Fem Book Club is an introduction to a diverse range of texts by women about women. Through informal conversation about each text we will focus on the manifold experiences of being a woman through different moments in history and across varying communities. It is an opportunity to think about and challenge what it means to be a woman and perhaps undermine any assumed universal experience by looking at how people of colour, transgender and non-binary identifying writers, or those who suffer with mental health issues have vastly different experiences of ‘feminism’ or what it is to be a ‘woman’.
This is a welcoming and safe space. We encourage participation from LGBTI women, men, trans and gender diverse persons and non-binary persons.
During this session of Fem Book Club, we’ll be discussing Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi.
An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centres around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born “with one foot on the other side.” Unsettling, heartwrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities.
Our preferred bookseller is Boffins Books. We value our local booksellers and think they are an important part of the literary community. Boffins stocks a limited number of copies of each Fem Book Club text, so please purchase your copy as soon as possible as we cannot guarantee stock. When purchasing in store, mention our name for 10% off!
The full text list for Fem Book Club 2021 is as follows:
17 March – Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke
19 May – Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
21 July – The Color Purple by Alice Walker
15 September – Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
17 November – The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
