A review by kindledspiritsbooks
Book of Wayward Girls and Wicked Women by Angela Carter

3.0

As my book club ventured forth with the rest of womankind to see Barbie together, we wanted to choose a book that was on theme. So, naturally, we landed on this collection of short stories that were chosen by Angela Carter as a a love letter to all the bad girls out there who won't get in their box and do as they're told. Highlights for me were Elizabeth Jolley's 'The Last Crop', in which a con-artist matriarch secures comfort for her family through various dodgy means, Leonora Carrington's 'The Debutante', an extremely fun vignette in which a hyena and a young debutante switch places before a ball, Bessie Head's 'Life' in which a woman's independent streak clashes with the harsh, patriarchal values of her village and, of course, Carter's own 'The Loves of Lady Purple' in which a sexually voracious and much-maligned puppet cuts her strings. Some of the stories dragged a bit but the highs of the collection were suitably high to keep me engaged and eager to see what came next.