Female American Authors? for Questionland Seattle

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Female American Authors?

Any suggestions for female American authors (fiction or non-fiction), particularly ones who worked with darker introspection, race relations, or gender relations?

Madeline Rider asked in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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Toni Morrison fits that bill. I've read two of her novels, Beloved and Jazz, and I count both among the best books I've ever read.

bell hooks is a great feminist (non-fiction) writer who also delves into race issues.

Also highly recommend Audre Lorde's poetry. I've never read her essays, but I imagine they're good as well.

Nim Chimpsky answered in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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I loved Heidi Durrow's debut novel The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, a coming of age story about a mixed-race girl who is the sole survivor of a family tragedy.

eadams answered in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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Maya angelou!

nicsoblu answered in Book Recommendations about 1 month ago | Report

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Check out Joyce Carol Oates- almost all of her work is fairly focused on gender relations and could definitely be described as "darkly introspective." For titles that deal pretty explicitly with race, try Black Girl/White Girl or Because it is Bitter, and Because it is My Heart. I have greatly enjoyed every book of hers that I have read.

In nonfiction, I recommend checking out Naomi Wolf for coherent and fascinating dissections of gender issues in the US- particularly Promiscuities and The Beauty Myth. I found Fire with Fire to be less engaging.

In the vein of The Lovely Bones (which Sacrelicious recommends), I'd suggest checking out the young adult novel Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson for an amazingly (and gut-wrenchingly) effective story of what growing up female is like for far too many girls in America.

Sphinx answered in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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How about Barbara Kingsolver? The Poisonwood Bible was a pretty darkly introspective book, and Pigs in Heaven covered white-Native American relations. Read The Bean Trees first.

Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones is also a rather dark book, but I didn't like anything else she wrote.

Amy Tan's books are good looks at race/gender/age relations. Sadly, I feel that you really only have to read one to have read them all, but at least that's a time-saver.

Sacrelicious answered in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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I second Nim Chimpsky's recommendations. I read The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Toni Morrison; both would fit what you're looking for. Audre Lorde has some great essays in Sister Outsider. bell hooks has written so many great books on a lot of different topics - I liked her books about love a lot - All About Love and Communion.

Some other books I've read that would fit what you're looking for:

A Cab Called Reliable by Patti Kim
Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao
Last Standing Woman by Winona LaDuke
Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa
White Women, Race Matters by Ruth Frankenburg

The last one is kind of dry & academic, but the others were good (if sometimes difficult) reads from what I remember. There are also some classic anthologies: This Bridge Called My Back and Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras.

Also almost anything written by Ursula K. LeGuin.

asteria answered in Book Recommendations 3 months ago | Report

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