“How to Be a Woman,” Caitlin Moran
How to Be a Woman is basically Moran’s way to address the burden of sexism and patriarchal society that still oppresses women everywhere today in an ironic way. To be blunt, it fails for the most part. Putting an exclamation point on the end of every chapter name or the end of every other sentence does not make something ironic, which is something she does relentlessly, and I have yet to understand what it adds to the text. Her cavalier mention of some of the most horrid aspects of history, like the colonization of the Americas, frankly insulted me. The only saving grace of the whole book is the chapter on abortion, which ironically, is one of the only chapters to not have an exclamation point tacked onto its name. Hmmmm. In this chapter Moran speaks about her own abortion: she already had two children, and knew she could not provide for a third emotionally. Personal narratives like these are the ones that need to be heard and I applaud Moran not only for being brave and voicing her truth, but also for having the strength to make the best decision for herself in the first place.
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“A Man Called Ove,” Frederik Backman
In what is surely now a pop culture trope, Ove, a grumpy old man depressed by the death of his wife and sick of the rest of society, tries to off himself in various ways until he discovers the love of his neighbors and the new community he could be a part of. With a sad ending that I won’t spoil for you, this heart-warming novel rings of the movie Up!except with more suicide attempts and less adventure. A Man Called Ove has been bouncing around my social media pages for quite some time, and so I decided to read it as well. An easy read that keeps the reader engaged and entertained, this novel is refreshing in its honest portrayal of depression and the struggle to keep your head above water, while also reminding us of the importance of being kind to one another even when it’s difficult or someone has not extended the same courtesy to us, often for reasons of which we are not aware.