This was incredible - I'd never heard of this author before! I would describe it as autofiction (though it also seems to be discussed as autobiography, which is a bit confusing). Reads as very ahead of its time. Reminded me of Elena Ferrante.

“A Woman” is an autobiography which details the experiences faced by the author, from growing up in Italy in the 1900s into her adulthood; touching upon relationships, family dynamics, and feminism. Whilst it is well written, I found it engaging initially but this waned as the book progressed - this may be due to the writing style, which is very of its time.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.

This book is astounding, so far ahead of its time, it’s almost unbelievable it was written at the turn of the last century m I am in complete awe. Such original feminist writing that still resonates today which is both wonderful but also a touch sad, but overall just inspiring. It isn’t an easy read, but important books shouldn’t be, if you want change it shouldn’t be easy, but it’s worthwhile. A painstaking and raw look at women, their lives and rights, or in this case one woman but it transcends so many of us. Just astounding, this will stay with me for life and I’m glad I had the honour of reading this.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I still cannot believe that this book was written in 1906. It reminds me of Plath's "The Bell Jar", as both books were so ahead of their time.

"To love, to sacrifice oneself, and to submit! Was this what all women were destined for?"

This book follows an unnamed female narrator on her journey from childhood to womanhood. We get to experience how women were treated in early 20th century Italy, and how society expected women to be satisfied with a life that comprised of home, children, the church, and a husband.

I loved this. I thought it was waaaaaaay ahead of its time, which is both depressing and amazing. The fact that there are still women today trapped in lives that mirror that of the narrator is horrifying. You'd think that society would have progressed enough to leave those expectations of women behind, but it is sadly not the case for many.
This is a fantastic piece of original feminist writing that has stayed with me since I finished it. I can now understand why this considered the genesis of Italian feminist literature. Whilst I read this via an e-ARC, I will most definitely be purchasing a physical copy for myself!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What a shimmer of such bright light! This whole novel had such an amazing sense of forward motion, what rhythm, turned by passion, every page!

It is 1906 and that awful societal split that is the mother vs the other what do you choose and why? Is still here!

A truth that should be unimaginable Painful and something other.

Here are some quotes:

‘What if the cycle was to endlessly repeat itself?’

‘Later on my marriage had interrupted my spiritual development’

(On the female struggle) Individual rebellion was sterile and harmful: collective revolts were as yet still feeble, almost ridiculous, when compared to the frightening scale of the monstrous forces they were pitted against.

‘Rome belongs to those who desire it most, and grants everything that is asked of it with a passionate soul.’

(On Ibsens Doll House) No one had wanted to look in the face the simple, stark truth that it portrayed.

Thanks to Penguin Press UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm...how does one summarise a book such as this? I guess by saying it is VERY Italian. The book is an autobiographical account of the life of the Italian writer Sibilla Aleramo and follows the early part of her life and career at the beginning of the 20th century.

If you've read Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels I don't think you could fail to notice that Ferrante's writing style was clearly influenced by Aleramo. The book had quite a similar "voice" and a dreamy quality often found in works by Italian writers. I saw a lot of similarities between Sibilla and the character of Lenu from the Neapolitan novels and am curious as to whether aspects of her character were directly inspired by Aleramo.

It's a very character driven account and if you need breakneck action then this definitely isn't the book for you. As well as being a reflection on early 20th century feminism and motherhood, the book also explores some deep issues including sexual and domestic violence.

What stuck out in particular for me was how startlingly modern this book was considering the time in which it was written. Aleramo was clearly a remarkable woman, forced to make some incredibly tough choices under the societal restrictions in which she lived. Despite the gulf of time which separates modern readers from Aleramo, many of her experiences will resonate with modern women today.

Yes, this is an important story - therefor I added it to my books-that-matter shelf on Goodreads. But it wasn't an easy book to read, made me feel like doing my homework.

In lots of ways this book is dispiritingly familiar: what makes it *extraordinary* is the fact that it was originally published in 1906 - yes, that isn't a typo, 1906!

In a form that we might term autofiction today, Aleramo's unnamed narrator tells of her childhood; her unsatisfactory marriage at the age of 15, everyday violence and abuse, till she finds her escape through writing for a feminist journal. But things are complicated by motherhood and Aleramo is at her most shocking, for the time, when she questions whether the conventions of self-sacrificing mothers are really good for anyone - still a controversial topic today, how much more so in Catholic Italy at the start of the twentieth century?

This reminded me strongly of Plath's 'The Bell Jar' written over 50 years later (see, that's what I mean about dispiriting...) and it also preempts some aspects of de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex' especially in the ways it discusses the cultural pressures which mould and construct women (to paraphrase de Beauvoir, women are not born but *made*.).

Intimate, personal, bold and fierce, written (and translated) in fluid prose, this is a revelation that so many of today's feminist concerns were already on the agenda in 1906.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review! I can see why A Woman has circulated so vastly as one of the earliest and most famous examples of feminist literature. Every woman reading it will take away something from its pages and relate to some of the accounts within: the writing style is elegant and the attitude held still relatively (and worryingly) modern despite the time it was written in. Unabashed and raw but at times confusing to read and a strain to the mind - definitely an interesting read for me.

‘A Woman’ is an emotional autobiographical piece, originally published over a century ago this novel is considered the first piece of Italian feminist literature. This story is full of tragedy and heartache. When she’s a young girl her mother attempts suicide and is subsequently incarcerated for dementia. After suffering the absence of her mother, she discovers her father is having an affair with a younger woman and so in a sense she loses both her parents. The story also tackles the issues of rape and domestic violence as well as Aleramo’s struggle with motherhood.
The author talks about landscapes in the most beautiful ways, conjuring up the most pleasant images of Italy. This starkly contrasts with the ugly violence that she experiences within the walls of her home. The themes in this book feel so modern, it’s easy to forget this was published in 1906. I thought this translation was very well done, I saw people saying the original Italian text was very formal and I think the translators managed to capture the same formality in the English. However, the formal tone doesn’t detract from it being a very readable piece. I read the formal tone as the narrator trying to distance herself from the horrors she was writing about which made it a far more emotional read for me.
This is a piece of work I haven’t heard of before although I’ve seen that it’s very popular in Italy. I think it’s a thought-provoking, emotive read and one that more people should discover.

A novel like Aleramo's -containing feminist themes, which tells the biography of a young woman, of a rebel who tries to rise above female subordination, both within a couple and in society, who reflects on the female conscience and dignity- published in 1906, must have created a sensation at the time and represented an effective testimony of the female condition, and yet today it feels quite outdated.