Books by and about women in Spanish or French?
November 7, 2017 9:43 AM   Subscribe

Please recommend well-written novels about women in Spanish or French, similar to Maeve Binchy or Jojo Moyes.

I'd especially like:

* books with an English translation available
* books that are well-written but not overly literary (my reading level is intermediate)
* happy endings
* a sense of locale
* books written by women

Thank you!
posted by kristi to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe Isabel Allende? La casa de los espíritus/House of Spirits meets at least some of your requirements.

Also maybe Como agua para chocolate/Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel?
posted by vunder at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2017 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks, vunder - both of your suggestions remind me of one additional criterion:

* ideally, little or no violence or seriously dark stuff

I really like Isabel Allende but she has some darker stuff going on, and I tried reading Como agua para chocolate but the ugliness of the behavior just put me right off. I'm definitely looking for things on the less distressing side.
posted by kristi at 10:48 AM on November 7, 2017


Best answer: Biographie de la faim by Amélie Nothomb might work well.
posted by vkxmai at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2017


Best answer: Anything by Colette
posted by brujita at 1:11 PM on November 7, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Ensemble, c'est tout by Anna Gavalda (translated as Hunting and Gathering): it's a little bit dark at the start, and it's not entirely about women, but I think it otherwise meets your criteria.
posted by misteraitch at 1:50 PM on November 7, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you all! (Including vunder!)

I appreciate the suggestions.
posted by kristi at 8:48 AM on November 10, 2017


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