Friend PM writes on behalf of daughter E, who would like to read a book that "would change the way she thinks, preferably contemporary," "geared to a liberal, free-thinking woman." Any suggestions? Yes!
Here are 10, though I have to admit that for me contemporary kind of means within the last 100 years. If the list were truly of contemporary books - last decade or so - I don't think I could recommend many that meet the criteria. Great books endure for a reason. So, alphabetically arranged by author:
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Shocking, provocative futuristic novel, maybe even more on point today than when written in 1980s or 1990s.
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Hugely powerful short novel, well ahead of its time, a woman's coming of age and into herself - with dire consequences.
The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A story, not a novel, widely anthologized, and a rightful classic - absolutely foundational work of feminist literature and thinking.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. Why not include one male author on the list? One of the greatest accounts by a male author of the life of a woman - in this case, a 19th-century dairy worker who's victimized but who fights back.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. A classic, one of the great works of African-American fiction by women. Florida, in the 20s/30s - a woman struggles through many relationships, poverty, triumphs, endures.
The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing. Maybe a little dated but one of the first great works to link feminism, literature, progressive politics. The bible for '60s feminist thinking, especially in Britain.
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, by Alice Munro. Short stories. Don't let ridiculous title deter you. Munro is one of the two greatest living short-story writers, and this is one her best collections. Go on to others if this one moves you, which it will.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. The feminist counterpoint to Catcher in the Rye. Everyone has to read this at some time in their life. Woman starts out on her own in the New York literary/magazine world.
A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert. Very strong and unusual book that follows a number of characters over a long span of history. The only true contemporary novel on this list.
Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf. Probably her best novel and a amazing account of one day in the life of one woman.
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