Books to Read if You Love Fierce, Smart Women
Need to power through the rest of your week? The
heroines in these riveting stories win you over with their courage, strength
and refusal to give up.
By Domenica Ruta and O Magazine's The Reading Room
1 of 7
Enchanted Islands
By Allison Amend
320 pages;
Nan A. Talese
Frances Conway, the witty narrator of Allison
Amend's new novel, has lived an extraordinary life filled with secrets. After a
meandering journey from her native Minnesota to San Francisco, she is recruited
to be a spy in her mid-50s for the Office of Naval Intelligence, a predecessor
of the CIA. It's a few months before the start of World War II and a suspicious
number of Germans have settled in the remote islands of the Galápagos. Frances, posing as the wife of a veteran spy
Ainslie Conway, a man with a closet full of personal and state secrets of his
own, is sent to intercept any potential plots. This wild yet believable tale of
intrigue is anchored by the friendship between Frances and the beautiful,
imperious Rosalie, whose affection—and betrayal—serve as
the catalyst for Frances' life of adventure. "Secrets shared by women are
sacred," Frances realizes after decades spent trying to reconcile their
problematic friendship. "They transcend the duties of country or
marriage."
— Domenica Ruta
Published 06/28/2016