As my neighborhood and the incessant barking of neighborhoods dogs began to settle down, I thumbed through the expansive novel I had just finished.  Doris Lessing’s the Golden Notebook has been hailed as one of the most influential novels of the 20st century and a cornerstone of the feminist movement.  Published in 1962, Lessing gave voice to an entire generation of post-war women, women who were questioning their newfound freedom and what it meant to their inner and outer lives. 

Her frank discussions of sexuality and the post-modern structure of her novel were shocking when first published in the mid 20th century.  But as a modern reader, I found her work to be less than avant-garde.  Sexuality has become so widely discussed and blatantly portrayed that I struggle to think of any novel that I would deem, “shocking”.  (If anyone has a suggestion, please leave me a comment, because I rather enjoy being taken aback.)  And while her prose is fractured and reflects the inner consciousness of a complicated woman, it is not unlike other subsequently produced post-modern writing.  All of this is to say that the novel reads differently now then it did when it was originally published.  Not a new concept or theory, the role of the reader in interpreting a work, but one worth mentioning. 

Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature a few years ago, and her writing deserves the recognition.  But while culturally relevant during the sixties and seventies, this novel felt dated to my post-feminist mentality.  The protagonist, Anna, is a writer and a woman who struggles to move beyond psychological and social confusion.  A one-time communist and a liberal thinker, Anna is granted unprecedented freedom as a woman, but she fines that a strong attachment and obsession with men and sexuality keeps her bound.  Unfortunately, the men portrayed in this novel are simplistic and one-dimensional.  Although slightly different, her various lovers all fall into the same archetype of a selfish and rather weak man.  I would have enjoyed Anna’s interaction with a more developed male character, perhaps a man that did not exist during that time period. 

The novel is structured by Anna’s keeping of four notebooks.  These notebooks help Anna to compartmentalize her life; they help her to divide her various thoughts and recollections.  One notebook focuses on the life of Anna as a writer, the other notebook chronicles her political involvement, the next holds the stories she creates out of her own life, and the last serves as a diary of sorts.  Instead of presenting these notebooks in discrete chapters or sections, Lessing weaves them in and out of each other, essentially dissolving the compartmentalization that Anna tries so hard to keep.  In the end, Anna acquiesces and begins writing what she calls, “the Golden notebook” which is meant to be a holistic interpretation of her inner and outer lives.

Between these notebooks, Lessing also includes an omniscient narrator’s point of view.  The reader is privy to certain details of Anna’s life that she does not include in her notebooks, which illuminates her understanding of this complex and changing character. 

In the end, this novel is what I would call a tour de force; the life of any individual is as complex and unknown as the heavens above us, and Lessing seems to capture the dizzying array of one woman’s life.  I only wish that I could transfer myself back to the 1960’s so that I could read this novel with a mind of a blooming feminist; I imagine that I would find myself more scandalized, excited and provoked by this work than I do now.  But regardless of my position, I believe that this work is worth reading by men and women today.  If only to open our minds to how far we’ve come and then to remind us in what areas we’ve barely moved at all.                  

 I Married A Communist is another remarkable work by the literary great, Philip Roth.  Readers, who admire Roth and his body of work, will undoubtedly find much to praise in this social history.  For those of you who are more wary of Roth and his two favorite themes, the decline of the libido and anti-Semitism, this novel may be too much of the same. 

But I would still press you to give I Married A Communist a second-look.  In Roth’s characteristically sharp prose, a not too distant past is filleted and laid bare in all of its flashy goriness.  The “threat” of communism, the hysteria of the political right, the conspiracy theories, the stifling of free speech…all of these are depicted with a realist’s attention to detail. This post-war era might seems like another world, and my generation often scoffs at the over zealous age of McCarthyism.  Yet has much really changed in our nation’s sentiment?  Do politicians not still use fear to motivate the masses?

