The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: Female Experience
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE ● The Marriage Portrait begins as such: In 1560, fifteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici left Florence to begin her married life with Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Less than a year later, she would be dead. The official cause… Continue Reading “The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell”
Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant – Cristina Sanders
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS In 1866 a ship bound for London from Melbourne crashed into the Auckland Islands and sunk, taking with it many lives and an undetermined amount of gold, direct from the goldfields of Australia. Fourteen men and one woman made… Continue Reading “Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant – Cristina Sanders”
The Matriarch – Witi Ihimaera
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo Tama Mahana is a grown man analysing the mystique and ambition of his grandmother, the matriarch of his family. But to truely appreciate the paths she has taken, he must study Māori mythology and New Zealand history. Tama is… Continue Reading “The Matriarch – Witi Ihimaera”
Sophie’s Choice – William Styron
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel An aspiring novelist is captivated by a Holocaust survivor and her unpredictable boyfriend Stingo is a Southern young man aspiring to be a novelist and living off the income from his grandmother’s controversial sale of slaves many years prior.… Continue Reading “Sophie’s Choice – William Styron”
Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead
READ FOR BOOKERTHON The story of daredevil female aviator Marian Graves and her plans to circumnavigate the globe. Marian and Jamie Graves are rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, then raised by their uncle in Montana. After encountering a pair… Continue Reading “Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead”
Death In Her Hands – Otessa Moshfegh
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel An investigation of an elderly woman’s mental wanderings after finding a note referring to a murder. Vesta Gul is an expected Moshfegh character: a female loner with convoluted, dangerous thoughts. She is 72, living alone in the woods after… Continue Reading “Death In Her Hands – Otessa Moshfegh”
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie. Esther Greenwood’s story is remarkably similar to Sylvia Plath’s own life and struggles and is considered autobiographical fiction, despite being written under a pseudonym. Esther is an editor with mental illness who soon succumbs to being institutionally committed, fighting… Continue Reading “The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath”
The Harpy – Megan Hunter
Chosen by Rachel A wife is permitted to hurt her husband three times after his affair is discovered. ⫸ “In Greek mythology a harpy is a half bird-half woman. As a bird of prey it has wide wings and sharp talons, yet the face… Continue Reading “The Harpy – Megan Hunter”
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