sorta OT: great books by women, or with great female charact

[lahabiel]

Some personal faves...

WOMAN AUTHOR: Zora Neal Hurston
(they named the high school on the kids show Ghostwriter after her)

FEMALE CHARACTERS (other than W/T):
Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her niece Lucy
from the Patricia Cornwell mysteries

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Check out my story
"banish.exe"
on the site www.extraflamey.com for a W/T treat!
--Jeffe

[bzengo]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rally:
Almost anytyhing written by John Varley. But in particular, his trilogy Titan / Wizard / Demon are simply amazing.
I guarantee if you read these, you will not put them down.

-R

---

Damn. I just read the whole thread, hoping I'd be the first to recommend Varley's Titan Trilogy, a wonderful set of books, with powerful lesbians throughout, and an entire world/Goddess who is female.

My favorite strong female in all of fiction, is Cordellia, from Cordellia's Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Like Varley, Bujold has won both of SF's hightest honors, the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Strongly, strongly recommended.

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bzengo
Who is ready to buy a "SAVE TARA" shirt
(Nothing tacky or anything, maybe with a W/T photo in front, and BtVS logo on the back?)

edited yet again, to make the formating work right.

[This message has been edited by bzengo (edited January 11, 2002).]quote:

[Rally]

quote:

---

Originally posted by bzengo:
Damn. I just read the whole thread, hoping I'd be the first to recommend Varley's Titan Trilogy, a wonderful set of books, with powerful lesbians throughout, and an entire world/Goddess who is female.

---

I did the same thing, glad I got to be the mention Varley, my all time favorite author.

Also don't forget lots of fun witch / coven stuff in the Trilogy as well.

Never had anyone female or male be disapointed at reading the Titan Trilogy.

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-R

"Everyone's getting spanked but me."quote:

[Nic C]

First off, just want to echo the praise for...

- Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale, Blind Assassin.
- A S Byatt: Possession is amazing, plus takes a great, wry look at 70s/80s feminist/political-lesbian excesses (and its positive aspects).
- Alice Walker: The Color Purple.
- Gael Baudino: wow, that name takes me back
- Sheri S Tepper: v 'issue'-driven and consequently can get rather too strident at times. But has done some great stuff... try Beauty, Grass, The Gate to Women's Country or Gibbon's Decline and Fall.

I'm not personally a fan of Virginia Woolf, but my flatmate raves about Orlando, which I gather has lesbian currents in it.

Other good female authors and their works...

- Toni Morrison: Beloved.
- Melanie Rawn: fantasy. Her Dragon Prince/Dragon Star trilogies are great, and have more strong women than you can shake an extra flamey candle at.
- J V Jones: high fantasy. The Barbed Coil is a standalone with a strong female lead.

Other authors/books with strong female characters...

- Tolstoy: Anna Karenina (sorta...I'm not big on Anna but she is quite forceful at times, and is certainly interesting. Great book anyway).
- Robert Graves: I, Claudius - for Livia alone If nothing else, watch the first few eps of the wonderful BBC version from a few years back. Sian Phillips is so cool
- Guy Gavriel Kay: historical fantasy. My favourite author by quite a way. Try A Song for Arbonne, set in a world inspired by the high medieval France of the troubadours, the Court of Love, and the Albigensian Crusade; or the two part Sarantine Mosaic, set in an analogue of 6th century Byzantium, where the fate of nations is decided as much by the powerplay between three women as by war and Emperors. Fabulous, beautiful stuff. Also my personal fave, The Lions of Al-Rassan (multiculturalism and holy war in fantasy version of medieval Spain).
- Iain M Banks has a number of female protagonists/interesting female figures. Inversions, The Business.

Getting really classical, the plays of ancient Greek tragedian Euripides features many of the archetypal strong women: Medea, Clytemnestra, Antigone... and all done in such a way as to subvert the prejudices of his (predominantly male) audience. He was the master, and no mistake.

