Jasper reviews Glass Houses by Laura J. Mixon

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Danika Ellis

I read about Laura J. Mixon’s “Glass Houses” in K. Cadora’s article “Feminist Cyberpunk.” Cadora, author of the novella “Stardust Bound” (which I recommend), argued that, in “Glass Houses,” Mixon translates the tropes of cyberpunk out of a male-only worldview into a wider, more equitable worldview. As a sometimes cyberpunk and noir fan, I was looking forward to reading this revelation for the genre.

Unfortunately, “Glass Houses” is very straightforward. At just over 200 pages, it has an extremely simple story to tell, and it tells it without a single surprise. In a near-future world suffering from global warming, down-on-her-luck techie Ruby operates waldoes for a living. Waldoes are robots that can be controlled at a distance by the minds of their operators; Ruby uses her waldoes to scavenge and salvage, recovering loot from abandoned buildings for clients. As the novel opens, Ruby discovers a rich old man trapped in a tottering skyscraper in the middle of a hurricane. She tries to rescue him and fails, but she *does* manage to steal his jewelry and a sealed envelope he was carrying. Cue the countdown as she, inevitably, has to figure out who *else* wants these items and how she can survive having stolen them.

There’s a lot that *could* happen in this novel, but little of it does. It could be a mystery novel, noir/cyberpunk-style, but everyone’s motivations come clear in the first half of the book and there’s no whodunnit to wonder about. It could be an exercise in world-building, exploring a world wracked by global warming, in which access to climate control is class-based and people go outside as little as they can, but the worldbuilding aspects barely go deeper than the cosmetic. It could be an action-film-on-the-page, but the two fight scenes that are clearly meant to be the story’s highlights come off flat and adrenlineless, as Mixon skips over large chunks of action in a sentence or two and fails to describe events with the precision and impact needed to make them live in a reader’s mind.

It could also be a learning-to-have-faith-in-yourself story, and it *almost* is. As Ruby navigates the challenges of the storyline, she begins to trust herself in the real world, interacting with it in person as well as through her waldoes, to value herself and her body, and to separate herself from her toxic lust/love crush on her roommate, beautiful party girl Melissa. (And, if you’re worried she puts aside her flawed f/f relationship for a m/f one, she doesn’t. She stays firmly attracted to women throughout the book.) This was the strongest aspect of the novel, and it came closest to working. The problem? It’s hard to care about Ruby’s development because, as a reader, you know so little about her. Sure, you’re handed a smattering of backstory details, but I finished the novel not even certain how old she was. Is she in her 20s? Her 30s? Even possibly approaching her 40s? It’s hard to say. What made her so afraid to leave her apartment? Why didn’t she ever have a relationship before her crush on Melissa? Ruby’s crushing lack of belief in herself, in her physical body, is central to the novel, and the reader is told little about how it developed–so it’s difficult to feel invested in her struggle to overcome it.

After finishing “Glass Houses,” I’m still looking for that woman-authored cyberpunk revelation. This isn’t it. Though the focus on wrestling with body image and self-confidence is nice to see, I’d reread Melissa Scott’s “Trouble and Her Friends” three times over before rereading “Glass Houses.”

Link round up: August 15-21

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Danika Ellis

AfterEllen posted Batwoman #12: Happy anniversary, lesbian superhero! Here, have a Wonder Woman!

Autostraddle posted

Read a F*cking Canadian Book, Eh: Shani Mootoo’s “Cereus Blooms at Night”
Queer Ladies Speed-Dating at Strand Bookstore Happened, Was A Huge Success
Lez Liberty Lit: Your New Biweekly Guide To Queer Lady Literature (The Lesbrary is featured in this article!!)
Millennials Buy The Most Books, Will Save The (Publishing) World (not les/bi/etc related, but it’s Autostraddle, so.)

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian posted New Stories by Mariko Tamaki and Zoe Whittall; Plus, Queer Feminist Read Dating in Toronto!

Lambda Literary posted

lesbian meets books nyc posted Hunting the Slipper: Bringing Back Out of Print Lesbian Books.

The Outer Alliance posted Coming Out #8: Barbara Ann Wright on The Pyramid Waltz.

