The Feminist Know-It-All: You know her. You can’t stand her. Good thing she’s not here! Instead, this column by gender and women’s studies librarian Karla Strand will amplify stories of the creation, access, use and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world; share innovative projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacies, libraries and more; and, of course, talk about all of the books.
Hello, feminist reader friends! Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. The aims of these lists are threefold:
- I want to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male;
- I want to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us; and
- I want to challenge and encourage you all to buy, borrow and read them!
I’ve already broken my own rule of including only 10 books each month! From now on, methinks the rules are out the window. And frankly, I am not convinced that anyone reads these introductions anyway… and that’s okay!
So, I will keep this short and get right to this month’s list of 15 exceptional releases.
Plant Lady
Written by Kang Minyoung. Translated by Shanna Tan. Berkley. Out Aug. 4.
Yoohee owns a plant shop in a quiet neighborhood in Dosan, South Korea. She provides gentle, expert care for the multitude of varieties while serving her customers.
Just. Don’t. Mess. With. Her. Plants.
When one man does, it sends Yoohee down a path of rage that will have you rooting for her revenge.
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Silencio
Written by Clyo Mendoza. Translated by Christina MacSweeney. Seven Stories Press. Out Aug. 4.
Clyo Mendoza’s second book to be translated into English, Silencio examines narcotrafficking and violence against women by alternating between the real and imaginary. Stick with this one, and you will be rewarded with an extraordinary, singular storytelling experience through lyrical passages from multiple narrators (human, animal and spirit).
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Triage
By Claudia Rankine. Graywolf Press. Out Aug. 4.
Categorized as nonfiction, with the unnamed narrator presumed to be the author, Triage reads like fiction. It is a thoughtful, relatable and reflective tome on what it means to face and survive each day in a world built to exhaust, devastate, terrify and annihilate. Resist the temptation to race through this slim volume; instead, sit with it and the discomfort and questions that may arise.
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Sex and Dissent: Stories of Feminist Resistance in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Spain
By Meaghan Beatley. Penguin Books. Out Aug. 5.
In one exceptional volume, journalist Meaghan Beatley provides robust histories of feminist resistance movements in Argentina, Chile, Spain and Mexico. They become invaluable in our increasingly urgent present moment as Beatley highlights the stories and lessons of the women directly involved.
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Piñen: Stories
Written by Daniela Catrileo. Translated by Jacob Edelstein. FSG Originals. Out Aug. 11.
This gritty collection tells the stories of Mapuche youth in Santiago de Chile. Intimate and candid, they center on themes of colonialism, class, poverty and violence. Don’t skip the preface; it provides insight into the importance of the natural world, language and community to the book and the people.
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Searching for Jane Crow: Black Women and Mass Incarceration in America from the Auction Block to the Cell Block
By Talitha L. LeFlouria. Beacon Press. Out Aug. 11.
Based on extensive archival research, the latest book by renowned historian Talitha L. LeFlouria examines Black women in a carceral system designed to protect and uplift slavery and those who benefited from it. LeFlouria provides imperative new perspectives on how the mass incarceration we know today really began with Jane Crow oppression of Black women during slavery.
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The Vanishings: Eight Stories
By Kavi Yaga. TRP: The University Press of SHSU. Out Aug. 15.
Chosen by Kaveh Akbar to win The George Garrett Fiction Prize: Judge’s Choice, this reflective and curious collection centers on modern-day South Indian life. Crossing boundaries of gender, time and reality, each story focuses on something or someone missing, disappeared, erased or vanished.
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The Binary Delusion: How Biology Defies the Myth of Two Sexes
By Ari Berkowitz. Beacon Press. Out Aug. 18.
Just in time for my season of (re)learning science comes this slim volume packed full of the biological facts debunking the myth of a sex binary. In accessible language, Dr. Ari Berkowitz, presidential professor of biology and director of the Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program at the University of Oklahoma, explains sex traits and variations in brain, chromosomes, hair, muscles and more.
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Dreams of Ayn Ara
Written by Sara Abou Ghazal. Translated by Katharine Halls. Feminist Press. Out Aug. 18.
Sara Abou Ghazal’s English-language debut is focused on the continuing effects of the 1948 Nakba and the literal and symbolic displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Drawn from the author’s experiences, this polyphonic novel is a powerful and heartbreaking testimonial of violence, intergenerational trauma, identity and memory.
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Lovers of the Empire: Vol. 1
By Yudori. Takumigraphics. Out Aug. 18.
Yudori’s stylistic color illustrations bring a vibrancy and tenor to this story of Arisa, a modern Korean girl, as told by a country boy during the period of Japanese colonization. The beneficiary of Arisa’s father, Jun is both appalled and yet strangely attracted to her wild Western ways. Can’t wait for Volume 2!
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Unprecedented Times: A Novel
By Malavika Kannan. Henry Holt & Co. Out Aug. 18.
With Unprecedented Times, the new Gen Z novel is born! While I’m not sure my old Gen X sensibilities fully caught all the references, Malavika Kannan’s distinct voice and fresh perspective made this Covid-era coming-of-age story worth checking out.
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Hello, Limerence: A Novel
By Momo Yamaguchi. Mariner Books. Out Aug. 18.
This debut novel is about 25-year-old Mika, a young woman seeking love, sex and meaning in modern Tokyo. As Mika works long hours, half loses her virginity and manages her obsession with an unrequited love, this is just the cheeky, unhinged and frighteningly relatable story we need right now.
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Your Presence Is a Danger to Your Life: Voices of Survival and Witness in Gaza
Written by Samar Yazbek. Translated by Leri Price. Other Press. Out Aug. 18.
The latest book by Syrian writer Samar Yazbek is a collection of testimonials from people who have experienced the genocide in Gaza firsthand. Heartbreaking and eye-opening, these narratives speak to “algorithms of murder” and the fear, devastation and loss inherent in systemic violence and oppression.
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Changing Gender
By Susan Stryker. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Out Aug. 25.
In her latest, Susan Stryker examines gender through the lens of its beginnings in grammar. Through accessible prose and personal stories, Stryker dives deep to uncover the history of grammatical gender and its influence on our contemporary understandings.
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Dèy: A Novel
By Edwidge Danticat. Knopf. Out Aug. 25.
Edwidge Danticat is back (after a decade!) with this powerful narrative of trauma, family and home. I was hooked from the first page, and while the story slows down, it flows beautifully and thoughtfully. With Haitian language and diaspora woven throughout, Dèy is an evocative reflection on contemporary violence and grief.
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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need. Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. Add your voice and complete the sentence: “Access to reproductive choices gave me the freedom to….” Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible.
