The main theme of the novel is the changing place of women in Japanese society at the end of the Meiji period and Taishō period.

Longlisted for the Giller Prize and a national bestseller from one of Canada's most acclaimed, beloved storytellers: The Son of a Certain Woman is Wayne Johnston's funniest, sexiest novel yet, controversial in its issues, wise, generous and then some in its depiction of humanity. Percy Joyce, born in St. John's, Newfoundland, in the 50s is an outsider from childhood, set apart by a congenital disfigurement. Taunted and bullied, he is also isolated by his intelligence and wit, and his unique circumstances. Soon on the cusp of teenagehood, Percy is filled with yearning, wild with hormones, and longing for what he can't have—wanting to be let in...and let out. At the top of his wish list is his disturbingly alluring mother, Penelope, whose sex appeal fairly leaps off the page. Everyone in St. John's lusts after her—including her sister-in-law, Medina; their paying boarder, the local chemistry teacher, Pops MacDougal; and...Percy. The Son of a Certain Woman brilliantly mixes sorrow and laughter as it builds toward an unforgettable ending. Will Pops marry Penelope? Will Penelope and Medina be found out? Will Percy be lured into the Church? It is a reminder of the pain of being an outsider; of the sustaining power of love and the destructive power of hate; and of the human will to triumph.

This book of inspiration, encouragement, and insight shows readers how to have a stronger and deeper relationship with God, so that they can effectively operate in the Kingdom of God.

In this prize-winning novel, Nahid is a woman determined to go on a journey of self discovery and understanding. As we accompany her in her sometimes delirious, sometimes lucid journey, we are given rare glimpses of the inner thoughts and feelings of a woman confronting questions of love and intimacy within and outside of marriage. It is a story of one woman's quest for liberation, not from a repressive society or a male-dominated world that is easy and has been done many times before but from self-imposed taboos that inhibit a woman's ability to find fulfillment and to confront the many imponderables surrounding sexuality, desire, and love. Stuck by conscious choice to keep up the genteel appearances of her middle-class family in a loveless marriage to Mustafa, the forty-something Nahid finds love and sex with novelist and journalist Omar himself trapped in a loveless, but not sexless, marriage to Maggie. Although their love story is at the very heart of the novel, we are given broad glimpses of the larger picture of the world outside through Nahid's work as an archaeologist and Omar's as a journalist. The novel was well received by women readers, critics, and reviewers and by a majority of the male audience, while a vociferous minority of male critics felt scandalized by it, finding it unseemly that such issues should be raised by a woman. Now English readers can judge for themselves.

Women of God are searching for direction and advice. Now they can meet that need and go beyond, discovering a clear mission statement to turn to in their lives. A Certain Woman presents a work of inspirational narrative nonfiction featuring unnamed or little recognized women in the Bible and pulling from the defining moments of author R. S. Gunn’s real life. It shows that God uses all His children for His glory, from Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, to Rahab, Jesus’s great-grandmother several generations removed, who spent her younger years as a prostitute. These stories grant women power and offer a glimpse into the day that these biblical women received their call and answered accordingly. On the modern side, lessons and life experiences include military service, serious health issues, miscarriage, marriage, divorce, children, career shifts, unemployment, physical manifestations of stress, alcohol abuse, and idolatry as Gunn fought with God, pleaded with Him, and ultimately answered His call and met the conditions He required. This collection of personal and biblically inspired narratives offers a message of strength and power for women of God.

A Certain Woman is a book of inspiration, encouragement and insight that can change your life. You have doubted yourself long enough, rise up and declare, "I am that Certain Woman!"