Books By Guys who Sound like Girls

OK, these are not really guys who “sound” like girls, but rather, three men authors who have written books with female protagonists. I remember particularly how stunned I was in reading these books and thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe these are men writers writing as women.” They’re that good. And if you haven’t discovered these authors yet, or read these three books in particular, I hope you will read them soon. You’ll be amazed at their talent and their stories.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
An Oprah Book Club selection in 1998, the first line of Midwives has stuck with me all these years, which I won’t reveal here (you’ll have to pick up the book to find out what it is!). I remember seeing an interview with Chris Bohjalian (probably on Oprah), and he started this whole novel based on that very first line. If you’ve yet to read this novel, check out this thrilling book.

Synopsis from Chrisbohjalian.com
On an icy winter night in an isolated house in rural Vermont, a seasoned midwife named Sibyl Danforth takes desperate measures to save a baby’s life. She performs an emergency cesarean section on a mother she believes has died of a stroke. But what if Sibyl’s patient wasn’t dead—and Sybil inadvertently killed her? As Sibyl faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Another Oprah Book Club selection (I had no idea I was selecting Oprah books!), She’s Come Undone is my absolute favorite book ever and I must read it again since I’ve only read it once and that was when it first came out in 1992, when I was 23 years old. Told in a completely believable female voice, Wally Lamb’s main character is a 257-pound woman named Dolores. Walk into any bookstore today and you will still find this book on the shelves. It’s a classic in my opinion, and I’ve been amazed at how many times I have heard other women and writers say that She’s Come Undone is one of their favorite books.

Synopsis from Oprah.com
She’s Come Undone is a deeply affecting, often hilarious novel that centers around one of the most extraordinary characters in recent American fiction: wisecracking, ever-vulnerable Dolores Price, whose life we follow through her fortieth year. When we first meet Dolores in 1956, she is four years old, innocently unaware that the delivery of a television set will launch her tumultuous personal odyssey. Through one thousand and one television nights, Dolores feeds herself the fantasies of melodramas and sitcoms and tries to understand the many faces of love and betrayal: her father, driven by lust and longing to leave his family; her mother, an emotionally fragile woman who battles mental illness; Grandma Holland, lace-curtain decent, peppery and proud, aching with unspoken feelings; and Jack Speight, the handsome upstairs neighbor whose ultimate betrayal will throw Dolores’ life severely, nearly permanently, off-course.

What follows — obesity, sexual ambiguity, self-delusion, and madness — is the precursor to a radiant rebirth. It is not without labor pains, this new awakening. A surrogate family that includes an ancient Polka Queen disc jockey suffering from Parkinson’s disease, the 6′ 10″ proprietor of Existential Drywall (motto: Responsible Work for Authentic Individuals”) and her former high school guidance counselor Mr. Pucci, helps Dolores find happiness in small moments.

As endearingly familiar as Chiquita Banana jingles, Hula-Hoops and I Love Lucy, as mysterious and haunting as the cries of whales, She’s Come Undone makes us laugh and wince with recognition and reminds us that despite the pain we endure and cause, we must find the courage to love again.

Dear Zoe by Philip Beard
What I loved and remember most about Dear Zoe, published in 2005, was Philip Beard’s spot-on voice of not only a female character, but a 15-year-old girl who has just lost her younger sister in a terrible hit-and-run accident. This was another one of those books where I kept thinking to myself, “This can’t be a male author writing this book!”

Dear Zoe was one of the first books I read post 9/11 that weaved the events into the story, but didn’t make the story about the events. It was named one of the Ten Best First Novels of the Year by Booklist and is Young Adult (and I am a huge fan of that genre).

Synopsis from Amazon.com
On the morning planes hit the World Trade Center towers, Tess DeNunzio’s three-year-old sister, Zoe, ran into the street and was killed by a car. Fifteen-year-old Tess, who was supposed to be watching Zoe, was consumed by guilt. This novel is written in the form of a letter from Tess to Zoe, chronicling the year after Zoe’s death. Tess lives with her mother, her stepfather, David, and her other half-sister, Emily; and after Zoe’s death she feels more disconnected from them than ever. She decides to go live with her father, Nick, a good-hearted man who has big plans that never seem to pan out.

Living with Nick allows Tess to, in a sense, start fresh; she begins a romance with Jimmy Freeze, the troubled but thoughtful boy next door, and gets a summer job at a theme park where no one knows what happened to her sister. But Tess isn’t able to hide forever: a similar accident forces Tess to face her grief head on. Beard’s debut will no doubt be compared to Alice Sebold’s Lovely Bones (2002); like that novel, it is a piercing look at how a family recovers from a devastating loss. Beard captures the raw emotion of a 15-year-old girl with impressive dexterity, following Tess through the many stages of grief. Everything about this moving, powerful debut rings true. Kristine Huntley, Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association.

So if you’re looking for some fascinating reads or gift ideas for the upcoming holidays, consider these unique books. And as always, I’ll be bringing new authors and books to you on Mondays!