Ten top novels about women's political awakening

Sarai Walker received her M.F.A. in creative writing from Bennington College. As a magazine writer, her articles appeared in national publications, including Seventeen and Mademoiselle. She subsequently served as an editor and writer for Our Bodies, Ourselves, before moving to London and then Paris to complete a Ph.D. She currently lives in the New York City area. Dietland is her first novel.

One of Walker's top ten novels about women's political awakening, as shared at the Guardian:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)

In Walker’s controversial Pulitzer prize-winning novel, the heroine, Celie, experiences multiple oppressions, from the racism of the American deep south where she lives, to the abuse she suffers at the hands of male relatives at home. The relentless bleakness of Celie’s circumstances seem impossible to escape. Yet Walker’s narrative chronicles her path to womanist awakening, which leads to an unexpected, utopian ending.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Color Purple is among Hollie McNish's top ten literary works about breasts, Sarah Alderson's top ten feminist icons in children's and teen books, Bruna Lobato's top ten must-read classics by African American authors, Hanna McGrath's top five fictional characters who tell it like it is, Andy McSmith's top ten books of the 1980s, and Sophie Ward's six best books.

--Marshal Zeringue