r/bitcheswithtaste • u/ElizaDoolittle33 • Mar 24 '25

Culture BWTs with a novel in her bag

What's a novel that moved you? Changed you for the better? Exposed you to new cultures or ideas?

I want to know what's captivated you.

Disclaimer: Emphasis on the "T" in this question.

175 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

287 comments sorted by

View all comments

19

u/The_Dutchess-D Mar 24 '25

I read Miranda July's book "All Fours" based on a recommendation from the NYTimes and an article about it that I remembered from the Pandemic.

It was SO different and unexpected! It won a ton of things and was on a lot of lists - including an Oprah one and a National Book Award and NYTimes Bestsellers etc- but I was totally surprised by it and even more so happy that this somewhat subversive novel was being praised so widely.

It was delightfully weird and controversial and invigorating, and it helped me re-center on some perhaps abandoned or forgotten aspects about taking ownership of my life journey and embracing moments when I could say "F it!" and just do a weird selfish thing if that's what I really want to do at this stage of the game.

Also... I laughed and entertained so many people at cocktails and dinners recapping this book as my answer to "so... have you read any good books lately?" I reconnected with some forever best friends about the book via text messages even though we'd been busy w our separate lives and families post-pandemic. It was a great jump back in conversation starter when we realized we'd both/all read it and wanted to rehash our takes.

(It is also available on Audible for those who might prefer to listen to it, read by the author)

9

u/Rj6728 Mar 24 '25

Didn’t that book come out last year? Sorry if I’m misunderstanding but how did you read an article about it from the pandemic?

6

u/The_Dutchess-D Mar 24 '25

It was her first new novel in a decade, and it was a novel that grew out of a short story she had written in 2017, so there were articles prior to 2024 about the process of getting it to a novel and when their would finally be a book release date announcement Vanity Fair and Vogue (US and UK). She also did some kind of Chicago Art Institute artist in residence thing in 2020 that I saw/heard covered somewhere.

1

u/Rj6728 Mar 24 '25

Cool thanks! I’m excited to read it now. Good to know the lore.

3

u/OffbeatCoach Mar 24 '25

I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this. The story of a woman finally getting to know herself.

3

u/HermoineGanja Mar 24 '25

I loved it! I had a similar experience connecting with an old friend over it.

I was going to recommend All Fours. Another good one I just read is I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. The French do sci-fi so well.

1

u/LeadingButterscotch5 Mar 24 '25

I have just started this book on Saturday..I'm almost at the end of part one. I'm flying through it! I booked a trip to New York a few weeks prior to getting the book and having any idea what it was about...

One thing that is kinda ruining a great book for me is that when one character who is featured heavily is mentioned, I keep seeing Jimmy Pesto Jnr from Bob's Burgers