Must stop. Sorry. Love books, y'know?

Nic

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No sun, no moons, no stars over Al-Rassan.

[This message has been edited by Nic C (edited January 11, 2002).]

[ladyhawk]

Okay, I'm going jump right in with my list (great suggestions already, btw):

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson. I absolutely love this book. Great characters, wonderful language, incredible story.

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Watters. Again, can't echo the praise about this book enough. It isn't simply a lesbian tale, it's an epic Victorian era novel. Great stuff.

Hood by Emma Donaughue. A sad story about a week in the life of a woman who has just lost her lesbian lover.

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde. Lorde calls it a "biomythography" of her life. It's really fascinating stuff. You should check out her poetry as well.

Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robbins. The wild life and loves (both genders) of a woman with the world's largest thumbs. Sissy is hands down one of my favorite characters in modern literature. Robbins is an amazing writer - as I was reading this book I realized it was one of the best feminist novels I'd ever read, and it had been written by a man!

Terminal Velocity by Blanche McCrary Boyd.

[Under Her Spell]

I'd like to add Toni Morrison again, anything by is brilliant. Also to an extent Margaret Atwood, although she can come across as bitchy ('The Robber Bride') sometimes. Muriel Spark is a genius, 'The Comoforters' is a very strange and very good read. Kate Atkinson is good, although I like 'Emotionally Weird' a lot more than her other books. Angela Carter is weird and good.

For classics, Charlotte Dacre and Elizabeth Gaskell are good. I can't think of any specific male writers with strong female writers - as long as you steer away from the likes of Milan Kundera, who tend to write about misogynists, there are plenty of strong female characters in literature.

[tyche]

Has anyone mentioned Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy? Jackie Kay's first novel, 'Trumpet', about a jazz musician who's not all he seems, is one of the best debut novels of the last few years. Her new novel, 'Why don't you stop talking?' is out this week, and there are a couple of interviews with her here and here.
Carol Ann Duffy writes wonderful poetry: I'd whole-heartedly recommend her books 'Mean Time' and 'The World's Wife'. The latter is poems on some of the greatest men in history from the perspective of their wives and female partners. It's scathing and very funny.
And I love Margaret Attwood's novels, but her poetry is excellent too, and has been somewhat overshadowed by her fiction.
I'd also recommend Lorrie Moore's book of short stories, 'Bird of America' and Anne Tyler's earlier stuff, particularly 'The Accidental Tourist' (later made into a film with Geena Davis and William Hurt.) And anything by the marvellous Angela Carter, particularly 'The Magic Toyshop' and her short stories.

Okay, done rambling.

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Good God, that's a lot of shake!

[greatluna]

since you've mentioned them both, at this point the hopeless romantic in me is compelled to ask...are jackie kay and carol ann duffy still together?

btw, more books: the shipping news by e. annie proulx.
michael cunningham: "the hours"or "flesh and blood". powerful female characters, and he is maddeningly good at descriptions. as a writer, he really makes me envious. about the only one, in this job. grrr, arggh indeed :-)
jean rhys: wide sargasso sea. can it be true? a woman writing like this at the start of last century?

[lurker]

I can't think of any books to recommend....I read loads too!

Anyway, you have convinced me to buy "Tipping the Velvet". Just ordered it from Amazon and they have excellent reviews on there to.

[tyche]

greatluna: yup - it mentioned in one of the articles I linked that they're still together.

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Good God, that's a lot of shake!

[Under Her Spell]

I've read some Carol Anne Duffy, I think I studied her at school or college, I can't remember which. She was very good.

