Most Amazing Books by Women in 2017

From being the silent spectator bound in the shackles of patriarchy, women have trained themselves to be leaders. With pioneers mushrooming around the world claiming the right to equality, women have a plethora of powerful stories of struggle, valour and victory to share. Their acute understanding of elementary issues and unique empathy veiled with fantasy and fiction is made eternal through their pens. Some of the most intriguing tales by female authors in 2017 are awaiting to be read and understood.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon: Sandhya Menon’s debut young adult romance bears testimony to the much-preached theory of “opposites attract”. It describes the emotional roller coaster that the ambitious Dimple goes through as she finds herself trapped with Rishi in an arranged marriage proposition set up by her parents. Things take a turn when she realizes that she is drawn to him and has to make a choice between her career and love, whereas Rishi, too, ventures to win her over. Replete with romance, drama and laughter, the book is every bit delightful!
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What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton: The most anticipated book by Hillary Clinton so far, “What Happened”, is a cathartic memoir of her journey preceding the Presidential Elections of 2016 and her state of mind post the declaration of results. While elections form the central theme of the book, her opinions regarding policies like immigration, arms dealing and others are also a part of the book. Candidly and eloquently describing her feeling of defeat, in this book Clinton manages to bowl the readers over with her raw and succinct writing style.
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The Windfall by Diksha Basu: As the Jhas come into wealth and riches after having borne the struggles of belonging to the middle class, they leave no stone unturned to fit into their newly acquired social status. However, affectation and hypocrisy prove to be ‘not so helpful’ in their attempts and this journey teaches them that the most important things in life aren’t actually things.
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The Power by Naomi Alderman: Living up to its title, the plot of Naomi Alderman’s fiction is a manifestation of every girl’s dream where a group of teenage girls discover the supernatural power that they possess, allowing them to electrocute anyone with the mere touch of a finger. Reversing the prevailing gender hierarchy as they put their power to use, the narrative makes for a thrilling experience.
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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy: A transgender, Anjum and a riot victim, Tilottama are introduced into each other’s lives by destiny as the book proceeds from the streets and the by-lanes of Old Delhi to the valleys of Kashmir. Disowned by her family and living in a graveyard, Anjum is fighting life with her gloves on while Tilottama has drifted away from the Youth Brigade which she was a part of earlier in life. As their lives are linked inextricably, the plot develops bringing forth the lament of struggles of people like the protagonists to lead a normal life.
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This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab: Set in the Pakistani city of Lahore, the novel explores the lives of two women – Nida, Sasha, and Bhanggi, a eunuch. Binding the three is their mutual desire for freedom and love which the society denies them. The three meet at a dargah where Nida and Sasha bind actively, becoming close friends and secret keepers whereas Bhanggi vicariously basks in the warmth of their relationship as he observes Nida from a distance.
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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: A young adult novel by Angie Thomas, “The Hate U Give” is the story of a teenager who witnesses the unarmed shooting of her friend which changes her perspective and her way of life. Torn between the dichotomy of her poor residence and her posh high school, Starr is moving towards activism and has to trod with the utmost circumspection as her actions can lead to the destruction of her community or herself.
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Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang: Narrated by daughters of Chinese immigrants, the book reflects upon the cultural revolution of the 1960s and focuses primarily on their struggle to accommodate themselves in their newly found environment. A few latchkey kids and an overbearing mother are the primary characters employed by the author to eloquently convey the intended message. From the streets of Shanghai to the United States of America, the book travels across countries to bring out the entire concept of immigration with its intricacies.
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Three Thousand Stitches by Sudha Murty: As the title itself suggests, this book is akin to an anthology, with the exception of an innate link among the stories where each story adds its own element to render the book complete. Issues of alcoholism, conservatism, discrimination and exploitation have been illuminated in the narratives which trace a common origin in Karnataka. Heartwarming and beautiful, the stories take the reader down the memory lane to the college days of the author.
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The lucky Ones by Julianne Pachico: Shedding light on Columbia’s abject state through the lives of its characters, “The Lucky Ones” presents to its readers a world in which wrongdoers can seldom be distinguished from saviours. Materializing the childhood dream of every child, a teenager finds herself home alone and is unable to attribute the sudden disappearance of the house staff to anything in particular. It is after witnessing the following events that she realises the gravity of the situation that her country and she are caught up in.
