Sophie Fontanel has long written about femininity, beauty, societal expectations and desire: always with a unique delicacy.

In Capitale de la douceur (Capital of gentleness), this gentleness becomes a commitment: a way of resisting the violence of social norms and the brutality of the gaze directed at women. It aptly captures the desire to break free from the constant pressure to perform, and to rediscover a sense of intimacy with oneself.

In À quatre pattes (On All Fours), Miranda July tells the story of a forty-something artist going through a crisis that is at once existential, sexual and one of identity.

The body is never idealised here: it sweats, ages, desires, changes. The novel poses a question rarely explored: What becomes of a woman when she ceases to be defined by the desires of others?

In Hunger, Roxane Gay recounts her personal story following a rape she suffered as a child, and describes how her body became a form of protection, a kind of armour, for her. She reminds us that there is no single way of inhabiting one’s body, in a personal account that radically broadens the representation of female bodies. She writes a line that has become famous: “This is a book about hunger”.

Here, Liv Strömquist explores a contemporary obsession: the need to be constantly visible. Social media, selfies, beauty, standards, self-image… She shows how women end up internalising a constant external gaze.

Mariam Guissé sets out to meet Black women in her circle. She portrays them in their everyday lives and in their private moments. She welcomes their confidences as a confidante and shares her own memories.