Hey you all, I am working on a project about women's oppression, resilience, women's life during war, political turmoil and patriarchy on women's life and I am looking for books that explore such themes. I haven't read any english books which are connected to these topics. So please suggest me some.
Also, I have been told that the thousand splendid suns by Khalid hosseini and persepolis by Marjane Satrapi explore such themes and can be connected. Can people who have read both tell if this true please ?
by Naana_here
24 Comments
The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich
love a thousand splendid suns. it’s super touching. i haven’t read persepolis before but i suggest looking into pachinko by min jin lee. it talks about the life of a korean family in japan during the war and the female lead is so resilient
A thousand splendid suns- yes. I finished this recently. It’s about Afghani life for women from 1960s-2001/2002. I didn’t know Afghanistan had had such long lasting wars that have affected them. I am a mellinial so I remember hearing a lot about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars but had no idea pre 2001.
Please have a feel good, cozy book lined up afterward.
Non-Fiction:
The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone
Heroines of SOE: F Section: Britain’s Secret Women in France by Beryl E. Escott
The Road to Station X by Sarah Baring
Fiction:
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
The Women, by Kristin Hannah.
About female nurses in Vietnam – the trauma during it and once they returned home.
I’ve read Persepolis and it absolutely fits what you’re looking for. The film (also animated by Marjane Satrapi) is also very good.
The Small and the Mighty
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Set in England, 3 witchy women from different generations learning to overcome the patriarchy and find their inner strength, each in their own unique way. One is on trial for witchcraft in the 1600s, one deals with a controlling father in the 1940s (during WWII), and the last just escaped her abusive partner in 2019.
Really beautiful story, really emotional, definitely have the Kleenex on standby lol also if you like this book, the author has another book coming this year. Not sure that it’ll have war in it but seems like it’ll have similar themes of women’s resilience.
Gone with the wind – one of my all time favourite books (American civil war)
Published later this mouth:
War and Justice Diary: Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelina.
Its author was killed by a missile two years ago.
Cool project! *A Thousand Splendid Suns* and *Persepolis* definitely fit what you’re looking for. *A Thousand Splendid Suns* is a story about women’s oppression and resilience in Afghanistan, especially under Taliban rule, while *Persepolis* is a powerful graphic memoir about growing up during the Iranian Revolution and dealing with war, politics, and personal freedom.
If you’re looking for more books, here are a few suggestions:
*The Nightingale* by Kristin Hannah – A moving story about two sisters in Nazi-occupied France and how women resist and survive during war.
*The Book of Fate* by Parinoush Saniee – Follows a woman in Iran navigating patriarchy and political upheaval before and after the revolution.
*Women Talking* by Miriam Toews – Based on real events, about a group of Mennonite women deciding how to respond to years of abuse.
*The Diary of a Young Girl* by Anne Frank – A personal and heartbreaking account of a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis.
*The Beekeeper of Aleppo* by Christy Lefteri – Follows a Syrian woman’s journey as a refugee escaping war.
*The War Widow* by Tara Moss – A feminist noir mystery about a war correspondent-turned-PI facing sexism in post-WWII society.
If you’re open to nonfiction, *I Am Malala* by Malala Yousafzai and *The Unwomanly Face of War* by Svetlana Alexievich are also great reads.
Hope this helps, and good luck with your project! 😊
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
I would suggest looking into Kate Quinn novels (The Rose Code, The Huntress, the Alice Network etc.)
I unfortunately don’t have another suggestion. I’m just starting to get into socio-econ fiction books so I have a very limited knowledge on things I can suggest. I have been reading a lot on racism, slave trade, women issues and feminism, and opiate crisis.
I am a fantasy and horror reader and have been branching out since October from posts similar to this one.
Man I am fully contradicting myself today. After reading through some of the other suggestions I would agree with The Women by Kristen Hannah. If you’ve heard the stories about men coming back from Vietnam and being treated horribly – this book dives into the women who served in non combat roles but were even more so discriminated against (“women didn’t serve in Vietnam!”).
Have you thought about looking at Half a Yellow Sun alongside A Thousand Splendid Suns? Both novels with strong female characters and themes of war, colonialism, oppression and resilience….
Our Women on the Ground – a collection of essays by journalists in the Middle East post 2011!
I don’t have knowledge with these books but this tread was asking for “modern women in military” book suggestions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/s/A5BEVZ9o6Y
Our Bodies, Their Battlefield: What War Does To Women by Christina Lamb.
The War on Women by Sue Lloyd Roberts
Just finished brotherless night. It is about a woman during the Sri Lankan civil war and her role as a doctor helping and also her brothers joining the fighting
‘S.’ A Novel about the Balkans by Slavenka Drakulic. It’s about the experience of a Bosnian woman taken prisoner during the Bosnian war. It is heartbreaking but very well written. She based the novel on interviews with multiple women she had interviewed about their experiences during the war. This book definitively encapsulates women’s oppression, resilience and the impact of war on a woman’s life. Highly recommend.
Our Bodies, Their Battlefield
It’s non fiction and a tough read
Rosalind Miles writes non fiction topics on women through history behaving “ badly “. Who cooked the Last Supper? A woman’s history of the world. Women and Power. Danger! Men at Work