Chimamanda's Americanah recommended among 13 contemporary novels feminists should read

Author and literary critics will agree that most best-seller novels or movies are re-counts or taken from the perspective of a woman. Take the popular Titanic for instance; a movie about a woman who falls in love with a total stranger aboard the same ship.

Over the years, women have chosen to entertain readers and movie watchers through heartwarming stories of different genres, both factual and fictional tales that keep us clued to the novel or TV screen.

So, are you a literary feminists or a lover of books looking to broaden your literary horizon? Then, these 13 contemporary novels recommended by Bustle.com are a must read for your reading pleasure!

1. The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and narrated  from the point of view of a woman called Offred. The character is one of a class of individuals kept as concubines ("handmaids") for reproductive purposes by the ruling class in an era of declining births due to sterility from pollution and sexually transmitted diseases.
2. The Round House is a political novel by Louise Erdrich. It won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2012. This book narrates a great ordeal of a North Dakota reservation female resident who was attacked. As the crime comes under investigation, the victim, Geraldine Coutts, descends into silence, unable to relive her traumatic experience and thereby causing the details of the crime to remain unknown not only to the police, but also to her husband Bazil and her son Joe. 
3. Americanah is a novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This book tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who emigrates to America for a university education. Centered around a story of love, race and difficult choices and challenges in a country she has came to call home. Click to buy now!
4. Speak is a young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson that tells the story of high school student who accidentally busting an end-of-summer party due to an unnamed incident, she is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. It's a story about a teenage girl who was sexually assaulted and feels like there isn't anyone she can reach out to for help.
5. The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, It follows a New Orleans wife and mother who begins questioning her narrowly defined role in life after experiencing attraction to another man.
6. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay delivers an emotion tale about a woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity, and as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over thirteen days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath. Click to buy now!
7. The Golden Notebook a novel by Doris Lessing is the story of writer Anna Wulf, the four notebooks in which she records her life, and her attempt to tie them together in a fifth, gold-coloured, notebook.
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a book that spans a period of over 50 years, from the 1960s to 2003, and focuses on the tumultuous lives and relationship of two Afghan women. One of them who was an illegitimate child, suffers from the stigma surrounding her birth and the abuse she faces throughout her marriage.
9. The Color Purple is an epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. Set in the rural parts of Georgia, the story focuses on the life of women of color in the southern United States in the 1930s, addressing numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture.
10. Paradise is a 1997 novel by Toni Morrison, which is said to complete a "trilogy" that begins with Beloved and includes Jazz. It focuses on the struggles and solidarity of women living in a small community just outside the all-black town of Ruby, Oklahoma.
11. Wide Sargasso Sea is a post-colonial novel by Dominica-born British author Jean Rhys. The novel narrates the life of a white heiress, from the time of her youth in the Caribbean to her unhappy arranged marriage to a certain English gentleman. 
12. The Flamethrowers is a novel by American author Rachel Kushner that follows the character of Reno, a young artist in the 1970's who arrives in New York with the intent of creating art themed around motorcycles and speed, a act that was said to be too macho for her.
13. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the 1969 autobiography about the early years of African-American writer and poet Maya Angelou. This book is the first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma.

So, there you have it! 

For all you literary feminists searching for novels and books of empowerment, get reading!

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