Scan barcode
A review by yeahdeadslow
Women's Barracks by Joan Schenkar, Tereska Torrès, Judith Mayne
3.0
I actually own a physical copy of this book! It's from 1951! I've been too afraid to read it, though, since it's fragile. But the other week I was surprised and delighted to see this as one of the available titles on a local library's ebook resource. I had to check it out at once.
I'm glad I ended up reading the ebook, because there's an interview with the author at the end which was quite interesting. I was gratified to learn that the American publishers had made her give the narrator a judgmental tone when it came to... well, I think it was only for the lesbianism. Which was portrayed much as one would expect from this era. This is considered the first lesbian pulp, after all. Though the topic certainly doesn't take front seat. Much like the only other lesbian pulp I've read, The Girls in 3-B, there was plenty of tiresome heterosexuality, as well. Though Women's Barracks had a handful of bi and lesbian characters, it was kind of a quantity-not-quality situation The Girls in 3-B showed its lesbian relationship in a much more positive light.
Tereska Torrès mentions in the interview at the end that her actual war diaries had been published... but only in France. I'd love to read them, mais je lis seulement un peu français. Sigh.
I'm glad I ended up reading the ebook, because there's an interview with the author at the end which was quite interesting. I was gratified to learn that the American publishers had made her give the narrator a judgmental tone when it came to... well, I think it was only for the lesbianism. Which was portrayed much as one would expect from this era. This is considered the first lesbian pulp, after all. Though the topic certainly doesn't take front seat. Much like the only other lesbian pulp I've read, The Girls in 3-B, there was plenty of tiresome heterosexuality, as well. Though Women's Barracks had a handful of bi and lesbian characters, it was kind of a quantity-not-quality situation The Girls in 3-B showed its lesbian relationship in a much more positive light.
Tereska Torrès mentions in the interview at the end that her actual war diaries had been published... but only in France. I'd love to read them, mais je lis seulement un peu français. Sigh.