I grew up listening to unsolicited advice about wearing clothes a size bigger than what I wear everyone took a free ride to comment about my bra and how big it was. I am one of those women who struggle with body image issues in a society heavily influenced by unrealistic beauty standards and societal expectations, and Kate’s statement was empowering. When Kate Winslet said, “Young women should enjoy their life instead of worrying about how they look,” it stuck a cord with me. The Incredible Woman raged through the skies, lassoed a planet, set it in orbit, rescued a starship, flattened a mountain, straightened a building, smiled at a child, caught a few thieves, all in one morning, and then, took a long time off to visit her psychiatrist, since she is at heart a really womanly woman and all she wants is a normal life. I especially loved the retelling of The Monkey and the Crocodiles, and Broadcast Live, an account of a woman superhero, reproduced here in its entirety: It entertains and shocks and thoroughly succeeds in using popular fairy tales and fables to convey subversive, feminist messages. The book begins with selections from Namjoshi’s Feminist Fables, and this was, for me, the most enjoyable section of the book.

But not this one it succeeded in satisfying my palate and whetting my appetite at the same time, leaving me determined to seek out more complete versions of her work. This might be a strange combination – for most writers, such an assortment of works would be sure to disappoint the reader. Namjoshi has dabbled in various literary forms: this book contains fables, poems, short stories, and excerpts from novels.

Feminist fables by suniti namjoshi