In The Pages: Women’s Words, Wisdom, And Wonder

The moon, the flowers, or pearls – the beauty of women is majestically diverse, echoing the nature that surrounds us. March celebrates Women’s History Month, continuing the legacy of women’s dedication to building the contemporary world and advocating for voices that were once suppressed.

In the pursuit of today’s happiness, the powerful female narratives within the literary world continuously navigate through the ever-expanding definitions of feminism and womanism, armed with the strength of knowledge. Beyond treasuring the visible charm of femininity, let’s explore a diaspora of genres and perspectives from female writers.

Also Read: The Unstoppable Women Of Vietnam: Inspiring Stories Of Strength And Resilience

Crying in H-mart - Michelle Zauner

Walking through the aisle of the modern supermarket, the smell of vegetables and fruits may wake you up to memories with your mom and the flea market next to your house. For Michelle Zauner, Crying in H-mart went beyond her memories at the famous American Korean supermarket.

Michelle Zauner’s memoir told us heartfelt anecdotes of her maturity and took us on a nostalgic roller coaster. The Californian girl found pieces of herself in the dazzling singer life at an East Coast college. Involving herself in multiple predominantly-white crowds, Michelle gradually drifted away from her Korean identity. It wasn’t until her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer that she woke up – she went home for the last couple of months with her mom. Tasting the homely descriptions of her memories, Michelle painted pictures not only of the places her family had been through but also of the taste, smell, and sound of her identity journey.

“How cyclical and bittersweet for a child to retrace the image of their mother. For a subject to turn back to document their archivist.”

The White Album - Joan Didion

If you enjoy an adventurous reading full of questions and wit but cannot handle huge reading, The White Album is for you! Unlike other novels, Joan Didion’s collection of essays will take you on a Californian journey.

Growing up in the midst of cultural and political change in the United States, Joan Didion’s unique creative non-fiction writings exhibit her bottomless bag of experience with the Golden State’s popular culture, like The Beatles, The Black Panthers, Charles Manson, etc. Walking us through five parts of her book, The White Album, the California Republic, Women, Sojourns and On the Morning After the Sixties, the readers will be lost in Didion’s forest of acute writing and its timeless plunge of engaging details will make you read for hours on hours. Her in-depth writings dissect the American identity and ideology, questioning the reality of the nation. Didion’s writings were revolutionary as they formed a segue of Journalism—New Journalism was solidified with a humanized reputation for writers and stories.

“And then, at that exact dispirited moment when there seemed no one at all willing to play the proletariat, along came the women’s movement.”

Also Read: Fexpats Asked, ‘How Do You Feel About Vietnam’s Progress In Gender Equality?’

In the Dream House - Carmen Maria Machado

Are you ready for some heavy relationship stories? Let’s hop on this unique book, In the Dream House, and dive into the nuanced narrative of a lesbian romance. Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir surely is unlike other memoirs you have ever read.

Depicting her life through the third person narrative, It follows the footsteps of a volatile woman, Machado herself, through a realistic abusive queer relationship. Staying away from the traditional paragraph form, Machado experimented with different micro-genres and tropes, such as erotica, bildungsroman, or horror, within her memoirs. Using the unique third-person narration and distinctive sectioning of the book, Machado delivers her story picturesquely, unpacking the stereotypical safe lesbian relationship to reveal a realistic psychological abuse relationship.

“If, one day, a milky portal had opened up in your bedroom and an older version of yourself had stepped out and told you what you know now, would you have listened?”

Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism - edited by Daisy Hernandez, Ed. S. Bushra Rehman, Cherrie Moraga

Vulnerability is an essential component of revolutions; this collection of anecdotes from female writers needs to reach the ears of the world, for they are fearless.

Each story from Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism brings various perspectives of women grappling with gendered experiences. These stories reveal layers of identity that detect the exclusivity and discrimination of feminist movements. Within itself, feminism carries its classification, such as race and socioeconomic status, that muted the voice of women of color. The editorial board of the book recognized and gathered these diverse stories and set sail for feminism into the twenty-first century. They cherish the differences within one’s voice and intersectionality to collectively address the issues unrecognized in the movements.

“Feminism is comprised of values that are important to you as a woman, not ideals arrived at by forced consensus to which you should adjust your own life.”