Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)

The opening line of Middlesex 'I was born twice: first, as a baby girl on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy in the emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan in August 1974' sets the tone for a text which is by turns bildungsroman, mystery, tragedy, comedy and memoir. This huge novel relates several histories, both personal and public, that of the narrator Cal/Calliope who must come to terms with his rebirth as a male after a childhood spent as a girl, that of the Stephanides family whose immigration to Chicago threatens their Greek heritage, that of the grandparents Desdemona and Lefty whose childhood is interrupted by the Greco-Turkish war, with far-reaching consquences.

Style/structure: non-linear narrative, classical allusions, family saga.

Themes: gender, sexuality, incest, nature vs nurture, history.

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly (2003)

Based around a real life murder case that happened in the US in 1906, A Gathering Light (UK title) tells the story of 16 year old Mattie whose life, education and ambitions are destined to be curtailed by the fact that she is a girl. Mattie is surrounded by poverty and prejudice but there are two lights which inspire her, one is her teacher who writes feminist poetry and argues for women's rights though it makes her very unpopular; the second is her friend, Weaver who is committed to educating himself despite the obstacles and prejudice that he encounters as an African American.

Style/structure: non-linear narrative, bildungsroman.

Themes: gender, poverty, education, ambition, equal rights, prejudice

Orlando

Vagina Monologues

A Doll's House

The Yellow Wallpaper

The Awakening

The House of Mirth

The Bloody Chamber

The Handmaid's Tale

The World's Wife

The Vagina Monologues