A simple plot synopsis of this novel might not make you jump up and run for the library or the nearest bookstore.  If you’re not stirred by what I write below, don’t assume that the book will not excite or thrill—one reads Philip Roth for much more.  The genius of this author lies in his satirical and imaginative prose, his ability to convey a sentiment or a person in all of its glory and baseness.  Philip Roth should be read, and this book ranks high on my list of favorite Roth novels. 

In his typical (and somewhat frustrating) style, Roth writes from the perspective of his literary alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman.  Zuckerman, an older and isolated writer, meets with a former English teacher, and the two of them dive into a shared past.  As a young boy, Zuckerman befriends his teacher’s brother, Ira, a somewhat famous radio star known as Iron Rinn.  Iron Rinn stars on a show that reveals the struggles of the common people, and in his personal life, Ira also champions the cause of the working class, the proletariat.  A fascinating character, Ira is a man of limited intelligence but extreme passion.  As a young soldier and a workingman, Ira fell under the tutelage of communist individuals, and now, older and somewhat famous, Ira views Nathan as his own young person that he can lead towards the light. 

With all of his novels, anti-Semitism finds its way into the plot, and Roth’s Jewish characters face discrimination both politically and ethnically.  As the title suggests, Ira is portrayed as a communist by the media and by his famous wife, Eve Frame.  The relationship of Eve and Ira dominates much of the plot, and the reader is taken in and out of their domestic scrabbles (most of which involve Eve’s adult and narcissistic daughter).  At the dissolution of their marriage, Eve writes a scathing book revealing certain details about Ira and his political leanings.  Her anti-Semitism is brought into question as the motivating factor behind her attack.  Whether or not her book holds much truth is up for debate.  The person of Ira is revealed through his brother’s memories and Nathan’s recollections.  While undeniably both men agree that Ira had leanings towards communism, neither can determine the whole truth of the man, a fact that pervades all human relationships.

The novel paints a dark and disturbing part of America’s history.  It reveals our tendency, as human beings, to judge and to use fear to obtain what we desire.  The mannerisms, the political speak, the blind acceptance of certain unacceptable behavior is perfectly captured and displayed in this novel.  I would highly recommend it to anyone with a passion for literature or for American history.  Philip Roth deeply satisfies on both accounts.  

As a writer, I justify hours and hours spent reading by telling myself that this is now a part of my job.  In my opinion, one of the best ways to improve your own prose is to immerse yourself in the works of literary greats.  John Updike is not one of my favorite authors, but his impact on writing and our canon is undeniable.  Many people in my age group, women in particular, have a strong distaste for Updike due to the content and tone of his writing.  Many of his characters are self-absorbed,  in very dysfunctional relationships, and are largely concerned with either sex or death.  His writing is undeniably from a male's perspective, and as a feminist, I feel that many of his novels paint a disparaging picture of women and male and female relationships.  But I continue to read his work because of the strength of his prose and because of the insight his writing gives me about a particular time and thought pattern in America.       

John Updike wrote, on average, a novel every year; one full, breathing novel being birthed every 12 months.  As I struggle through the beginning pages of my own manuscript, I have to shake my head when I consider Updike's enviable output.  Even more astounding, his work and prose were uniquely his own; the novels he produced were not shoddy pieces of writing, but instead were distinctive and unparalleled additions to the literary canon.

Many of Updike's novels are populated with average American individuals who face the personal and every-day crises and passions that human beings suffer.  Crises of religion, of relationship, of satisfaction with family or job, and of course, the passion and possession of sexuality.  These are the themes that  interested Updike, and are they not some of the same themes that still  interest the collective conscious of our country? 

But what makes Updike's exploration of these common people and themes extraordinary is his often blinding and exhilarating prose.  Unlike many of his contemporaries, Updike's prose is a mixture of arcane and often crass vocabulary.  He uses words that people have either forgotten exist or are too embarrassed to say in public.  In Couples, Updike delves into  female and male anatomy with no reserve.   His sentences can be graphic, he uses precise language to describe those oft unspoken acts, but then he will unleash his literary prowess and cloak sexual situations in wordy and often beautiful metaphor.  The reader must allow herself to float back and forth from these distinct expressions in order to appreciate the flow of his work.   

