Les Guérillères
Lesbian separatist society. Classic feminist utopian literature. Magical realism and sci-fi elements.
. Highly Recommended.
April 17, 2003 | Revid 100 < prev | next >
Considered one of the 100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels, Monique Wittig's most known book is a series of prose poems depicting women warriors (a loose translation of the title) overthrowing patriarchy and challenging gender constructs. The book lands in that nebulous region between fantastical fiction and feminist cultural analysis. What is most radical about this work is lost in the English translation. Wittig wrote it in French, and used the feminine collective pronoun "elles" ("they") instead of the more traditionally used, and masculine, collective pronoun "ils" ("they"). This would be akin to an English writer using the pronoun "she" instead of the standard "he" or "one." Wittig was waging war with language itself, and she continued doing this in her later works. I found Les Guérillères very inspirational, like a chant in a fire circle.
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