Praxis

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, this modern masterpiece by Fay Weldon asks, What do women really want?

Praxis Duveen is a survivor. At five years old, in 1920s England, she is still innocent, the product of an unstable mother and a flighty father who abandoned Praxis and her half-crazy sister, Hypatia. As the decades fly by, Praxis experiences many incarnations, from prostitute to rape victim, wife to adulteress and eventually becomes the accidental leader of an international women's movement.

Now, from her dingy basement apartment, where she's attempting to write a memoir, Praxis tells about the story of her remarkable journey—peppered with more than a few detours along the way. Spanning forty years, Praxis is by turns shocking, savage, strange, and exhilarating.