Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Bookish Wisdom earns from qualifying purchases. This doesn't change our picks or your price.
Quick answer: If you read Women Talking, read Miriam Toews's A Complicated Kindness and All My Puny Sorrows, then The Handmaid's Tale, The Color Purple and The Power. All are bold novels about women who decide how to respond to violence and control.
Miriam Toews's 2018 novel imagines eight women in an isolated Mennonite colony who meet in a hayloft to decide whether to stay, fight or leave after discovering that men in their community have been assaulting them. It is based on real events in Bolivia, told through the notes of a male schoolteacher. It is sombre, wry and powerful. The books below offer similar portraits of women's courage and community.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Complicated Kindness | Miriam Toews | Adult | more Toews |
| All My Puny Sorrows | Miriam Toews | Adult | sisters and loss |
| Fight Night | Miriam Toews | Adult | three generations |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | Adult | oppressive society |
| The Testaments | Margaret Atwood | Adult | the sequel |
| The Power | Naomi Alderman | Adult | reversed power |
| The Color Purple | Alice Walker | Adult | letters and survival |
| Educated | Tara Westover | Adult | memoir of education |
| The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett | Adult | identity and sisters |
| Beloved | Toni Morrison | Adult | haunting history |
| Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell | Adult | historical grief |
| Vox | Christina Dalcher | Adult | silencing women |
| Girl, Woman, Other | Bernardine Evaristo | Adult | many voices |
| The Mothers | Brit Bennett | Adult | secrets in a community |
| Know My Name | Chanel Miller | Adult | survivor memoir |
1. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
A teenage girl in a strict Mennonite town waits for her family to return. Funny and sad.
Best for: more Toews.
2. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Two sisters, one determined to die and one determined to keep her alive. Funny and devastating.
Best for: sisters and loss.
3. Fight Night by Miriam Toews
A girl, her mother and her grandmother live together and fight. Funny and warm.
Best for: three generations.
4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
A woman lives under a theocratic regime. Chilling and unforgettable.
Best for: oppressive society.
5. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Told by three women, it expands the world of Gilead. A gripping follow-up.
Best for: the sequel.
6. The Power by Naomi Alderman
Women develop the ability to produce electric shocks, and the world shifts. Provocative and gripping.
Best for: reversed power.
7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Celie writes letters to herself and finds love and strength. A landmark of American literature.
Best for: letters and survival.
8. Educated by Tara Westover
A woman raised off the grid teaches herself and goes to university. Powerful and moving.
Best for: memoir of education.
9. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twin sisters take separate paths, one passing as white. Deeply felt.
Best for: identity and sisters.
10. Beloved by Toni Morrison
A former slave is haunted by her past. Powerful and unforgettable.
Best for: haunting history.
11. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Shakespeare's family and the death of his son. Lyrical and moving.
Best for: historical grief.
12. Vox by Christina Dalcher
Women are limited to a hundred words a day. Fast and chilling.
Best for: silencing women.
13. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Twelve interlinked lives in Britain. Joyful, bold and Booker-winning.
Best for: many voices.
14. The Mothers by Brit Bennett
A teenage girl's secret shapes a community. Quiet and sharp.
Best for: secrets in a community.
15. Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Miller reclaims her story after a sexual assault case. Powerful and lyrical.
Best for: survivor memoir.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Women Talking: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more Toews begin with A Complicated Kindness or All My Puny Sorrows. For dystopian parallels choose The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments, The Power or Vox. For stories of survival and voice pick The Color Purple, Beloved or Educated. For community portraits read The Mothers or Girl, Woman, Other. Women Talking deals with sexual violence, so check content notes and read with care. Women Talking was adapted into a 2022 film, and the book's unusual structure as minutes of a meeting is part of its power. Book clubs often find it a strong prompt for discussion. Readers who want to understand the real events behind the book can find reporting on the Manitoba Colony cases in Bolivia, though be aware that it covers sexual assault. Women Talking reads like a play, so it suits readers who like dialogue-driven novels. The audiobook is read by a cast and is widely praised.
Related: 15 Books Like Little Women You’ll Love: Sisters, Families and Classic Stories · The Women by Kristin Hannah Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Women Talking about?
Mennonite women meet in secret to decide how to respond to years of assaults by men in their colony.
Who wrote it?
Miriam Toews.
When was it published?
2018.
Is it based on a true story?
It is inspired by real events in a Bolivian colony.
Is there a film?
Yes, a 2022 film.
Is it a hard read?
The subject is hard, but the tone is wry and compassionate.
Is it a short book?
About 230 pages.
What should I read next?
Try All My Puny Sorrows or The Handmaid's Tale.
Is Women Talking a religious book?
It is set in a Mennonite colony, but its focus is on justice, safety and the choices of the women.
Is the film faithful to the book?
It follows the story closely, with some changes in structure.