart of this wonderful novel. One of my favourites now.
At 6, it is Disoriental by @NegarDjav and translated by @tinakover. It is a book about motherhood, love, family, identity, exile, desexilio, memory and love.
At 5, it is Stains on my Khanga by @sandraamushi . Thanks @BwanaAnna for the rec. It is a collection of short stories and poems about what it is to be a woman in Tanzania today. Tanzania in its physical form is very much present.
At 4, it’s Lullaby Beach by @stellduffy. This gave me my reading mojo back. Abortion, love, feminocentric love, coercive control and loss are the themes of this wonderful book.
At 3, it is Cantoras by @caroderobertis. Cantoras tells the story of 5 women: Flaca (meaning skinny in Spanish), La Venus, Romina, Malena and Paz. This is a story of female friendship, love, revolution and the strength of the human spirit.
At 2, it is Stubborn Archivist by @yazzarf. A story of mixed heritage, existing between 2 cultures and learning to live in a body that has been sexually traumatised. So many of us will find a space carved for us in this wonderful novel.
At 1, it is Girl Woman Other by @BernardineEvari. It follows 12 women, most of them black British women in different decades. Their lives overlap, but their experiences, lives, backgrounds and choices could not be more different. A joy.
Women Writers Worldwide 