Updike's prose is rich.  He is not an author to be quickly scanned.  His attention to the mundane world of everyday living is astounding, and it makes the reader aware of the quiet beauties and the tragedies in his or her own life.  By dissecting and then eloquently describing the every-day, Updike conveys the importance of living.  When a small dinner party with friends is described in such thrilling and complicated language, the reader can't help but place more importance on an otherwise mundane event.  The fact that Updike cares enough to describe these every-day occurrences shows the reader that the common-place is of grave importance.

In Couples, Updike disects and displays the complications and the tragedies that can arise in a group of middle-aged Americans, all living in a small and relatively affluent town.  In typical Updike style, these couples end up in an array of sexual situations, and the term "swinger" is particularly apt.  The main protagonist is just as self-centered as one might presume an Updike character to be, but as the novel plugs along, the reader finds herself allowing some of his behavior to slip, finds herself mirroring Updike's forgiving portrayal of an otherwise depraved individual.  At some points in the novel, I stopped myself in order to regain my moral perspective.  "This really is unacceptable," I would tell myself, and then continue to traipse through Updike's New England town.

The number of couples in this novel is overwhelming, and the various pairings easily become confused.  Is she sleeping with him?  When did they hook up?  Did they both sleep with her?  Does she know about what happened last summer?  These questions abound and despite spending several days pouring over this book, they don't abate.  Even as I flip though the pages today, I find myself asking the same questions.  There are far too many "couplings" in Updike's novel for a casual reader to track.  But the proliferation of illicit interaction certainly plays a role in Updike's purpose; Updike's inclusion of these pairings displays the pervasiveness of these questionable sexual encounters.  There is one key  relationship that the novel focuses on, a relationship in which the full outplay of betrayal and passion can be seen, but he includes these others in order to immerse the reader in this sexually loose world; without them, the main relationship seems more foreign, more reprehensible, and the reader can offer the couple less grace.

If someone was to ask if would recommend this novel, I would hesitate, but then encourage an avid reader to take Updike and this novel with a questioning yet appreciative mindset.  Undeniably, there are aspects of Updike's portrayals that bother me, that bore me, but his prose is uniquely his own, rich with description and populated with unique vocabulary.  He is worth a read, and this novel happens to be my favorite of his that I've read thus far.     

After finishing the Corrections by Jonathon Franzen, I was in  need of a novel that would sweep me away, a novel that my mind would find restorative, invigorating.  Franzen's writing is frenzied, heavy at times, and while his prose is often brilliant and breathless, I found myself trudging through certain paragraphs and chapters.  What I needed was a book by Mary Lawson. 

Mary Lawson's second novel is set in a small Canadian town and spans three generations, beginning in the 1930's.  It is one of those stories that transcends time, that can be written about in a variety of historical contexts, including our own.  As you flip through pages, as you are introduced to the characters, as the plot thickens, you find yourself nodding, understanding, a flair of recognition ignites in your mind. 

Indeed, as I was reading this novel, I thought often of John Steinback's East of Eden.  As in that brilliant novel, Mary Lawson finds inspiration in that familiar and ancient tale, the rivalry of those infamous siblings, Cain and Abel.  In her novel, Lawson brings to life her own pair of brothers, Arthur and Jake, and these boys navigate through their childhoods, through their jealousies, under the guidance of Lawson's clear narrative voice. 

And it is Lawson's voice that moves the reader so seamlessly through her novel.  She pays attention to the small, simple details that grow in abundance in remote, provincial towns.  Her paragraphs are not weighed down by needless banter or explanation.  Instead, her quiet voice shines a dim light on certain scenes and characters, a light that illuminates but does not blind.

The tale of the two boys is told through the perspective of Arthur, a character who in his daily life is reticent and stoic.  Lawson gives voice to this man without words, which made me feel as if I was privy to a whole new world of perspective.  The story alternates between Arthur's perspective of his childhood and the observant voice of Ian Christoperson, a high school student who works on Arthur's farm in the 1950's.  Ian serves as a perceptive observer of the adult Arthur and his marriage. 

