Literature today is ruled by a different kind of heroine — one who doesn’t seek rescue but thrives in the storm. The women don’t ask or need saving — for their chaos is the moment. Fierce and true to themselves, the morally gray, sometimes unhinged female lead is often unbothered, liable to be self-destructive, and unafraid to be unlikeable: she is neither hesitant nor afraid to take space.
While these character-driven plots can serve as an absolute page-turner, books that excavate this trope can open doors for women and give readers permission to explore their complexity and live out their darkest fantasies of catharsis and empowerment — shedding light to important feminist themes and transgressing social constructs for women.
In celebration of National Women’s Month this March, here’s a list of books about female rage so you can pick your favorite anti-heroine.
A propulsive, darkly comic thriller about Geeta, a young widow who discovers that the false rumors about her killing her husband can actually work to her advantage — especially for her jewelry business. After all, fear is a powerful motivator, right? But when other women in her village start seeking her help to get rid of their own husbands, Geeta’s dangerous reputation becomes a double-edged sword.
Moshfegh’s Eileen is a captivating and impeccably written noir thriller that explores what happens when a miserable, dreary existence reaches its breaking point. Eileen is a complicated, repulsive, yet sympathetic heroine — trapped in a grim existence she longs to escape. But when she befriends the magnetic Rebecca, her life takes a dark and unexpected turn. In one of the most shocking plot twists in literature, Eileen finds a way out that no one could see coming.
“Before my wife turned vegetarian, I’d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way.” So begins Han Kang’s The Vegetarian. Suffering from disturbing dreams about the death of animals, Yeong-ye decides to stop eating meat, setting off a chain of disturbing events. Visceral, astonishing, and elegant, The Vegetarian is a sharp allegory about power, obsession, and a woman’s struggle to break free from violence.
A dark academia story, Bunny follows a group of girls taking their MFA in creative writing. The main character, Samantha, is a brooding and anti-social loner who resents the clique of cool and rich girls who call each other “Bunny” and who smother each other’s work with praise. But when Samantha is invited to join their fabled “Smut Salon,” she is thrust down the rabbit hole of their sinister world filled with a whole lot of rainbow sprinkles, cupcakes, guts, and gore.
Nightbitch is a contemporary satirical novel that explores the primal, animalistic side of motherhood. The unnamed narrator, referred to as “the mother,” struggles after leaving a promising career to become a stay-at-home mom to her two-year-old son. Consumed by misery and anger, she begins to believe she is transforming into a dog she calls Nightbitch. Sharp, visceral and hilarious, Nightbitch packs a lot of bite and is worth experiencing in both its book and movie form.
Love is patient, love is kind… love is twisted? On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne — beautiful, brilliant and seemingly perfect — vanishes without a trace. As suspicion falls on her husband, Nick, the truth descends into a dark and deadly game of deception, manipulation and vengeance. Gone Girl is an unputdownable masterpiece about what happens when a marriage unravels in the most terrible way imaginable.
Disorientation explores the simmering rage of a Taiwanese-American student struggling with writing her dissertation about a canonical poet, Xiao Wen Chao. When Ingrid uncovers a shocking secret about the famous and supposedly dead poet, Ingrid discovers she has more issues to untangle about academic imperialism, identity politics, the white gaze, and most especially, herself.
When her children have left home and become self-sufficient, a woman finds herself on an emotional journey as she experiences empty nest syndrome and finds out about her husband’s affair after he discouraged her from seeking employment to stay at home to focus on their children. The Woman Destroyed gives readers enthralling and intelligent insights into women who are past their youth and facing unexpected crises.
When Grace Bernard finds out that her wealthy father, who has been absent from her life, has refused her dying mother’s request for assistance, she is determined to get her revenge: Grace decides to kill his family one by one. But then, she gets imprisoned... For a murder she didn’t commit. A darkly humorous, captivating, and edgy story, How to Kill Your Family is great for readers who enjoy Killing Eve and My Sister, the Serial Killer.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a story about young girls forced to grow up too fast. As unwed mothers, their families send them to Wellwood House, a secluded shelter where they can give birth in secret. The house is ruled by a group of strict, unyielding adults who see the girls as wayward and fallen — nothing more. But when they encounter an itinerant librarian who gifts them an occult book, they uncover a new kind of power — one that grants them control over their fates and their bodies. Yet power always comes at a price. With each ritual, Fern and her friends are drawn deeper into a perilous game — one that may cost them everything.