[greatluna]

yay for carol ann + jackie! thanks for the info tyche : )

the hopeless romantic i am today feels compelled to post one tiny poem
by C A D.
hope the mods won't mind me too much..but in case, feel free to remove it.
it is entitled valentine.

not a red rose or a satin heart.

i give you an onion.
it is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
it promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

here.
it will blind you with tears
like a lover.
it will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

i am trying to be truthful.

not a cute card or kissogram.

i give you an onion.
its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are
for as long as we are.

take it
its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,
if you like.

lethal.
its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

***
all things must end yeah?
but i can see my fate in your eyes
(olly knights)

[Remnantofagirl]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Willowlicious:
Oh, yes, yes, yes! That is a FANTASTIC book! It is a gorgeously detailed tour through 1888 London that just to feature a lesbian as its (fascinating) central character. This is flat out literature, not lesbian literature

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I second the motion! Sarah Waters is an amazing author. I encourage everyone to get her second book, Affinity, as well. While it seems that Tipping the Velvet is thus far the best of her books, that is only because it set a standard most modern authors would be hard pressed to beat. Affinity is different, but still has strong female charachters and wonderful writing. Heck, I learned how to vary my punctuation from reading and rereading Sarah Waters.

I'd also like to recommend Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid. This book is breathtaking in both its simplicity and the immense symbolism and imagery that is prevalent in every page, sentence and word. It tells of a girl growing up in Antigua, her relationship with her mother, the girls with whomshe 'falls in love', and her perception of the world. Crafty stuff.

lali-ho,
Olga

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Livejournal
shatter beneath me, so you too can be a remnant of a girl

[This message has been edited by Remnantofagirl (edited January 13, 2002).]quote:

[Pixie]

This is a great thread!

I read mostly SciFi and Fantasy. Some of my favorite authors have already been mentioned:
- Mercedes Lackey - great female characters, and her "Magic's Pawn" trilogy is about a gay boy at the age of 15.
- Melanie Rawn
- Guy Gavriel Kay - the ones that have already been mentioned (A Song For Arbonne, Sailing to Sarantium, Lord of Emporors, Lions of Al-rassan), as well as Tigana, and the Fionovar Tapestry (The Summer Tree, the Wandering Fire, and the Longest Road). His writing is so beautiful and rich I find myself reading paragraphs over before I go on.
- Sherri S. Tepper - The Gate to Woman's Country

I'd also like to recommend:
- young adult author Cynthia Voigt, esp. the Dicey books, starting with Homecoming.
- Madeline L'engle - the Vicky Austin series, esp. A Ring of Endless Light.
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - great midrash!!!
- Woman On The Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
- the Stoner McTavish books by Sarah Dreher. There are things about her style that I don't always love, although I can't put my finger on them. But lesbian detective stories with a hint of the supernatural occasionally - very sweet!
- Children's picture books (I work in the children's section of a Barnes & Noble) - there are some fabulous new ones, esp. Stella, Star of the Sea, by Marie-Louise Gay; Lizzy and Skunk; and Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. I can't remember the authors of the last two. All 3 of these picture books are perfect for 4-5 year-olds.

[WillowLikeWhoa]

quote:

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FEMALE CHARACTERS (other than W/T):
Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her niece Lucy
from the Patricia Cornwell mysteries

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Me too! They are both awesome, and as a bonus, Lucy is a lesbian. =) I can't wait for the first movie to come out, and for the next book.

The alphabet series (A is for Alibi, G is for Gumshoe, etc.) by Sue Graftion also has an excellent female character named Kinsey Mahlone (sp?).

Although her work is for young adults, K.A. Applegate's series' always have strong female characters. In the Animorphs series, there was Cassie and Rachel. In the Everworld series, April and Senna were strong females.

Someone mentioned The Red Tent. I would have to concur with that. Excellent book.

I also like the Pokemon graphic novels for their smart women. In the ones based mostly on the game, the female is named Green. In the ones based on the anime, Misty is a strong female character.

~Michelle~quote:

[the literary exterminator]

Someone mentioned Booker Prize winners above, and when I think of strong female characters in Booker Prize winning novels, I immediately think of Kerewin in The Bone People by Keri Hulme. (Also a female author, thus twice as apropos.) I highly recommend the novel. I also second the raves of Woolf's Orlando mentioned above.