But Ian serves more purpose than just being a discerning eye. This character offers the novel an added layer of richness, as Lawson moves Ian through an adolescence ripe with family tragedy and confusion.  Ian, abandoned by his mother, struggles with the loss of that most primal relationship, and the reader is exposed to another shade of betrayal, another example of the duplicity that can exist in familial pairs. 

All the while, Mary Lawson transports us to quiet lakes where perch swim and the afternoon sun stretches.  She takes us through fallow fields and up into abandoned barns.  We walk with her through the homes of common people, of people tied to the town they were born in and their parents before that.  Ian's father is a doctor, and Lawson does an excellent job in offering historical perspective on what life as a remote practitioner in Canada was like.  Clearly well-researched, Lawson breathes life into her characters and to this town.  I imagine, that like me, you will not want to leave when the last page ends.      

So in case you haven't noticed...whatever Oprah touches turns to gold.  She is a modern day King Midas, and many authors across the country owe a great deal of their books' successes to her endorsements.  Sometimes, when I'm walking through my neighborhood, I imagine one day receiving that fateful call from Chicago.  Oprah, of course, would be on the other end of the line, and she would congratulate me on my newest novel and inform me that she had selected my work for her latest Oprah's Book Club selection.  My elation is beyond description.

Because although Oprah may not choose all of the best writing that is going on in America, she does choose quality literature (for the most part) and how could you not want to be in the same club as Anna Karenina or Beloved?  Although I understand that many authors try to maintain this certain persona, this palpable disdain for mass media production and consumption, I also know that almost any author would be thrilled to receive that phone call from the woman herself. 

That is, unless your Jonathan Franzen.  Franzen published the Corrections in 2001 to much critical acclaim.   One of the leading proponents of the novel happened to be Ms. Winfrey, and Franzen was asked to come on the show to talk about his smashing success of a novel.  But then things turned.  Comments made by Franzen were leaked, and it was revealed that he expressed trepidation about being a member of Oprah's elite.  For Franzen, and perhaps for many other men, Oprah and masculinity do not go hand and hand.  Franzen felt that by having that golden sticker on his book cover, many men would be turned away from reading his novel.

And he might have a point.  According to Franzen, much of the literary world is sustained by women in America while the men go off and watch football or play video games.  Franzen, with his novel about the decline of a mid-western family, hoped to reach this lost masculine audience, and he felt like Oprah might derail his course.  So he said, "No thank you" and he ended up doing just fine.  More than fine, actually, as he won a slew of literary awards and public appreciation, plus the bragging rights that he did it his own way.

 The novel itself is both comedic and tragic.  The unraveling of a mid-western family is captured with energetic prose, almost as if Franzen finds nothing more entertaining or important than the small failures that exist in our daily lives.  Centered around the collapse of the patriarch, Alfred, the story moves between his demise into old age and dementia and the failures of his three children.  Within the first eighty pages, the reader begins to realize that this family is one in which fortune choose to smile upon, if only briefly, before human stupidity came along and messed everything up. 

Chip, a once successful and content literary professor, makes the all too common mistake of sleeping with a student.  Gary, a husband and a father, finds that his life in Philadelphia, with all its surface pleasure, has left him hollow and even depressed.  He feels alienated and conspired against by his wife and children, although surrounded by his own family, he feels isolated, alone.  And then Denise, the youngest child, becomes wildly successful as a chef in the city, only to throw her opportunity aside when she becomes romantically involved with a certain individual.  Yes...these children suffer and yet we can help but smile as Franzen brilliantly pulls us along for the ride, indulging precious details about their inner and outer lives. 

