The relaxation felt from losing yourself in a good book is an experience uniquely on its own. Well-written stories and accounts provide readers with a sense of escapism that locks them into a state of complete tranquility and somehow magically turns all real-world responsibilities into meaningless distractions from the magic waiting on the next page.
This International Women’s Day, I say we celebrate by putting our burdens on the back burner and instead, indulge ourselves in the experience of reading a really great book. Whether you’re into facts, fiction, or inspiring autobiographies, here are three must-read works by a few of the most popular female writers from around the world.
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Written by Chilean-born author, Isabel Allende, ‘Eva Luna’ tells the story of a young girl trying her best to survive the hardships of living in an unnamed South American country torn apart by political chaos. The topic is a fitting one as the author herself was subjected to political exile when writing the book. As the first cousin of the former Chilean President, Salvador Allende, she and others in her family were forced to flee Chile after a successful coup by the infamous military dictator, Augusto Pinochet. The first-person narrative explores themes of love, loss, and the gendered expectations placed on women even in the midst of guerilla warfare.
The book was published in 1988 and received the American Book Award in the following year. Allende wrote a follow-up book titled, ‘Cuentos de Eva Luna (Stories of Eva Luna),’ which is a collection of short stories told by the same protagonis
milk + honey by Rupi Kaur
Sweet, simple, and easy to digest, ‘milk + honey’ is a collection of 279 poems divided in 4 chapters that explore healing from the pain of abuse and loss of love. The book of prose reminds the reader of the internal strength of women and the innate divineness of femininity. It’s author, Rupi Kaur, takes cues from her native Punjabi writing style to give us a well-needed break from traditional western styles of poetry.
The author is regarded as one of the first instpoets; Her fame came from self-publishing the book onto the internet and collecting attention via social media. Since its debut, it has been translated in 20+ languages and has rested comfortably on The New York Times’ Bestseller List for more than a year and half.
Rupi Kaur wrote a second follow-up book titled, ‘the sun and her flowers.’
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
While its author, Mieko Kawakami, is not an “instawriter” like aforementioned Rupi Kaur, the novel ‘Breasts and Eggs’ did also get its start online. Beginning as a popular Japanese blog in the mid-2000s, ‘Breasts and Eggs’ gained enough traction that Kawakami decided to turn it into a complete book.
Broken into two parts using the same narrator, the work uses very straightforward, minimally-edited language to address sensitive topics such as sexism, classism, and female reproductive choices. Part one focuses on the narrator’s sister and niece, who struggle through both the voluntary and involuntary changes that happen to the female body, while part two reveals the narrator’s own mission to give birth without ever having sex.
Upon its publishing, the book was hailed as a gem of Japanese feminist literature and awarded Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Literary Award. While the book was originally published in 2007, it wasn’t translated into English until 2020. It was later discovered that the English-language version is not quite the original version, but is actually a translation of an expanded version of the story titled, ‘Natsu Monogatori.’ Nevertheless, this short novella is still one for the wishlist.
Go ahead and kick your feet up, embrace the spring, and settle in with one of these juicy page-turners, for today we read so tomorrow we can lead.
Happy International Women’s Day!
