Feminist Book Club in Dublin

For the past month we have been reading
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
- Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Gothic

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One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation.
The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.

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Time to meet up and see what you all thought of it. We'll also be discussing the selection of the new book.

New members are still welcome to join us, even if you haven't read the book.

***

Don't forget to join our Goodreads group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/181574-feminists-of-dublin---book-club.html).
and check out our other Meetup for more general discussion. (https://www.meetup.com/Feminists-in-Dublin/)

For the past month we have been reading
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

• Fiction, Contemporary

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

Time to meet up and see what you all thought of it. We'll also be discussing the selection of the new book.

New members are still welcome to join us, even if you haven't read the book.

***

Don't forget to join our Goodreads group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/181574-feminists-of-dublin---book-club.html).
and check out our other Meetup for more general discussion. (https://www.meetup.com/Feminists-in-Dublin/)

For the past month we have been reading
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

• Fiction, Contemporary.

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.
Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.
Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

Time to meet up and see what you all thought of it. We'll also be discussing the selection of the new book.

New members are still welcome to join us, even if you haven't read the book.

***

Don't forget to join our Goodreads group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/181574-feminists-of-dublin---book-club.html).
and check out our other Meetup for more general discussion. (https://www.meetup.com/Feminists-in-Dublin/)

For the past month we have been reading
BOOK NAME AND AUTHOR

• GENRE

Book Description

Time to meet up and see what you all thought of it. We'll also be discussing the selection of the new book.

New members are still welcome to join us, even if you haven't read the book.

***

Don't forget to join our Goodreads group (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/181574-feminists-of-dublin---book-club.html).
and check out our other Meetup for more general discussion. (https://www.meetup.com/Feminists-in-Dublin/)