Enid, the wife of Alfred, and the woman responsible for much of the guilt her children wrestle with, suffers in more subtle yet equally painful ways.  She is saddened by the loss of her children, their refusal to settle in the mid-west, and their inability to see the importance of coming home.  She suffers through a loveless marriage, all the while knowing that life could be something so much more vibrant, so much more fulfilling.  And yet, despite this knowledge, she stays by her husband's side and nurses him through good and bad times, through sickness and health.  She nags, she confronts, and she remains unfulfilled for much of the novel. 

This work, although at times depressing, offers the reader the ability to connect with characters that likely resemble their own families.  Not only will you connect with these characters and their hardships, but you will find yourself laughing, you will find yourself examining, and you will find yourself expanding.  Life, in this world and in our dysfunctional families and communities, is difficult, but it is also exhilarating and humorous and worth taking a stab at, day after day.  This is what the Corrections reminded me of.  It reminded me that we're all in this together.  We are all stupid and selfish at times, but then again, we have our moments of compassion, grace, and beauty. 

There are certain themes in literature...unrequited love, the mortality of man, the importance of family, man's struggle against nature...that we are all fairly familiar with.  It comes to no surprise when one of these themes appear in a novel we are reading; we simply nod our heads, say, "ah, yes" and continue along. 

But lately, I have discovered a new theme in  contemporary literature.  Calling it a "theme" might not be the most correct term because it really is a certain character trait.  But whatever you decide to call it, I've been noticing it more and more often.

English professors who love to teach and sleep around. 

Now we must remember that many authors are actually professors.  They write a novel every few years but on a day to day basis, they teach.  In my opinion, many of these authors are all too familiar with the temptations of teaching hundreds of attractive undergraduate and graduate students; therefore it should be no surprise that many of their characters face similar temptations. 

The list below comprises of a few of my favorites.  These are great novels with somewhat sleazy professors that make the plot all the more exciting to students and teachers alike. 

On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Oh Zadie, how envious I am of you!  Her first novel, White Teeth, was published when she was only 25 years old and became an instant bestseller.  In the last ten years, she has written three novels and just recently published a collection of essays.  Zadie Smith is brilliant, enough said.  This novel follows the lives of a British/American mixed race family living in the United States.  Issues of nationality, race, the nature of beauty and politics make this novel poignant and complex.  The sleazy English professor in this story is father himself.  Howard, a British transplant, puts his family through havoc by sleeping with a colleague-how lovely.

The World According to Garp by John Irving
There is a lot to love about this novel.  In fact, it is one of my favorites.  John Irving has a way of bringing his characters to life, he takes you into their world and you find yourself not wanting to leave.  I won't begin to explain the plot because the novel is better enjoyed without a lot of background information.  But I will say this...women can be sleazy too (surprise,surprise) and in this novel, there is an English professor who takes sleaziness to a whole new and terribly dramatic level. 

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
So I haven't actually finished this book; it is in process.  But so far, I really enjoy it, and because it fits perfectly in this list, I thought, "Why not?"  The Corrections won a slew of awards so I feel pretty confident in my recommendation.  This novel focuses on a mid-western couple and the lives of their three, adult children.  One of them, Cliff, is an English professor who is obsessed with both breasts and one of his female students (who supposedly has a lovely pair).  But unfortunately for Cliff, sleeping with an undergraduate was a very bad idea, and he loses his career due to his lust.  So yes...this is a great book if you are considering having an affair with a student or a teacher...it doesn't usually work out well and this book might just help deter disaster.   

During my last semester at college, I worked with two of my favorite professors on a thesis for my English major and Women's Studies minor.  After considering a few different ideas, I settled upon an analysis of female relationships in several post colonial Caribbean novels.  Over the course of that summer and fall, I read many moving coming-of-age stories about young girls in the Caribbean.  The list that follows are three favorites...   

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
This compact novel brilliantly delineates the strain that often arises in mother and daughter relationships.  The story begins when the protagonist is ten years old; Annie is a bright-eyed, energetic girl who loves her mother fiercely but has found their relationship changing faster than she can follow.  As Annie ages, she falls into disfavor with her mother, and a pattern develops of public falsity and hidden betrayal.  As a daughter, I felt like Kincaid expressed some of the deepest sorrows and challenges of growing up.  Her prose glitters and the reader walks away with a deeper appreciation of the complexity of human relationships. 

