International Women’s Day: ‘Color Purple’ and other books to read about women by women

English novelist Mary Shelley once said, “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” And books written by women writers have always been such — with fearless and candid expressions of desire, they display a powerful intent and refusal to flinch under the male gaze. And with International Women’s Day 2023 just around the corner, there’s no better time to take a look at books that make for the best women’s day read. This scintillating cosmopolitan novel by the Indonesian Chinese writer tells the story of Gail Szeto, a career woman who travels between Hong Kong and New York. Her life’s upheavals — losing her mother in an accident just two years after the demise of her young son — break Gail. Will the protagonist be able to deal with despair?