‘Weird girl’ book recommendations
A short list of books for Barnard students looking for novels with complicated female protagonists and a preoccupation with the unsettling aspects of the female experience.
Photography by Emma-Caroline Avery/The Barnard Bulletin
November 25, 2024
On November 2, “Saturday Night Live's” “Weekend Update” parodied Barnard students in a segment poking fun at unlikely couples, where host Colin Jost interviewed Alissa, “a student at Barnard” studying “18th century graveyards.” Although Barnard does not actually offer a major in “18th-century graveyards,” this joke highlights Barnard students' fascination with the weird and unsettling.
While Barnard student Alissa is preoccupied with creepy old cemeteries, Barnard student Charlotte is combing through bookstores searching for books with complex female protagonists preoccupied with the dark, dangerous, and disturbing sides of womanhood. As an English major, I read a lot of books, and some of my favorites fall into a genre I have invented, known as “weird girl books.”
Although not a completely fleshed-out genre definition, “weird girl” books are books that deal with the messy parts of femininity or feature female characters that are perverse and twisted in one way or another. For Barnard students who feel like they relate the quirky and dark stereotypes teased on “SNL,” I have compiled a list of my top five “weird girl book” recommendations.
“My Year of Rest and Relaxation” - Ottessa Moshfegh
In my mind, this is the archetypal “weird girl” book and a perfect introduction to the genre. Moshfegh (BC ‘02) is skilled in crafting books with complex protagonists, and “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” is no exception. It follows the story of the narrator, a recent Columbia University graduate, and her inability to cope with post-graduate life amid the death of both her parents. She turns to a crazy psychiatrist who will supply her with enough pills to support a year of sleep. Her year of hibernation is filled with dangerous sleepwalking adventures, her best friend’s attempts at intervention, and a pharmaceutical cocktail strong enough to sleep her year away. Although the narrator is a difficult character to root for, this novel remains a fascinating investigation into capitalist culture, the female experience in a metropolis, and what it means to recover from trauma and become reborn.
“Nightbitch” - Rachel Yoder
This book solidified my love for complicated female characters coming to terms with their experiences and traumas as women. Rooted in Betty Friedan’s “The Problem That Has No Name,” Nightbitch, a mother to a newborn son, has given up her career to become a stay-at-home mom. Her husband, the epitome of “weaponized incompetence,” offers no assistance in childcare or household maintenance. Nightbitch’s anger and dissatisfaction with life leads her body to twist and shapeshift into a carnivorous manifestation of her feminine rage and ravenous desire for freedom. Exploring how women cope with the major life shift that comes with motherhood, this is an easily devoured magical realism novel that is deeply strange, empowering, and relatable.
“Hurricane Girl” - Marcy Dermansky
I read this book in one sitting, as I could not stop turning the pages on this fast, darkly humorous, and engrossing story. At the beginning of the book, Allison, who has just lost her home in a hurricane, suffers a brutal physical attack from a man she goes home with one night. The novel follows her journey in the months following her assault, as she heals physically and mentally. It is a brilliant portrait of trauma, recovery, and the insatiable desire for revenge. The prose is choppy and quick-paced, and Allison’s behavior shows her walking the line between impulsiveness and routine for the entirety of the book as she regains her health and sense of personal agency. Allison herself is a quirky character from the get-go, but her story and need for vengeance is an extraordinary commentary on the vulnerability of womanhood and the cycle of healing after trauma.
“The Days of Abandonment” - Elena Ferrante
One of my favorite authors, Ferrante’s genius lies in her depictions of womanhood. “The Days of Abandonment” follows Olga and her struggle to come to terms with her husband’s abandonment of her and their two children for a much younger woman. This novel is the epitome of female rage, as Olga falls into the deep depths of despair, reflecting on all she has lost as she tries to regain a sense of normalcy. This book was anxiety-inducing, and I had to cover my eyes the entire time reading and then stare at a wall once I had read the final page. Brutal and devastating, this novel shows the bounds of a woman’s anger, especially when the home, marriage, and family she has built are torn apart by a selfish man.
“Milk Fed” - Melissa Broder
This book comes with a warning, because the content may be uncomfortable and push the bounds of disturbing for the average Barnard student. The central character, Rachel, struggles with an obsessive eating disorder and a difficult relationship with her mother. She confronts her issues with food and body image head-on through indulgence and sex with the girl behind the register at the local frozen yogurt shop. The content is perverse, darkly humorous, and even Freudian at times. Often gross and shocking, “Milk Fed” is a portrait of a young woman’s urgent desire for control, maternal love, and internal peace.
United under ideas surrounding the complexities of womanhood, these five books are excellent reads for any Barnard students looking for novels that will resonate with their experiences in surprising ways. These books are indicative of the many different ways in which authors can interpret the female experience, and I think that these unsettling and complicated approaches make fascinating and engaging reads. I highly recommend these novels to Barnard students!