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Yes...this novel is indeed a member of Oprah's infamous book club.  The novel is beautiful and brilliant, a deep and resounding work that stays with the reader long after the last page ends.  The protagonist in this novel is raised by her aunt and grandmother in Haiti until the tender age of six, when she is then shipped off to New York City to live with her mother, who left for America to build a better life.  The novel exposes some of the more painful and abusive traditions within Haitian culture, and the protagonist struggles to reconcile a love for her family with the sexual and physical abuse she faced as a child.  Ultimately, this is a novel about recovery and hope, a novel that explores the many shades of gray that exist in both family and tradition. 

Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
Yes.  I am a huge fan of Jamaica Kincaid.  This novel is often viewed as the continuation of Annie John.  The protagonist, Lucy, travels to New York from her native home of Antigua to become a nanny for a white, upper-class family in the city.  Despite geographical distance, it is evident that Lucy and her mother are inextricably bond as Lucy struggles daily with thoughts, anger and repressed emotion towards her mother.  The novel also explores the complicated relationships between women from richer countries and poorer countries.  As in this novel, many of these "poorer women" become the caretakers of the wealthier women's families.  While the feminist movement in America has allowed many women to embrace freedom from familial responsibility, the burden has to fall somewhere, and often it is upon the shoulders of immigrant women.  Themes of sexual exploration and body image also pervade the work, which makes this novel an excellent jumping point for much feminist discussion and thought.  Please read Jamaica Kincaid; you won't regret it.      

After reading Riven Rock by TC Boyle earlier this  month, I was anxious to get my hands on his most famous novel, Tortilla Curtain.  Hoping that I would be able to pick up a copy at Goodwill, I perused the thrift stores for a few days before giving up and checking a copy out from the library.  Now please understand, I love the library, I couldn't live without the library, but there is still something slightly disturbing about reading a book that potentially dozens of other people have read through.  People with less than ideal sanitary or hygienic standards.  Now, how I manage not to be similarly bothered by picking up a book from the thrift store, I fail to understand.  But it's just the way my mind works, and I can't begin to explain it.

But onto the book...Tortilla Curtain is required reading in many high school classes, and while I was not fortunate enough to read the novel until after I graduated college, I would highly recommend this book to any young or old person in America.  Written in the nineties, Tortilla Curtain still rings true to many of the issues we wrestle with in this new century.  As you can probably imagine, this novel explores the perplexing and often heated debate surrounding illegal immigration.  Set in California, Tortilla Curtain reveals to its readers two very different viewpoints on immigration.  TC Boyle brings to life two couples: an upper-class, liberal, environmentally friendly wife and husband and a newly married bride and groom, freshly immigrated from Mexico, struggling to survive in a very unfriendly environment. 

While these two couples live in vastly different worlds, their paths unexpectedly cross when Delaney (the white upperclass male) accidentally hits Candido with his car.  For different reasons, both men decide not to call the police or an ambulance, and Delaney gives Candido a twenty dollar bill to compensate for his injury.  From that point on, the lives of these couples are directly and indirectly influenced by each other, and prejudices and assumptions are made on both sides. 

Out of TC Boyle's twelve novels, Tortilla Curtain is his most successful, and I understand why.  The characters are unique and painfully human.  As I read about Delaney and Kyra or Candido and America, I found elements of my own life embedded in their stories.  These small connections helped to remind me that as human beings, we have far more in common with each other than we sometimes think.  Additionally it encouraged me to look at the immigration issue with different eyes.  Like so many political hot topics in our country, illegal immigration is complex, far more complex than most politicians want to admit.  I think our country would be a lot better if more people were exposed to novels that painted both sides of difficult issues; Boyle was able to accomplish this, adn I   As always, Boyle is a master with language and his writing is comedic, fresh and engaging.  So if you need a book to read over the next few weeks, I would highly suggest picking this one up. 

