On the Road, Gloria Steinem
More memoir than anything else, Steinem documents how her life has been shaped by travel in a series of wide-ranging chapters that mainly focus on the people she met and those who influenced her the most—from her father to other activists and feminists such as Florynce Kennedy, Robin Morgan, Bella Abzug, Wilma Mankiller, and Dorothy Pitman Hughes. Steinem has traveled extensively throughout the United States, and this book details those trips and the projects behind them, most of which I had no idea Steinem was even involved in. Witnessing her evolution as a person and her ability to think in new ways was perhaps the most interesting part of Steinem’s latest book. She is an admirable person who has always fought for justice and strived to be on the right side of history not only through her words, but more importantly, through her actions, and she is still doing that today.
Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield
Armfield’s debut novel is a mysterious thriller following in which queer identity and the sea are interwoven. Leah is an ocean researcher who goes on a three-week deep-sea research trip that quickly turns into six months when the submarine’s controls seems to be shut off, and Miri is her wife who takes care of her upon her return. Readers are provided with few details about what happened during those months, rather observing the effect it has had on Leah: an obsession with being in the bath; sometimes blue, sometimes translucent skin; and less and less tolerance for being touched. Desperate to try to help her, Miri soon discovers that “the Centre”, Leah’s place of work, has disappeared into thin air, and she is left trying to figure out what to do with the help of the sister of one of Leah’s crewmates. The book is divided into Leah’s thoughts, which are often dreamlike, and Miri’s, which are at the same time frantic and wearied. If Armfield had decided to include more details about the research trip, the Centre, etc., she could have easily extended this narrative by at least 100 pages, and while I admit that this was something I wanted upon finishing the book, upon further reflection I think the ending is fitting in a full-circle kind of way.