Sistahs on the Shelf Literary Promo Blog posted Sistahs on the Shelf featured in reSOUND magazine! and SOTS Books 2 Check Out – August 2012.

Women and Words posted Upcoming event in the UK for LGBTQ readers & writers!

Ivan E. Coyote will be at the Vancouver Writers Fest (October 16-21 2012).

Malinda Lo posted Presenting…the official trailer for Adaptation!

Catherine Lundoff posted The Highs and Lows of Promoting Lesbian Fiction by Catherine Lundoff.

KG Macgregor was interviewed at Lambda Literary.

“Kung Fu Lesbian – Book Trailer” was posted at One More Lesbian.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino was reviewed at Good Lesbian Books.

OMGQueer edited by Katherine E. Lynch & Radclyffe was reviewed at Good Lesbian Books.

Sidecar by Ann McMan was reviewed at Good Lesbian Books.

Everything Pales in Comparison by Rebecca Swartz was reviewed at Winnipeg Free Press.

As always, check out even more links by following the Lesbrary on twitter!

Danika reviews Shadow Swans by Laura Thomas

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Danika Ellis

I was intrigued as soon as I heard about the premise of Shadow Swans: a reclusive young woman who lives in an abandoned building filled with handmade wire hummingbirds falls in love with another young woman who lives in the subway tunnels. Together, they explore the tunnels beneath the city. If I had read the description of their characters gives on the back of the book, describing Den as “shockingly beautiful and well-read” and the main character, Ruby, as “a filthy rich misanthrope”, I probably would have been less interested. I think that the major divisive element of Shadow Swans is our narrator, Ruby. Ruby is entirely a filthy rich misanthrope. She finds everything and everyone shallow and meaningless. She believes herself to be the only one who thinks outside of such petty concerns as sorority barbecues and making friends. She despairs of her ennui and eagerly chases after Den and her underground life because their poverty and anger makes her alive–but, of course, she doesn’t have to risk any of her wealth to do so. Ruby is shallow and self-absorbed and not very likable, but I liked reading about her. It is entirely an accurate portrait of many young people, and I can’t deny that my teenage self may have had some things in common with her. The overwrought prose seemed to be a deliberate reflection of how Ruby would think and write. I found it sort of funny, reading about how she hates her name but keeps it to be ironic and to suffer.

Besides finding Ruby charming in her ridiculousness, I was also genuinely interested in the plot. The relationship between Den and Ruby is complex, because in some ways Ruby is selfish and shallow to be thrill-seeking by basically doing poverty tourism and trying to escape the “ennui” of her well-off life by vicariously experiencing the dangers of being homeless. At the same time, Ruby does care about Den and Den is using her in some ways as well. Ruby does take a lot of risks just to be around Den, and really wants the best for her. They have a tumultuous friendship and that turns into an ambiguous relationship. I was interested to see whether Ruby would smarten up or remain self-absorbed.

On top of that, I loved the idea of this underground adventure as they explore secret government tunnels connecting the East coast. The story may, as Anna K said in her review, “often stretch believability”, but if you can suspend your disbelief, I thought it was fascinating. As for Ruby smartening up, I’m not really sure if she did. In some ways, Ruby just earns her callousness that seems undeserved in the beginning of the novel. But I think ultimately she does learn something about her previously self-absorbed attitude, even if it’s not explicitly stated in the text. If you’re looking for a dark adventure story or are interested in teen dystopian books, I think this one will appeal to you as well.

Check out Jasper and Anna K‘s reviews of Shadow Swans as well!

Casey reviews Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Danika Ellis

Ann Bannon’s pulp novel Odd Girl Out (the first of the famous Beebo Brinker series) is the first, and so far only, 1950s lesbian pulp novel I’ve read. I knew vaguely going into this that things didn’t usually work out so well for the lesbians in these books—publishers usually insisted on a distinct lack of happy endings, you know, in case someone thought they might be advancing a homosexual agenda! But I was trying to reserve my judgement until I’d actually read one of these pulp novels, and I naively got about a third of the way through Odd Girl Out thinking, wow, this love story is actually quite adorable and Bannon’s observations on the social conventions of 50s college life are actually quite fascinating. Of course, Bannon had to go and ruin it by making one of the girls eventually fall for the so-called superior charms of a man; but, I’d like to see if I can tease out something a bit more positive that I can take from this novel. Here goes!

