Lee Lynch

I think one of the blurbs said that this would remind me of The Well of Loneliness, but since I hadn't read that book before this one, it reminded me more of Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (thankfully this novel didn't have James' super run on sentences).

It's the story of Jefferson. We first meet her when she's a very little kid and then we get to go along on her life. Through all the ups and downs (And a few slightly sideways trips). A lot of it took place in the New York, and some of it in New Hampshire. I'm not sure if it's because I'm more in touch with a New England than a New York City sorta life, but, I liked that part of the book just a little bit more.

Like Portrait of a Lady it took me quite a while to get into the flow of this book. What can I say, I read many many more plot driven fiction novels than I do character driven ones, and this was definitely character driven. Some of that I liked, some of it I didn't. I think my favorite two characters were Gladys and Lily Ann, but I also wound up liking most of the characters in New Hampshire as well. I also liked how I could tell what point in time it was by the narrative. No specific dates needed.

For those looking for a quick read this isn't it. But for someone looking for an in depth interesting character study, this book is the ticket.… (más)

somewhere between 3 and 3.5, depending on which part of the book i'm thinking about. this got considerably better for me as it went on. it went from being another pulp-type book where the women fall in love moments after they meet, live together for 3 weeks, and move on, to a statement about rights and freedom, and a real look at what lesbian life was like in the 60's. it's valuable for that last bit, if nothing else. (i mean, holy crap, you could be arrested for crossdressing if you didn't wear enough "girly" clothing!)

the rules around the butch/femme dynamic were modeled to look so much like heterosexual couples and patriarchal dynamics. it's strange how easily people fell into that. so i liked seeing that shift by the end. i think, also, that lynch tried to start a conversation about racism and privilege, and i'm so glad to see that. this isn't fantastically written (although it's not bad either), but she tackles a lot in it, and, i believe, moves past the books that came before this. there is good character growth and social growth that's pointed to as well, which is more than i got out of those earlier books.

"Mercedes didn't want to be butch, she didn't want Frenchy to be butch. Like Lydia and Doreatha, Mercedes wanted them to come together equally, somehow."

but even after all of it there is still the fear and uncertainty - "Frenchy thought: if they come for us tomorrow, we've had this, and we'll be stronger for it." so there's this reminder of how far we still had to come (and of course still do) even as the characters find happiness in the end.… (más)