I’ve come to realize that the one common thread between all my favorite books is that there is a woman and she is in a situation. Which I know at first sounds like basically every book BUT I don’t think that’s true. Here’s some examples:
Parable of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler: Lauren (woman) becomes displaced from her home and family after climate-change related fires (situation).
The Wall by Marleen Haushofer: Unnamed woman (woman) is last person left on earth after everyone suddenly disappears and has to learn how to fend for herself (situation).
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman: Unnamed woman (woman) is suddenly freed (situation) after spending her life underground surrounded by male guards.
Severance by Ling Ma: Candace (woman) realizes she completely missed that the apocalypse happened and now has to join a dysfunctional group of survivors (situation).
You may be thinking oh so you just like dystopias and apocalypses? Well, yes, but that is not a prereq to be a Woman In A Situation. Jane Eyre for example is a WIS in my opinion.
I think Woman In A Situation fiction is just when a woman has to figure some shit out. Bonus points if it’s in a world/time that isn’t our own. So all that’s to say: recommendations for Woman In A Situation fiction?
by OkPlace7834
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Woman on the Edge of Time – Marge Piercy
The Fifth Sacred Thing – Starhawk