[kissystarcowboy]

i love this thread. i just checked out Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" and I love it, though there aren't any lesbians in it so far. Damn.

I really should read Colette. She's my namesake. My parents didn't want to name me Medea cos they thought I'd eat my kids, so they named me after a queer writer instead. And look what happened...

[ForeverFaith*]

ok, i was going to just but this in the daily thread but with what the topic is today...well, i don't think they'd be very helpful....
anyway, i need to read a book by a woman.
thats the only criteria but i want a good one, something actually interesting.
keeping in mind thats i am required to write a review on it for highschool english class.
so, any suggestions?
thanks

(semper fides)

*reposted by WillTara

[Glory-p3-mrs]

not by a woman, but really interesting and different - about a woman!
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the west"
by Gregory Maguire
its pretty damn funny too

has anyone read/heard of 'Empress of the world' can't remember the author and haven't read it, anyone?

[This message has been edited by Glory-p3-mrs (edited January 31, 2002).]

[willow's girl]

My favorite author is Patricia C. Wrede. She writes young adult and Adult fantasy with very strong female characters. If you get the chance, check out her Enchanted Forest Chronicles, as well as Merlion the Magician and The Magician's Ward. They are just great.

[Zahir]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold. Can't think of any gay characters in her books, although there was a hermaphrodite and a full (i.e. futuristic as in fully-functional-and-fertile) female to male transexual in her latest Vorkosigan novel A Civil Campaign. Her women characters (actually all her characters) are interesting as well as fun to read about.

------------------
"O let my name be in the Book of Love.
If it be there, I care not of
That other book Above...
Strike it out! Or write it in anew.
But let it be in the Book of Love!"
--Omar Kyam

[Thanatopsis]

I wanna reiterate Joyce Carol Oats, she's one of my favorites, not just Foxfire, but anything she's written. She has this great dark, creepy style I like.
Um, some others, Dani Shaprio, Sapphire, Abigail Thomas, Zia Jaffrey, Joan Didion, Darcey Seinke.

In terms of young adult books, Lucy Maud Montgomery, not just for Anne of Green Gables, but for The Story Girl and the sequel and The Golden Road.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is still one of my favorites.

T

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DAWN: I gave birth to a pterodactyl.
ANYA: Oh my god, did it sing?

[La]

i just read How to Make an American Quilt, by Whitney Otto, and I really really enjoyed it. It's all about women. There was a movie made based on the book with winona ryder and claire danes i think was in it too. i saw the movie awhile ago but it didn't affect me the same way the book did.

~la

[Dr.G]

quote:

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Originally posted by Zahir:
Personally, I'm a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold. Can't think of any gay characters in her books, although there was a hermaphrodite and a full (i.e. futuristic as in fully-functional-and-fertile) female to male transexual in her latest Vorkosigan novel A Civil Campaign.

---

Oh thank you for the tip Zahir. Sounds interesting.
Heh, I think I shall check this out. Just out of curiosity (not an attack), what do you mean by fully functional? I can guess of course, but is that how she describes the character? Cuz you know, infertility aside, I am feeling pretty fully functional as it is.

[This message has been edited by Dr.G (edited February 01, 2002).]quote:

[Moonchild]

I'm a bookaholic (uh-oh hope the Buffy writers don't latch onto that idea) and my mind is spinning with names.

I love mysteries, and my favorite is Sharyn McCrumb. She writes the Ballad series that has a southern mountain setting with unquiet spirits, an old mountain woman who sees the future, you name it. Martha Grimes is a writer of a decent British series, but she wrote a book called Hotel Paradise and a sequel called Cold Flat Junction, and the girl in the stories reminds me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird (my favorite book, btw). Patricia Cornwell has a great series that starts with Postmortem, and she has a niece who is a FBI agent who is also gay. Shirley Jackson--The Haunting of Hill House is a classic and is great. If you like funny, Carrie Fisher is such a great writer. When I read Postcards From the Edge or Delusions of Grandma, I just laugh out loud every time. Fannie Flagg is terrific--she wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe and Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man. Carol Shields is a great writer because she writes about generations of women, like in the Stone Diaries. I could go on and on but you would die from boredom, so I won't.

