• BookBrowse
  • Posts
  • Woman, Life, Freedom & The Wilderness

Woman, Life, Freedom & The Wilderness

Angela Flournoy, Anna North, Nilo Tabrizy, Fatemeh Jamalpour, and more ...

October 23, 2025

In partnership with

BookBrowse Highlights

Hello Readers!

Angela Flournoy’s new novel The Wilderness is up for review by our First Impressions readers, who find it to be a deep, rich meditation on female friendship and American life.

Our latest Editor’s Choice selection is another story of women existing across time (in this case, a lot of time!). Anna North’s Bog Queen connects a modern-day forensic anthropologist and a druid in Celtic Europe.

Accompanying our review of For the Sun After Long Nights by Nilo Tabrizy and Fatemeh Jamalpour, a “beyond the book” article focusing on the Woman, Life, Freedom movement reminds us of the fragility of women’s rights in the contemporary world. Plus, check out other books in our History, Current Affairs, and Religion category.

Read any good series with your book club recently? Don’t miss our article on some of the best series for book groups out there.

Thanks for reading,

The BookBrowse Team

P.S. Please take a moment to let us know below if you’d be interested in a new BookBrowse newsletter about reading.

Would you subscribe to a monthly newsletter dedicated to the craft of reading?

The newsletter would feature content relevant to literary analysis, reading habits, deep reading, and more.

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

First Impressions

Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.

The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy

“I enjoyed reading this book. It made me think of so many things. I self-reflected on my own definition of friendship. Who are my friends or are they just acquaintances? What qualities do I see in them? Am I a good friend? Flournoy's portrait of five female characters, all from different backgrounds and different ideas as to what life should be, develop a strong commitment to each other. This book marvels with rich character development and descriptions that the reader can visualize…The storyline provides these images across about 20 years with peaks and downs. I particularly liked the interaction of the two sisters Desiree and Danielle.” —Barbara B. (Plano, TX)

“I cared deeply for the women in their messy, imperfect yet admirable lives. I feel they will live in my head for a long while after I put the book down.” —Karen K. (Savoy, IL)

“If you like The Turner House, you are bound to love this. This is a reflective read of the disorientation of early adulthood and the slow painful process of becoming. It is emotionally rich and relatable…it reveals contemporary American life. A generational masterpiece that is humorous and devastating but in the end triumphant.” —Sonia F. (Freehold, NJ)

For Members

This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen, A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews, and Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor.

We also bring you an interview with BookBrowse reviewer and history BookTuber Peggy Kurkowski, recommended reading guides for older books, and more.

Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas?

Then a BookBrowse membership is for you! What you see on BookBrowse for free and in this newsletter is just a small part of what is available to members—for just $5.00/month! Join Today!

Editor’s Choice

Bog Queen by Anna North

In Anna North's new novel Bog Queen, American forensic anthropologist Alice Linstrom is brought to Ludlow, England, with a clear task: to identify the recently discovered body of a woman believed to have been killed fifty years ago. Almost immediately, however, Alice realizes that the case is far more complicated—instead of the expected murder victim, the body is that of a Celtic Iron Age woman who lived during the early years of the Roman Empire's occupation of Britain, approximately two thousand years ago. Alice's chapters alternate with chapters from the perspective of the unnamed Bog Queen herself: a young Celtic druid (a member of a high-ranking priestly caste) who serves as a religious leader, medical professional, legal mediator, and political advisor. … continued

Review by Maria Katsulos

Beyond the Book

Activism for Iranian Women’s Rights

Before it was adopted by Iranian women, the "Woman, Life, Freedom" (Jin, Jiyan, Azadî) slogan had already been in use for decades, originating in Kurdish protests against patriarchy and oppression. As shown in For the Sun After Long Nights by Nilo Tabrizy and Fatemeh Jamalpour, it became more prominent in 2022 after the death of Jîna Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, while in custody of Iran's "morality police." … continued

Article by Sofia Chatzistefanou

History, Current Affairs & Religion

For the Sun After Long Nights by Nilo Tabrizy and Fatemeh Jamalpour is just one of 450+ featured books in our History, Current Affairs, and Religion nonfiction category. Learn about politics, social influence, spirituality, identity, community, and human culture from the distant past to the immediate present.

This is one of 100+ themed categories available to BookBrowse members. Non-members can view a limited version of our category lists.

Book Series for Book Clubs

Reading a duology, trilogy, or longer series with your book club can be a special experience. Many of the books in these series have been subjects of BookBrowse reviews or online discussions—and we have reading guides for a lot of them! … continued

A Message from Beehiiv

The Future of the Content Economy

beehiiv started with newsletters. Now, they’re reimagining the entire content economy.

On November 13, beehiiv’s biggest updates ever are dropping at the Winter Release Event.

For the people shaping the next generation of content, community, and media, this is an event you won’t want to miss.

Reply

or to participate.