Essentially, Odd Girl Out is the story of Laura, a sheltered young woman who has just started college; she’s intrigued by and then falls for her roommate, the tomboyish, confident older student Beth. The erotic tension in the early stages of Laura and Beth’s relationship is quite well done; I vividly remember the scene where they go to the movies together and shyly begin to hold hands. So cute! Bannon really nailed the excitement/terror of delirious young love that produces that ‘I think I might be sick but I’m really happy anyway’ feeling. In a way, the fact that Beth and Laura’s relationship is initially so sweet makes Beth moving onto Charlie—aptly described by Mfred in her review as “an odd combination of tender and caveman, having his way in the name of Good & Manly Decision-making whenever the plot requires it”—all the more brutal, but I’m willing to give Bannon some credit here. She does a great job showing us why Beth is so attractive, and I was actually surprised that it was her who ended up dating a man, and not Laura, because Beth is definitely more masculine; I’m guessing that allowing the more feminine Laura to embrace her queerness—as much as that’s possible in 1957—would have been revolutionary and unexpected for the time. You end up cheering her on at the end. I wanted to tell Laura as she head off to Greenwich Village by herself after being ditched by Beth at the last minute: “Don’t you worry about that traitor Beth, you’re going to find lots of cute dykes in NYC!”

The subplot involves Beth’s friend Emmy, who is kicked out of college for (gasp!) wearing a sexy costume that ‘accidentally’ reveals a bit too much at a party and then having pre-marital sex with her boyfriend whom the college forbad her from seeing. This story is actually quite illuminating. Can you believe that post-secondary institutions really had that kind of ridiculous control over female students? After Emmy is forced to leave school, her boyfriend Bud promises to marry her, but Bannon leaves a distinct amount of doubt as to whether Bud is really going to do anything of the sort. She makes it clear that Bud is privileged, able to continue school and to pursue his career as a musician while Emmy is sent home and punished. Emmy is caught in a double bind: she’s booted out of school for her relationship with a man, but then her only hope for redemption is marriage. So, Bannon is actually pointing out the flaws of heterosexual patriarchy, the very thing that Beth so happily accepts at the end of the novel. There aren’t any explicit links drawn between Beth and Emmy’s situations, and likely Bannon intended Charlie to epitomize ‘one of those few good men left in the world,’ but I couldn’t help but wonder whether Bannon wasn’t really slyly critiquing the ways that patriarchal societies, on the one hand, teach women to depend only on men and to use their sexuality to secure one, and, on the other, punish women for their so-called weakness and call them sluts for expressing their sexualities. In the end, the lesbian Laura is the only female character free of these restraints. Now that is something I—and I think other modern readers—can appreciate, despite this novel’s dated flaws.

Guest Lesbrarian Shanna Shadoan reviews Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Danika Ellis

I just read an awesome YA novel. It’s set in Victorian England, and features a young woman who was committed to an asylum for “moral insanity”. Basically, she wasn’t behaving in a properly feminine way. She falls in love with one of the attendants there, so it is a sweet lesbian love story, which is pretty rare in the historical fiction genre! Anyway, if you’d like to put up my review, here it is!
“‘I told you, that isn’t my name. I am Louisa Cosgrove. And I’m not meant to be here. There’s been a mistake.’

He pauses…then turns to read the page of cramped writing I can see inside the folder.

It suddenly occurs to me-perhaps they’re pretending they don’t know who I am. Perhaps they’re trying to drive me mad.

I take a deep breath. ‘I’m not mad, Doctor. You can see that, so-’”

There’s been a terrible mistake. Instead of being driven to a manor where she was to begin her position as a companion, Louisa is taken to Wildthorn Hall, an asylum. They call her Lucy and interpret her every protest as further evidence of her illness. But who had her committed? More importantly, how can she get out? Does her family really believe she belongs here? Or worse, is it possible that they do not even know where she is?

