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By Women, About Women: Book Recommendations for A Captivating Read

  • Writer: Ingrid Guo
    Ingrid Guo
  • Apr 16, 2021
  • 3 min read

Author: Emmy Apfel '22


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Three Women by Lisa Taddeo


Author Lisa Taddeo traveled around the United States for eight years to render three portraits of real-life, American women. The result: Three Women, a profound novel following the ins and outs of female evolution. The stories of Maggie, Lina, and Sloane, captured by Taddeo, frame the content of the novel. Though formatted similarly to an interview, the bulk of the text is through the eyes of the women, with little commentary from Taddeo. Taddeo’s gift is in her ability to draw out morals and lessons from life experiences without spelling the theme out explicitly. She lets the stories do the talking; in that sense, different details might resonant with different readers.


Maggie’s narrative surrounds her upbringing in North Dakota and the romantic relationship she had with her high school teacher, Aaron. The novel follows the events that drew Aaron to Maggie, as well as the emotional and legal aftermath. Taddeo accurately reflects Maggie’s unresolved feelings towards Aaron, as well as the development of his cruelty towards her.


Lina has married an impassive and distant man who does not give her the attention she craves, leading her to embark on an affair with her high school boyfriend. Taddeo humanizes Lina’s disloyalty and offers insight into the reasons for the affair.


Sloane’s story is entirely different: she is elegant, privileged, and in an open relationship with her partner.


Taddeo lived with these women in their towns for many months, evident in the level of immersion in the details of her characters. Three Women offers an awakening on what it means to be female, adult, and juggle personal needs, family needs, and work responsibilities. A riveting read from start to finish.


Three Women might be one of my favorite reads. Taddeo has a unique ability to transpose the lives of the women onto the page, and I felt like I was engaging in a conversation with the women directly. As an older teen, I found this book to be an essential read; I learned a lot about womanhood and responsibility. I now perceive womanhood as more of a struggle, but rewarding nonetheless. Each of the characters experienced trauma and difficulty in their love lives. I will admit—I thought, “Oh no, are all adult relationships really this hard?” However, I learned from Taddeo’s honest account of relationships, and I now know not to make the same mistakes. This novel will definitely shape your perception of relationships with family, as it did mine.


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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi


Yaa Gyasi immerses readers in the story of two half-sisters, Effia and Esi, as they experience harrowing journeys as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Gyasi’s work not only focuses on the wounds inflicted on the colonized and enslaved but further touches upon the ways they thrive regardless. Like Taddeo, Gyasi puts much emphasis on the details: her description transports readers to the villages of West Africa. Gyasi shows—not tells—about the disastrous repercussions of colonization: the exploitation of pre-existing West African rivalries, men sleeping with machetes under their pillows, the immense violence for the purpose of satisfying the market.


Yet, Gyasi also channels a deep sense of humanity. Each chapter unfolds a new generation, eventually telling the stories of women six generations after Effia and Esi. The evolution of the story, through the eyes of many generations of women, touched me. Gyasi covers the persistent memory of slavery, as well as the persistent dream of freedom and prosperity, whether in Ghana, Baltimore, or Harlem. The minute details she included allowed me to momentarily journey to Esi’s West African shores or to Ness’s slave plantation in Alabama.


Gyasi makes a point to cover the humanity of Effia and Esi as well as the African Americans that follow, sharing their stories, problems, and successes. Though harrowing, this text is a must-read.


This novel added personal anecdotes to my understanding of African and African American history. Though fictional, I had never experienced a social commentary through a six-generation long story. The text also engendered empathy; I felt so immersed in the wellbeing of the characters, to the extent that I almost forgot they were fictional. Homegoing was a phenomenal read, both in its ability to increase my understanding of this complex and painful period and in its ability to engage me in a beautiful story.


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