Reviews

The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories by Virginia Woolf, Nicole Brossard, Jayne Anne Phillips, Sara Maitland, Joan Nestle, Radclyffe Hall, Merril Mushroom, Djuna Barnes, Alison Bechdel, Beth Nugent, Jewelle Gomez, Colette, Renée Vivien, Jane Rule, Anna Livia, Margaret Atwood, Isak Dinesen, Rebecca Brown, Dorothy Allison, Frances Gapper, Dorothy Strachey, Gertrude Stein, Monique Wittig, Emma Donoghue, Hilda Doolittle, Margaret Reynolds, Sarah Orne Jewett, Jeanette Winterson, Pat Califia, Anaïs Nin, Kathy Acker, Katherine Mansfield, Ann Bannon

dernichtraucherin's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

angela_p's review

4.0

My favourites (5⭐️'s)
-Prince Charming, Renée Vivien, 1904.
-A Room of One's Own Chapter 5, Virginia Woolf, 1928.
-Nuits Blanches, Colette, 1934.
-Bread, Rebecca Brown, 1984.
-The Poetics of Sex, Jeanette Winterson, 1993.

mothtimothy's review

3.0

I bought this book furtively when I was 13 or 14, and hid it in a drawer in my room underneath something -- a box of stationery, I think? Its presence there, in my room, made very anxious, but also excited. Anyway, I bought it because I thought reading it would answer some of my questions, namely, Am I Really Gay or Not?

For the record, it was not helpful in this matter. I think I thought it might ring some bells, strike some chords, but it was just... confusing. There were no bells or chords. Part of the problem was probably my obsessive attachment to reading anthologies straight through from beginning to end; this one is arranged chronologically, so that meant I had over 100 pages to slog through before I made it to the 1940s. I gave up before that, though.

It also says a lot about me-at-13 that I thought reading a book of short stories was the way to determine if I was really truly a homo.

swarmofbees's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

skreytak's review

emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

bleepbloop's review

3.0

Some stories were really beautiful and some were really dumb. A lot of white people.

hashbrownhedgehog's review

4.0

Stories I enjoyed (15 out of 32):
*Martha’s Lady by Sarah Orne Jewett
**Miss Furr and Miss Skeene by Gertrude Stein
*Nuits Blanches by Colette
*I Am a Woman by Ann Bannon
**These Our Mothers by Nicole Brossard
*Sweethearts by Jayne Anne Phillips
*Esther’s Story by Joan Nestle
**How to Engage in Courting Rituals 1950s Butch Style in the Bar by Merril Mushroon
***Bread by Rebecca Brown
*His Not Hers by Jane Rule
**A Lesbian Appetite by Dorothy Allison
**The Vampire by Pat Califa
**The Secret of Sorrerby Rise by Frances Gapper
*Serial Monogamy by Alison Bechdel
*The Poetics of Sex by Jeanette Winterson

san_dra's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

queenqueso's review

3.0

Like most other folks have said, kind of hit or miss, depending on what you're looking for. My favorites tended to clump up near the end as you got post 1960s.

maranzie's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0