CW: abuse, transphobia, racism
I used to hate non-fiction. I can’t even count the number of times where I have picked up a non-fiction book, excited to unlock the world’s knowledge, and then fallen asleep with the book on my face. The writing was always so dense, and the footnotes offended my eyes and hurt my brain. However, in the past year, I have come to a realisation: I am not a bad reader, they are just bad books. Really bad books.
All writing is storytelling, no matter the form. Whether constructing a non-fictional argument or a fictional narrative, the writer guides you through their train of thought, deepening and complicating it at every turn. Ideally, all elements coalesce in the end and you find yourself in a unique place, satisfied with all you have learned. When I realised that good non-fiction could tell their stories just as novels do, I was better able to determine what made a non-fiction text worth my time. Since then, I have been exposed to so much great literature. So, if like me, you stand intimidated by the world of non-fiction, here are some recommendations to get you started.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
In the Dream House is a memoir that deals with Machado’s experience of an abusive same-sex relationship, and it is quite possibly the best book I have ever read. Maintaining the creative and imaginative quality of fiction, this book is an excellent first foray into the genre for avid fiction readers (and no, literary non-fiction is not cheating). This book is so formally inventive: each chapter deconstructs a different cultural trope in order to explore the disorienting nature of domestic violence. The chapters exploit choose-your-own-adventure narratives, the phenomenon of queer-coded Disney villains, and horror movie tropes. While the book engages with the tropes and generic quirks of fiction, it still explores the very real-life issue of the historically undocumented levels of abuse within female same-sex relationships. Machado explains the history of this issue while delving into her personal experiences of the guilt and confusion that comes with experiencing abuse, particularly in a relationship that exists outside a patriarchal hierarchy. She also details the fear that speaking out will give your community ‘bad press’, a fear that holds so many survivors back. Despite these difficult themes, the book is remarkably hopeful, as she encourages other survivors to speak out and seek the help that is out there for them.
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
Rubenhold’s book follows the five confirmed women that were killed by Jack the Ripper, dispelling lots of the myths surrounding them. For example, she contests the fact that they were all ‘prostitutes’, as there is no evidence that three of them were involved in sex work. Rubenhold asserts that this is not a ‘blood and guts story’, as the infamous serial killer is absent. Instead, the book documents the day-to-day lives of the women themselves, as much of their lives are documented. I believe that this book does exactly what good historical non-fiction should do, which is to tell the story that has not yet been told. In this case, Rubenhold reminds us that these women were wives, mothers, friends, daughters, and, most importantly, people in their own rights. Despite the fact that this book follows Victorian history, The Five invites us to reconsider the contemporary true-crime-industrial-complex and to remember that at the heart of all those gruesome stories that keep you up at night are people, people who lived and people who had their lives taken from them.
The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice by Shon Faye
Faye’s ambitious and astounding book The Transgender Issue does an impossible job: it provides a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the current state of the struggle for trans liberation in the UK. While no one book could sum it all up, Faye’s book contains chapters detailing the relationship between trans people and the NHS, the police, the sex work industry, contemporary feminism, and more. In a climate where trans people are being used as pawns in a political culture war, Faye not only provides us with convincing, well-informed responses to transphobic arguments, but she also reminds us that trans people are people, not buzzwords to be thrown around by the UK media. The book is intellectual and thorough, yet written with such precision and clarity that it remains accessible to everyone. Not one word feels out of place. This was one of my favourite reads of 2022 and I would highly recommend it.
Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera
This book aims to illuminate the ways in which the British Empire has woven itself into our culture, history, and national identity. Sanghera provides numerous historical examples to support his arguments, as well as valuable insight into the mechanisms of imperialism in current political ideology. The central issue of the book is what Sanghera calls Britain’s ‘cultural amnesia’ for the atrocities of imperialism, alongside the country’s pride in its imperial legacy. The book is provocative, as it forces you to examine the way that imperialist ideologies have enshrined themselves into the structures that surround you, and encourages you to interrogate them. He succinctly argues that the British empire is responsible for the country’s private and public wealth, the influence of the City of London across the world, British ‘exceptionalism’, and more. Sanghera acknowledges the limitations of his work, as the British empire was so unbelievably complicated it cannot be summed up in one book. Yet he still manages to provide a broad overview of how the empire affects the lives of Britons to this very day, every day.
Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution, and the Female Animal by Lucy Cooke
Science generally eludes me, which is why we need more excellent and accessible books like Bitch by Lucy Cooke! Cooke sets out to dismantle binary conceptions of sexuality by exploring the behaviour of females in various species of animals. This book perfectly strikes the balance between being informative and entertaining. It is fun, witty, and tackles important and complicated ideas in a thoughtful and intelligent way. Cooke discusses, amongst many others, female lemurs who dominate their males, female albatross couples, and deadly meerkat mothers. This book challenges the assumptions that we may have about the animal kingdom, and in doing so allows us to reconsider our society, and where women* stand within it. If you have ever wanted to delve into the world of biology and evolution but had no idea where to start, this book is for you.
Happy reading everyone!