Invisible to history, women were once just a group of indistinct faces. In We, a Woman, we meet three women from different eras, each of them brilliant in her own way.

We, a Woman is a historical novel with an unusual structure: It opens with a stream of consciousness “prelude” – fragments of many women’s emotions from ancient times to the present. Afterward, three female protagonists take turns narrating their life stories.

Born in the seventeenth century, Ping Gu is strong and capable, her second husband a pirate leader who controls dozens of ships. Together, the couple build a business empire at sea, yet they worry about the consequences of flouting government regulations. They decide to seek out that legendary paradise on earth, Taiwan.…

Yu Ying is a singsong girl. Alone in the world, she falls for a handsome Communist and frequently provides cover stories for him and his comrades. After he disappears during World War II, she flees Taipei. She then meets a wealthy socialite whose husband has also disappeared and realizes they are waiting for the same man.…

As a little girl, Khim is given to relatives who adopt her. Later, she bows to her biological mother’s wishes and marries the son of her adoptive parents, despite her love for another man. The young couple, at odds since childhood, both suffer in the marriage. Decades pass, and Khim’s pain ebbs with them. She learns to let go of her many grudges and decides to become a nun.…

The book ends with a “postlude” similar to the prelude, offering insights to women around the world and their complex destinies – these are stories worth knowing just as much as those of men.

Like her previous books, Yen Min-Ru’s third novel reflects her inquiring spirit and ruminations on history. By alternating between the three protagonists’ first-person narratives, this innovative historical novel allows readers to more easily imagine themselves in the characters’ situations. A German translation has been released by the Swiss publishing house Prong Press.