It's no secret that at Liberatti we support and salute smart, savvy women. So this week, in search of a good read for my upcoming and much anticipated holiday in Oman (5 blissful days in the sun next week), I set out to consider a new cadre of women authors, the best and brightest minds, to short list.
Here are 5 inspiring and stylish authors with a unique sense of identify, not to mention, 'best seller' status, to add to your 'must read list' soon. I am starting with Donna Tartt!
Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt
AUTHOR: Donna Tartt
GENRE: Fiction ON OUR LIST: The Secret History
I love that Donna Tartt takes her time and eschews the production pressures of the contemporary literary world. Her first book, The Secret History, was published in 1992 when she was 28 and took eight years to write.
Her second, The Little Friend, published in 2002, took 10 – about the same amount of time she has taken to complete her new novel, The Goldfinch, which has raised praise to fever pitch.
Her second, The Little Friend, published in 2002, took 10 – about the same amount of time she has taken to complete her new novel, The Goldfinch, which has raised praise to fever pitch.
Tartt’s literary style layers prose in a rare and remarkable fashion not typically witnessed in contemporary American literary fiction. Not a prolific author and not always a favourite among literary critics, Tartt revises her manuscripts and perfects her stories in much the same way she does her thoughtful dress sense.
CRITICS SAY: "I think Donna Tartt's greatest gift lies in her ability to create a story that has the suspense and sales appeal of a mainstream bestseller AND a tremendous richness of texture, with a bit of philosophical and intellectual weight thrown in for good measure." " I find her descriptive powers, her dialogue, and her attention to detail to be irresistible."
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HER STYLE STORY - tailored
With sentence structures more at home in the 19th century, Tartt’s novels set out to create as much drama as her fashion style. Sporting a cropped bob, tailored borrowed from the boys blazers, smart cufflinks, ties and oversize collars, her wardrobe displays as many different textures as her characters. This has fashionistas following alongside readers in waiting for the release of her latest novel - one group to see what she’ll be wearing and the latter eager to consume her words.
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Miranda July
AUTHOR: Miranda July
GENRE: Fiction ON OUR LIST: The First Bad Man
Awarding winning filmmaker, artist and writer, there’s not much July doesn’t succeed at. Ambitious on an epic scale – July’s is an outspoken feminist and hates the idea of being pigeonholed. She briefly flirted with fashion in 2014 when she collaborated with Welcome Companions to launch her own namesake limited edition handbag sold by LA’s Opening Ceremony.
CRITICS SAY: "The First Bad Man, a New York Times bestseller, is “astonishing…In one novel, Miranda July tells us more about our universal need to be loved, and our ability to love and be loved, than most earthbound authors will in a lifetime” (Vanity Fair).
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HER STYLE STORY - quirky
Equally confident with her own fashion sense as with her words, July typically combines the masculine accents of shirts and v-neck pullovers with oversize cravats in feminine colours, all accessorized with bows and knitted flowers. Moving effortlessly between genres she once explained how this marriage is part of her identity as she seeks to capture the ‘creative art of moving between the media’.
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Emma Straub
AUTHOR: Emma Straub
GENRE: Fiction ON OUR LIST: Modern Lovers (A New York Times Best Seller)
Light and vivacious in her writing style, novelist has been dubbed a ‘beach read author’, a title Straub adores. She juggles her writing alongside being the mother of two raucous under three year olds.
CRITICS SAY: "Ms. Straub writes with such verve and sympathetic understanding of her characters". Reading this novel has all the pleasures of compelling family portraits but here transported to Brooklyn, peopled with aging hipsters and a pervading sense of the absurdities of contemporary life".
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HER STYLE STORY - colourful
Straub’s fashion sense is as bright and bubbly as her writing. She admits to having less time than she’d like to worry about her wardrobe but her laid-back relaxed style is colourful, fun, bold and stings with red lipstick. Determined not to take herself too seriously - no one else wears a flower in her hair better - than this page turning writer.
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Candace Bushnell
AUTHOR: Candace Bushnell
GENRE: Fiction ON OUR LIST: Summer and the City
Love or hate her novels, Bushnell is an in your face brash and gutsy lady. Reputedly fearless and pushy, her darkly humorous interpretations of contemporary American life hit hard as she deftly analyses every day life with expert mastery.
CRITICS SAY: "In this Summer adventure, Carrie truly steps up her game, becoming not only an empowering and headstrong young woman, but someone I also could not help but relate to and root for as she makes her dreams come true."
"For any die hard fan of SATC, this book just flowed beautifully. I couldn't put it down and finished it in 2 days. I highly recommend it...it might actually cleanse your body of the horror that was SATC 2 (the movie). " (Nicola - we agree that was a most unfortunate movie).
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HER STYLE STORY - city chic
Typically New York-esque in her fashion, this best-selling author teams her love for Manolos with clean-cut white suits, bold prints, and strappy sequined dresses. Getting confused for characters out of her books is a happy consequence for this fashion loving, ever-camera-ready and astute New Yorker. Just as in the lives of her literary heroines fashion plays a major role in her life as Bushnell is often photographed at cat walk shows and fashion gatherings.
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Deborah Eisenberg
AUTHOR: Deborah Eisenberg
GENRE: Short Stories ON OUR LIST: The Collected Short Stories
At a time when short stories seem to be sadly out of mainstream favour, Eisenberg writes against the grain dedicating her expansive talents to this genre. This straight talking, sharp writing, and often highly emotionally strung American has been presenting a unique portrait on contemporary life for the last 30 years.
CRITICS SAY: "Exquisitely distilled stories which present an unusually distinctive view of contemporary American life" and " Intellectual and moral seriousness blends with great wit in the stories of Deborah Eisenberg, as well as a gift for metaphor."
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HER STYLE STORY - artistic and creative
An award-winning author, she’s also known for her assertive style, dressing always in black with the odd hint of grey or a passing splash of a hot colour. Eisenberg is not afraid to shape her own style or be forthright with her words, cutting a dash off the page making dressing effortlessly appear as easy as the stories she weaves.
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If you have read these authors and would like to share your enjoyment, or otherwise we welcome your thoughts. Have a creative week.
Nicola Liberatti
