Aadrita Chatterji

“Women write novels these days.”

When the older generation says this, it is often difficult to understand whether it’s a compliment or a resignation to modern-day society. Our grandparents lived a different life, where men were expected to earn and head the family, while women nurtured their husbands, in-laws and children. The writer is Bengali, and she was deeply impressed by writers in pre-independent India: Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Swarnakumari Devi and Ashapurna Devi. Their work focused on family and domestic life, but it also yearned for power, independence and a life beyond the courtyard.

Modern-day Women’s Literature Isn’t Packaged The Best

Once upon a time, women writers were often not allowed to publish under their names, so they used initials or male names to be taken seriously. Generations later, they would probably be delighted to see more and more women publishing literature. Some are light-hearted at best, while others deserve all the recognition they get. The writer now reads East Asian fiction translated into English, and she is amazed by the complex psychological undercurrent in all these novels. It is beyond pastel covers of fruits and flowers, female stereotypes and reductionist blurbs typical of Western ‘chick lit’.

Though women publish their work these days, the general perception of commercial women’s fiction needs to change. Urban women. Career. Love. Nothing else happening in their lives. The writer couldn’t read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight because it was so dull? Or E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey. Why should we care about a human woman falling in love with a sparkling vampire, or an underconfident student’s dominant-submissive relationship with a tycoon? Most importantly, the protagonists themselves were unlikeable, with no backbone or personality. It’s a novel, so they finally have their happily ever after.

The Rise Of Women’s Psychological Fiction And Why

Through this essay, the writer invites more women to write literature that matters. Though not an East Asian novel, she was introduced to more serious literature through Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Eleanor lives a boring life: a job she’s not especially passionate about, no boyfriend and a mother in prison. Though she wasn’t a particularly interesting character, much of what we knew about her was rooted in childhood trauma and isolation. As we learn more about her past, our view of her changes. The writer wishes her nothing but the best.

Asako Yuzuki’s Butter explores Rika Machida’s complicated professional relationship with Manako Kajii, a convicted serial murderer. Kajii was renowned for her gourmet meals, and Rika writes to her for an interview by asking for her famous beef stew recipe. Of course, the book isn’t simply about food and domestic life, but also body image and institutional misogyny faced by women in contemporary Japan. The writer is currently reading Hooked by the same author: the perfectionist Eriko Shimura maintaining a curious friendship with blogger Shōko Maruo. It targets loneliness, female friendship, and the illusory relationships formed online and offline.

Women Should Challenge Readers Through Their Storytelling

Though people have their preferences, the writer wants to read books about women living real lives: women suddenly dealing with an eating disorder, women wanting to interview convicts as part of a story, women navigating life with PTSD and women being obsessed with their female counterparts. Stories about people connected through humanity. Han Kang’s The Vegetarian is about a passive young wife who gives up eating meat. It is not because of her liking for vegetarian food, but a response to her patriarchal husband, violence and also her deteriorating mental health.

What makes these stories award-worthy is not always the subject matter, but perhaps the characters themselves. Michiko Aoyama’s What You Are Looking For Is in the Library isn’t dark, but it is definitely psychological. It is a series of interconnected stories about a community librarian who knows the right book to recommend to the right person. Themes centre around urban isolation, capitalism, career and modern life. However, instead of forcing romance into each story, the characters find fulfilment in their human connection and self-discovery. Something we need more of today: simple love.

While ‘chick lit’ is famously sidelined as being feminine, psychological fiction writers take these same products to critique society, culture and feminism. Think kitchens, workplaces, and convenience stores that women frequent every day. Women want to bring autonomy, body and gender politics into their conversations, which may include men, if at all. If we look at it, none of their stories actually revolve around men. Instead, they centre the conversations on themselves: physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.

With the right kind of fiction, the future is female.