[tyche]

Just wanted to recommend 'Kissing the Witch' (great title, huh?) by Emma Donoughue. It's a collection of stories based on fairy tales, and unlike most books of short stories, each story feeds into the next one so you really have to read them in order.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Angela Carter or Michele Roberts. In fact, I'd recommend it to all of you. Go and read it now!

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MAYHEM CAUSED. Monsters certainly not involved, officials say. - Headline on Xander's newspaper in 'OMWF'
TARA: Oh mah god, cuss it all t' tarnation. ah's cured! Fry mah hide! ah's hankerin' th' fellas! - Tara in 'speaks redneck' revelation.

[Thespia]

Also in the 'not-by-a-woman' category, I recommend Michael Cunningham's 'The Hours'. It's a lovely book, centered around Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs. Dalloway'.

Now, for the Brazilian Kittens and the rare among you who understand Portuguese, you gotta read 'Duas Iguais', by Cintia Moscovich. It's a beautiful, beautiful love story between two women, told with great sensibility.

[Irascible]

A quick nod to the folks on this thread - you all have some fabulous taste. I am taking notes on the recommendations and getting myself to the library and my local independent bookstore. So thanks!

I've not seen this mentioned yet, so forgive me if I missed it, but Fingersmith, the new book by Sarah Waters (Tipping the Velvet, Affinity) is now out. I am half way through it, and am very, very much enjoying it. Perhaps not as much as Tipping, but much more than Affinity...

[WiccansIllusion]

I'm going to have to add:

Mercedes Lackey: for the Tarma and Kethry novels as well as the Diana Tregarde books.

Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, everyone here who loves Buffy should check them out, basiclly their an NC 17 version.

Daniel DeFoe's Moll Flanders.

Marion Zimmer Bradley for Mists of Avalon, most the women are extremlly well written.

Maggie Fury's Aurian trilogy.

And for the Xena fans, Missy Goods Dar and Kerry series.

[Forksmoker]

I've been amazed at the number of wonderful suggestions that people have offered, so I thought I'd share some of my own list of books.

Lurlene McDaniel - She writes mainly really sad books, and while they are for young adults they are still wonderful heart-felt books. The series One Last Wish is my favourite.

The rest of my list are Fantasy Novels.

Ed Greenwood - Silverfall. A story of seven very different sisters, worth reading if your into sci-fi/fantasy.

David Eddings - There are two wonderful series with great female characters! The books are:

The Diamond Throne
The Ruby Knight
The Sapphire Rose
Domes of Fire
The Shining Ones
The Hidden City

Maggie Furey - I know someone else mentioned her, but I thought I'd add her two newest books which I liked even better than the other series.

The Heart of Myrial
Spirit of the Stone

Elaine Cunningham - Not only a great female author, she writes about amazing female characters. My favourite of her characters is Airlyn Moonblade and she can be found in the following books:

Elfshadow
Elfsong
Silver Shadows
The Dream Spheres

Another good female character can be found in the books:

Daughter of the Drow
Tangled Webs

My last 2 authors wrote about a different take on Authorian Legends, more specifically they wrote about Guinevere.

Parke Goodwin - Beloved Exile is about what happened to Guinevere after Arthur's death. One of the best books, and most original I've ever read about the Arthurian Legends, and I've read just about everything I could find.

Nancy McKenzie -

The Child Queen
The High Queen

Again these books are both about Guinevere starting with her birth and onwards. Definately worth the time to read them.

[This message has been edited by Forksmoker (edited March 03, 2002).]