Zambreno takes an experimental approach to describing the lives of specific women writers over the past 150 years, particularly with Vivienne Eliot and Zelda Fitzgerald. Plenty of wordplay (particularly with homonyms; for example, the title of the book), non-linearity and changing perspectives (including autobiographical accounts) make it a challenging but important read for anyone interested in feminist works. Read more of Zambreno at Frances Farmer is My Sister.
While I've never read anything by Woolf I would say has drastically changed my life, I feel she is an important writer and one I particularly need to catch up on. Mrs Dalloway is throwing a party in early 20th century London, and the book describes through various perspectives and stream-of-consciousness writing the eccentricities and complexities of the people involved. I hated parts of this book (a few of my annotations include circling phrases and wondering "WHY?") but found other parts rather poignant. Certainly not a long novel, but could have benefited from even more edits and finished as a novella.
No, I haven't gotten around to The Paris Wife yet, although that may hold more interesting subject matter. Benjamin's historical fiction work explores the personal relationship between Anne Morrow and her husband Charles Lindbergh. An overwhelmingly popular couple, harassed constantly by the paparazzi, they had to deal with communication issues (duh), a kidnapped and murdered first born child, and a perpetual state of movement, the couple eventually betrayed by the country that once adored them (some of that may have had to do with Chuck's anti-Semetic, pro-Nazi point of view, pre-WWII). The book was interesting enough, but I feel like Benjamin just didn't get as deep into Morrow's mind as she could have.
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