This is a great selection. I’ve always appreciated how writers like Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell handle the complexities of sisterhood—it’s such a rich theme for exploring human nature. I’ve read a few of these, but there are some titles here that are new to me. It’s a reminder of how that specific bond can be both a sanctuary and a source of tension. Great curation.
Thank you so much! Something so comforting about seeing tensions we still hold today in older texts, they truly transcend time. Really glad you found some new books, that’s always my goal! Thank you for reading.
"Chekhov fills the play with longing and small disappointments, with conversations that circle around what no one can say directly. Very little happens in terms of plot. Everything happens in terms of feeling. It is one of the great plays about the gap between the life you imagined and the life you have." True that. So many people are raised on a sterile emotional diet of Alien Invasions, and Rad Explosions, and Wicked-Sick Kung Fu Sneak Attacks, and Holy Shit Boobs, and find themselves utterly incapable of appreciating or even internalising the far gentler and more subtle narrative and emotional arcs like these.
Thank you for these recommendations. I was making a note of them all and my daughter came in and peered over my shoulder and said that she’d heard of the Virgin Suicides and wanted to read it, perhaps she will. I think I’ll go for Howard’s End and Yolk.
I would have loved to have included sense and sensibility but I don’t like to repeat books so I couldn’t include it! And yes I was so close to Atonement in this list but I decided to save it for a future post about film adaptations!
This is a great selection. I’ve always appreciated how writers like Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell handle the complexities of sisterhood—it’s such a rich theme for exploring human nature. I’ve read a few of these, but there are some titles here that are new to me. It’s a reminder of how that specific bond can be both a sanctuary and a source of tension. Great curation.
Thank you so much! Something so comforting about seeing tensions we still hold today in older texts, they truly transcend time. Really glad you found some new books, that’s always my goal! Thank you for reading.
Little Women
I would call this THE sister book!
I need someone to rewrite The Virgin Suicides. For me, it was taking the long way around to get to the point.
"Chekhov fills the play with longing and small disappointments, with conversations that circle around what no one can say directly. Very little happens in terms of plot. Everything happens in terms of feeling. It is one of the great plays about the gap between the life you imagined and the life you have." True that. So many people are raised on a sterile emotional diet of Alien Invasions, and Rad Explosions, and Wicked-Sick Kung Fu Sneak Attacks, and Holy Shit Boobs, and find themselves utterly incapable of appreciating or even internalising the far gentler and more subtle narrative and emotional arcs like these.
Thank you for these recommendations. I was making a note of them all and my daughter came in and peered over my shoulder and said that she’d heard of the Virgin Suicides and wanted to read it, perhaps she will. I think I’ll go for Howard’s End and Yolk.
Hello Beautiful
The most fun We ever Had
Of these, I’ve only read Practical Magic. I’ll be looking up a few of the others. Thanks for the recs!
You’re very welcome, it always makes me happy when people get to find new books! Thank you for reading!
Currently reading The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei and I’m really enjoying its exploration of a complicated sisterhood!
Yes, Jane Austen is ALL sisters!
Also - I propose Atonement, okay?
I would have loved to have included sense and sensibility but I don’t like to repeat books so I couldn’t include it! And yes I was so close to Atonement in this list but I decided to save it for a future post about film adaptations!