So many powerful books were written during the height of the pandemic by the finest women authors on the planet—books that are just getting released across 2021 and 2022, making for some very powerful and multi-layered novels…most of which have nothing to do with COVID whatsoever. Here are three novels from women writers that I’ve read over the last few months. Check them out if you need some deep ideas and big thoughts.
“I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness”
By Claire Vaye Watkins
One of the most honest and unflinching novels I’ve ever read about motherhood and the fine line between good and bad parenting. The prose is breathtaking, the characters are vivid and lived-in and the balance between fiction and autobiography is astounding.
“Sea of Tranquility“
By Emily St. John Mandel
From the brilliant author of “Station Eleven” comes the most original science fiction novel I’ve read in years. Spanning hundreds of years and multiple characters, Mandel connects this with “Station Eleven” and her last novel “The Glass Hotel,” making somewhat of a Mandel-iverse and I’m absolutely here for it.
“The School for Good Mothers”
by Jessamine Chan
A woman leaves her baby at home for hours and is sent to a re-education camp that ostensibly forces women to learn what it is to be a good mother. If you loved “The Handmaid’s Tale,” this is another dystopian think piece that will create a whole new generation of activists.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 7, 2022.
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