When I was going through a hard time, someone advised me that anger was an appropriate reaction to an angering situation. This book was an expansion oWhen I was going through a hard time, someone advised me that anger was an appropriate reaction to an angering situation. This book was an expansion on that theme, and it really resonated with me.
"Anger is the expression of hope...The anger we have as women is an act of radical imagination...Your anger is a gift you give to yourself and the world that is yours."...more
Ooh, okay, this one is *brutal*. Clytemnestra’s story is one of the Greek myths I’m most familiar with, and even knowing what was going to happen did Ooh, okay, this one is *brutal*. Clytemnestra’s story is one of the Greek myths I’m most familiar with, and even knowing what was going to happen did not diminish how hard this was to read, especially as a mother.
I love this retelling from Clytemnestra’s perspective: her challenges being a clever woman in a man’s world, the trauma she faces in her life, being a mother to children who never quite feel like hers. This was really well-written and well-researched, and I’d recommend this to others.
“…to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.”
This book is a great setup to a new series by Shannon Chakraborty. This is th“…to be a woman is to have your story misremembered. Discarded. Twisted.”
This book is a great setup to a new series by Shannon Chakraborty. This is the story of Amina al-Sirafi. While tales of her pirate adventures and vicious rumors about her character have permeated the societies around the Indian Ocean, she has settled down to a quiet, isolated life with her family and the light of her life, her daughter Marjana. Until one day, she’s called out of retirement to hunt down the kidnapped daughter of an old friend.
It’s ultimately a crew book, and I love crew books even though the ones I’m drawn to are usually in space. I enjoyed how the characters bicker and how their love for each other and adventure is always clear, and I also learned quite a bit about twelfth century societies and beliefs. The representation—across religion, age, and the LGBTQ spectrum—was really amazing as well.
This is somehow the second pirate queen book I’ve read so far this year, and it was a lot of fun: after her husband’s death, Shek Yeung does what she This is somehow the second pirate queen book I’ve read so far this year, and it was a lot of fun: after her husband’s death, Shek Yeung does what she can to retain power over his fleet with his second-in-command, Cheung Po.
I expected this to be fantasy—many pirate books these days have a fantasy element—but this was pretty straight historical fiction. I don’t gravitate toward historical fiction and probably wouldn’t have picked this up on my own, but it was a nice surprise.
There’s a lot here: isolationism and imperialism, the role of women and motherhood, and big ethical questions. I’ll definitely read more by this author.
This is a story of generational trauma told through the backdrop of La Llorna, the vengeful ghost weeping over the children she killed.
The story alteThis is a story of generational trauma told through the backdrop of La Llorna, the vengeful ghost weeping over the children she killed.
The story alternates between Alejandra in present day and her ancestors and the choices they made. The first ancestor we see is Atzi from the time of the conquistadors and their time colonizing Mexico. She has a terrible choice to make which sets off a generational curse.
The writing was beautiful although the story with all of its tragedy and trauma was tough to read. I loved how close the reader is to Alenjandra, hearing all of her thoughts.
The theme of this is really the intersectionality of struggle, that Martin Luther King Jr.’s famously summarized as: “Injustice anywhere is a threat tThe theme of this is really the intersectionality of struggle, that Martin Luther King Jr.’s famously summarized as: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere.”
I hadn’t read anything by Angela Davis, and this one caught my eye given current events in Palestine. This is a selection of speeches and essays rather than a cohesive collection that progresses. It’s well worth reading, but it’s repetitive because the pieces weren’t originally intended to be collected into a book....more
I saw this at a bookstore and assumed it was realistic contemporary fiction with a metaphorical title and said out loud to my husband: “I wish this weI saw this at a bookstore and assumed it was realistic contemporary fiction with a metaphorical title and said out loud to my husband: “I wish this were actually a book about women turning into dragons.” So I was *thrilled* to discover that I was wrong and it was!...more
Listening to other women's stories this year has given me confirmation, finally, that our expectations have been absurd. So many women I spoke with--o
Listening to other women's stories this year has given me confirmation, finally, that our expectations have been absurd. So many women I spoke with--objectively successful women--felt ashamed of their perceived failures.
What if we're not failures? What if what we've done is good? At any rate, maybe it's good enough.
I'm not a Gen X, but I am an older Millennial--one who graduated and got a job before the 2008 recession. I don't face a lot of the challenges faced by the women in this book, and yet so much of it resonated with me....more