A wonderful short story set in the His Dark Materials universe(s). It works so well because you know what the characters don’t, and while it’s an enjoyable build of intrigue the last line delivers a killer punch!

I decided to spend January 2019 reading a selection of feminist books, and I chose to save this one until last as it seemed to me to be the one that was most forward-looking. It’s an absolutely fantastic book, breaking down gender inequality in a statistical way without ever dehumanising anyone, and taking into account the massive cultural, societal and class differences that affect women all around the world. Chakrabarti does not shy away from some of the horrors faced by women in some parts of the world, but most importantly, she lays out clear (if not always simple) solutions. If I had to recommend just one book on feminism it would be this one. There’s so much information in quite a short book, without being too dense to get through, and I can guarantee that it will get you to look at the world a little differently.

Pat Barker did not hold back in this book! It tells the story of the Iliad from the point of view of Briseis, Achilles’ slave, and tells the dark and brutal stories of the women who were treated simply as war prizes. The main character arc was very much about Briseis coming into her own, taking back some element of control over her life and having agency of her future. My one criticism would perhaps be that at times the story of the war itself - especially when it came to Patroclus’ death - overshadowed Briseis’ story a bit, but it was still fantastically well written and just a great read!