Any recommendations – I love Murakami and magic realism but the one I’m currently reading constantly refers to a woman as the ‘chubby girl’ and more often his female characters are aloof, suicidal and if anything just a problem for the male protagonist.
Any suggestions welcome- preferably with female protagonist or just better written female characters!
Thanks!
by SamanthaParee
4 Comments
Isabel Allende. I suggest you start with her debut novel The House of the Spirits. A warning tho, this novel depicts a lot misogyny, but it is not in the author, it is pretty much intentional for the story being told
The book of doors by Gareth Brown or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRou by VB Schwab
Both have weird magical realism plots and are solid books with good characters.
Banana Yoshimoto, I’m fairly sure she writes exclusively female leads, and it always feels like “gentler Murakami” to me. Kitchen and Goodbye Tsugumi are my faves.
An Yu’s *Ghost Music* or *Braised Pork*—female author and MCs, surreal and strange. She gets compared to Murakami often!
She has a new novel out, *Sunbirth*, which I haven’t read yet but looks like it fits. I’m going to read it next though! I’ve been looking forward to another!