Would we like a fiction Book Club?

[Unrulysun]

So that we could do some feminist analysis of fiction I mean? I was thinking maybe some classics but possibly we all know that Rochester has to be emasculated before Jane blah blah and we'd prefer to do others?

Would anyone be up for it? Would it work? What would we read? Other questions I haven't thought of?

If you haven't got time to read the classics, many of them can be listened to for free in audiobook format at librivox.org

Here is Villette
librivox.org/villette-by-charlotte-bronte/

Villette is the narrator, but unfortunately this version is read by a man. Still, it is free, so can't complain.

Yes, I think it is because anyone can contribute to librivox by reading any out of copyright book. This reading is by a man from America.

Swallowedafly- I could never get into Hardy either. I have always found reading his novels a bit like wading through thick mud

I'm up for it but would prefer it if we concentrated on women authors please

Another up for it but would rather women authors.

I recently decided to focus on women authors as there are too many books in the world so I may as well narrow it somehow, and how better.

Reading the thread though I'd say we have some people up for reading misogynistic books to deconstruct and some people up for feminist books too. Just an observation really.

I just feel that deconstructing literature will be very good practice for deconstructing life!

can't we concentrate on women's lit but have the occasional male?
I think the two would interplay nicely.
Doing hatchet jobs on Great Classics By Great Men would be huge fun IMO but I could see it getting old quickly.
It would also be really interesting to see if and how we end up talking about the two differently.
And if someone has no interest at all in doing a male writer, I'm sure they would not object to skipping the occasional group; presumably there wouldn't be people who are only interested in doing men?

I can't have the occasional male these days, just the one for me.

(Sorry got banging headache and it's distorting my humour)

I would definitely prefer to focus on women writers.

Yes Clarissa is good. Also Becky Sharp is a very famous character. Diane Abbott says that it is the fictional character that she would choose to be. I don't know anything about Moll Flanders, but she is also famous.

I'm not playing if we can't do the occasional Shakespeare

I think Villette has it did anyone else notice me trying to steer the thread Austenwards? Totally unsuccessfully. Perhaps I'll love it? And let's go for two weeks after the feminist book club's next evening?

For those of us wanting a modern text let's do one next. Something post 1980? I love love love Angela Carter but isn't a feminist deconstruction of a feminist text a bit...erm...tautological?

I do agree that finding ideas in literature makes you more able to find them in life FB.

The Shipping News is by a woman and has a male protagonist and is utterly brilliant?

Oh I loved the Shipping News and haven't read it for ages

Wasn't Moll Flanders supposed to be a morality tale but she has been revisited by feminists who see her as a bit of a hero? I seem to dimly recall that from my degree but that was a very long time ago. Would be interesting to read again.

Oh God Villette

Charlotte Bronte is so awful. But I ought to read her so am glad to find that site, thanks for posting that Claig.