So I've realized that my last few book reviews have been far from recommendations.  While I love Oates and Ishiguro, I was fairly disappointed in their latest work.  However, I do have a host of books I would readily recommend to any of my friends and family, books that have made a profound difference in my life, books that have left tiny marks on my soul. 

Now if I sat down to list all of these books, the list would reach the floor.  I have read quite a bit, and Ryan will attest to our constantly expanding library.  We spend almost every weekend perusing the thrift store, and unlike most people, I walk away with a bag of books (It is just far too difficult for me to find clothes at thrift stores that fit my long, lanky body).  These books sit in boxes and on shelves and provide me with an always open library.  Many of them are good, some of them are great, and a few have entered into the realm of my most treasured possessions.    

But I want to catalog these works in a more meaningful way than just listing them under the title, "Favorite Books".  So every week, I will attempt to create a thematic list of recommended reading.  I hope that you enjoy the categories I create and the books that fall under them.  If you live close by and would like to borrow a copy of one of the books I mention, please let me know.  I love lending books almost as much I enjoy borrowing them. 

As March is about to close on us, I must begin my first list by honoring Women's History Month.  I am most often drawn to literature written by women, and so I have quite the list of favorite female authors and their works.  So in order to specify, this first list will focus on novels that attempt to "Write women back into history" (which happens to be the overarching theme of National Women's month 2010). 

Writing Women Back Into History

Cane River by Lalita Tademy
This novel explores the personal ancestry of the author, Lalita Tademy. 
Utilizing an amazing amount of research, Lalita brings to life four remarkable women in her family that lived and breathed the discrimination and injustice that African-Americans have faced over the past two hundred years.  These women face innumerable hardships, but retain a commitment to preserve their heritage.  The novel is well researched and written in eloquent and precise prose.  It is an excellent choice and will motivate you to explore your own family's past.   

My Antonia by Willa Cather
Oh pioneers.  As a child, I was obsessed with Laura Ingells from Little House on the Prairie.  Yes, I read every book numerous times and found the television show far too addicting for my 1/2 hour limit of television each day.  I would lie in bed at night, imaging embarking on the Oregon Trail with my dog and bonnet in hand.  In high school, I discovered Willa Cather and my love for pioneering was reignited.  My Antonia tells the story of several immigrant families who move out to Nebraska to start a new life.  Although the book is narrated by Jim, it chronicles his friendship with the bohemian farm girl, Antonia.  The novel paints a stark picture of what life truly was like for many girls and women in the West.  Willa Cather has a gift with language and her descriptions of the rolling prairies and the stark landscape upon which so many families began new lives is worth immense admiration. 

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Ah, the sexual double standard...how could I leave this theme out?  Hardy's most famous novel chronicles the painful coming of age of a poor country girl.  Issues of class and sexuality permeate the novel, and Hardy's detailed description of the Wessex countryside makes me want to live in Europe and herd goats.   I love Victorian literature, but I understand that many of you would rather eat sawdust than sit down with Henry James or Thomas Hardy.  But this is a novel I fell in love with at the tender age of sixteen.  As I read about Tess, I found myself grateful to be living in a time and a place where my gender afforded me more opportunity than many women faced throughout history.    

Bless Me, Utlima by Rudolfo Anaya
Throughout history, women have been healers.  Although in the 19th and 20th centuries, the medical practice became largely controlled by men, history proves that women have long held positions of authority within the healing realms.  This novel, set in a small New Mexico town in the 1940's, follows the life of a young boy who has a curandera (a woman healer) come and live with his family.  The young boy is forced to wrestle between the opposing forces of his parents.  He is torn between the masculine influence of violence and possession and the feminine influence of his mother's family and religion.  But with Ultima, the curandera, he discovers oneness with nature.  Gender become neutral and reconciliation between masculinity and femininity occurs.  This is a beautiful book about a child growing up in a conflicting family environment (not unfamiliar to me in the least) and the reconciliation that one woman brings into his life.