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My Favourite Books£¨Ô­´´£©

Meg Wolitzer is an American novelist whose new book, The Female Persuasion, is out now, published by Riverhead Books.

Mrs. Bridge by Evan S.Connell

I can’t count how many copies of this book I have given to friends as gifts. I consider it a perfect novel, filled with wit and human tragedy in equal measure. The novel, published in 1959, takes place in the years leading up to the Second World War, and the title character is an upper-middle-class housewife living in Kansas City, Missouri. Connell’s brilliant and sad novel of a woman’s household life, social life, inner life, and continual need to rely on convention, is a pleasure to read.

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

The heroine of this beautiful novel from 1946, Frankie Addams, is only 12 years old, a tall girl whose brother is getting married. This is a classic coming of age story that doesn’t get talked about as often as it should. Upon re-reading it, I was reminded of how much it has to say about growing up and entering the world as an individual, but it also has powerful words in it about racism, spoken by the housekeeper, Berenice.

Charlotte’s Web by EB White

When I think of this marvellous book, I always remember that it was the first book I ever cried over. The fact that readers mourn the death of a spider is evidence of EB White’s ability to create characters so deeply that we feel for them as if we actually know them. Charlotte’s Web is all about empathy, as seen through the friendship between a spider and a pig.

21.  When was Mrs. Bridge published?

A. In 1959          B. In 1990          C. In 1946          D. In 1957    

22.  Which book should have gained more attention according to Meg Wolitzer?

A. Mrs. Bridge                       B. Charlotte’s Web

C. The Female Persuasion             D. The Member of the Wedding

23.  What kind of book is Charlotte’s Web?

A. an adventure story               B. a fairy tale

C. a love story                     D. science fiction