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The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand: Delving into the world of sibling relationships, the plot revolves around a pair of twins who, hitherto separated by sibling rivalry, have to come together because of a family crisis. Identical in terms of appearance but poles apart in terms of their disposition, it is during this time reality hits them in the face, making them realize the futility of petty clashes that kept them apart for a major part of their lives and the beauty of love that siblings share.
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The Dry by Jane Harper: "The Dry" is about small town that holds a big secret. When Aaron Falk, a Federal Agent, returns to his hometown, he has to solve a mystery of the past and present while battling his inner demons. It's the debut novel of Australian author Jane Harper and the first of a series.
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A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas: Set in the times of war, this novel sheds light on the violent times prevailing in the Prythian where the protagonist, Feyre, leaves no stone unturned in order to save her kingdom from falling into an abyss of ruin. The adversaries, led by a mad king, are not easy to overpower, but firm in his resolve, Feyre engages in a complex game of guile to find about the machinations of the enemy. Consummated with a mind-blowing ending, allusions to more books in the future are easily comprehensible.
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Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss: Jules Epstein’s world comes crashing down as he loses his parents and gets divorced. This journey turns out to be life changing as he undergoes a metamorphosis. Full of life and humour, the book is simply mesmerizing. This novel by Nicole Krauss is based on the theme of transformation and spiritual growth that the protagonist undergoes, as he decides to travel to Israel, in order to do something to honour his parents.
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Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal: The cross-cultural book explores, through the protagonist Nikki, the shrouded side of the lives of widows in Punjab as she takes up a creative writing job in a local temple with the aim of emancipating them. Outwardly pious, plain and dull, there is much more to their lives than what meets the eye. As they open up to each other about their sexuality and secrets, the dark comedy is sure to give the readers a fun time.
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Domina by L.S. Hilton: In the foreground of aesthetics and art in the beautiful city of Venice, the story revolves around an art gallery owner, Judith, who is faced with a life threatening situation in the midst of an uneventful life. In order to get out safe from this trap, she has to look for a painting that might not exist. However, as she begins her search for the painting she realizes that she is not the only one looking for it.
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Difficult Women by Roxane Gay: Encompassing lives of five women, who are coping up with life in their own way, the book brings forth and entwins the predicament of all of them. A pair of twin sisters, a stripper, a woman married to her own twin brother and a native american engineer find themselves caught up in loving, yet destructive relationships and the action that follows forms the basic plot of the book.
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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: Representing sophistication, affluence and comfort, Ohio’s Shaker Heights is home to the Richardson’s, who themselves are nothing short of an embodiment of these traits. However, their lives and perspectives are challenged and changed by Mia and her teenage daughter Pearl, who come to live in their neighborhood. In her second book, Ng beautifully excels as an observer of the society and a writer.
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Into The Water by Paula Hawkins: From the author of The Girl on the Train, this is yet another mystery novel about a girl called Jules, whose sister Nel is believed to have committed suicide. Before her death, Nel tries to call Jules several times, only to no avail. Beset with the death of her sister’s death and the guilt of not answering her calls for help, Nel’s journey is sure to send chills down the reader’s spine as he dives ‘into the water’ of this mystery.
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Hunger by Roxane Gay: Replete with an autobiographical tone and candor, Roxane Gay in her novel eloquently describes her experience as an overweight teenager and the implications and consequences that emerge as its corollaries. Extensively discussing the themes of self-care and self-comfort and ‘desire’ and ‘denial’, the author delineates her experience with her body and appearance apropos her unhealthy eating habits, which makes for an enjoyable personal memoir.
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Autumn by Ali Smith: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, this book by Ali Smith transcends the levels of sublimity as it forces one to ponder over questions like who we are, where we are and what we are made of. Elizabeth, a woman in her thirties, and Daniel who is a century old, help the reader explore time and the nature of our experience of time. It is the first book of a seasonal quartet of books which are separate, yet interconnected, and understanding it requires one to not only read the lines, but reading between the lines.
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Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout: Celebrating the deep bonds of family and exploring the wide gamut of human emotions, “Anything is Possible” is based on the lives of two sisters who try to understand each other and most importantly, themselves. Lucy Barton, the protagonist of Strout’s former novel also appears in the story, rendering the novel a nostalgic touch which serves as the icing on the cake!
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