Women writers who can really write

kw: book reviews, science fiction, short stories, anthologies, women

Science fiction has always been experimental. While fiction in general is a frequent avenue to try out ideas, "mainstream" fiction just doesn't lend itself to truly outlandish thinking the way SciFi does. The wonderful collection The Future is Female, edited by Lisa Yaszek, contains stories written by 25 female writers, and though the editor emphasizes feminism as a theme, the point of the stories is seldom feminism as such. These writers present strong, talented women, frequently among equally strong, talented men, who are in the main not intimidated nor subjugated by them. For women writing prior to 1940 (the first three stories), that is no mean feat, because of the heavy patriarchy of Western society of the time. And…not all the protagonists are women. The last story, "Nine Lives" by Ursula K. Le Guin, is focused on the interactions of mainly male characters; it explores the way a multi-clone is accustomed to live, and how he fares when the rest of the clone (his clone-mates you could say) all die in a sudden accident.

The stories were written from 1928 to 1969. I don't know if there is a companion volume or two in the works that would feature later stories. I would find that of great interest.

One of my all-time favorite SciFi stories is included, "Ararat", by Zenna Henderson. Her "People" series feature women and men with special powers (actually, shipwrecked aliens who look entirely human) who live on an equal footing among themselves, but are in hiding from the rest of the human race because of prejudice against their seemingly magical abilities. This is a common enough theme, but Ms Henderson explored it in a way much more intimate and moving than any other writer.

Another story I love more than most is "All Cats are Gray" by Andrew North (a pseudonym for Andre Norton). Here a mysterious woman is able to see a nearly invisible monster because she is color blind. I hope that is not too much of a spoiler.

There is less for me to riff upon here, because I am mostly on the outside looking in through a window. My main insight into female experience is the little I've gleaned from nearly 45 years of marriage. My wife is foreign born and raised, so I have the extra handicap of seldom knowing whether her unique viewpoint is because she is female, or arises from a different culture I know only in part. So I leave you with the stories: get the book, enjoy the book, and particularly if you are male, learn from it!