Amidst the groans and suffering of her fellow patients, Louisa recalls her outside life. True, perhaps she read more than was considered seemly for young women, and her ambition to become a doctor was certainly unconventional. But moral insanity? Surely having dreams of something other than a husband and family does not amount to an illness! In order to save her life and be united with her love, Louisa stages a risky escape attempt. But on the outside, there are many dangers for a young woman, and it seems her troubles have just begun.

I did absolutely nothing today but finish this book; I got it yesterday night. First, it’s about time we have some good queer historical fiction! Even better, this is a queer story that doesn’t revolve around a coming out. Louisa, from her childhood on, has preferred science to sewing and riding horses to making calls. However, she is not committed to the asylum because she is a lesbian, rather, because she exhibits unfeminine characteristics and ambitions for her time. In this way, the book is an interesting commentary on the restrictive expectations for women in nineteenth-century England.

For those of you looking for a love story, don’t worry. It’s there, it is sweet, and it defies the bleakness of the novel’s setting. For a young adult book that reads like the lovechild of The Well of Loneliness and Jane Eyre, the tender romance is refreshingly hopeful, but not wildly so. It is not so perfectly constructed that it seems unrealistic, but it is a lovely surprise! I’ve been waiting to read this book for a long time, and I couldn’t have ordered a more perfect compilation of everything I love in a read-for-pleasure book. I haven’t been this happy since I discoveredSarah Waters. Oh, and one more awesome thing-this novel is based on a true story (seriously. Isn’t that awful? We should all be welling over with gratitude for our feminist predecessors, because now we don’t have to worry about being tossed in an asylum because we were inconveniently un-feminine.)

Happy Reading!

Lesbrary Link Round Up: August 8-15

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Danika Ellis

The Advocate posted 21 LGBT Biographies or Memoirs You Should Read Now.

AfterEllen posted Batwoman and Batgirl team up for an epic battle of epicness in “Batgirl #12”.

Autostraddle posted Read a F*cking Book: 20 Best Young Adult Novels For Queer Girls.

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian posted Montreal’s Queer Between the Covers Bookfair (August 18): Fun Times for Queer Nerds.

Elisa posted Particular Voices: Adrienne J. Smith (January 9, 1934 – August 10, 1992).

Lambda Literary posted Chloe Sevigny, Justin Vivian Bond, and Eileen Myles Perform at Free Pussy Riot Public Reading and Watch Emma Donoghue Talk About Her New Play ‘Talk of the Town’.

Ivan E. Coyote was interviewed at The Rumpus.

Sarah Diemer posted Curse Cabin Confession, a Free YA Short Story — Part of Project Unicorn (A Lesbian YA Extravaganza).

Emma Donoghue was interviewed at Bay Times.

Bett Norris posted Do You Like Free Stuff?

Linda Hirschman (author of Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution) was interviewed at The Advocate.

“Jeanette Winterson at Sydney Opera House” was posted on Youtube.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino was reviewed at Good Lesbian Books.

Dare, Truth or Promise by Paula Boock was reviewed at Good Lesbian Books.

Being the Steel Drummer by Liz Bradbury was reviewed at The Rainbow Reader.

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi was reviewed at Lindy Reads and Reviews.

Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

Memory Board by Jane Rule was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

As always, check out more links by following us on twitter @Lesbrary!

Mfred Reviews Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Danika Ellis

Well, I finally read Rubyfruit Jungle. I’m not entirely sure what to think of it.

Is it well written, tightly plotted, compelling, and interesting? Not really. One meandering story runs into the next, sometimes without pause. It is very picaresque in that sense; so perhaps Brown purposefully sacrificed plot in order to maintain that genre’s style. I can’t say that it really works. As a loose collection of adventurous anecdotes, I would have prefered the book to be better framed into chapters and sections, rather than literally going paragraph to paragraph, one story to the next.

On the other hand, is the book funny and entertaining, with a refreshingly frank protagonist and consistent narrative voice? Absolutely. As both a child and an adult, Molly Bolt is always herself. She knows what she wants and she knows how to outsmart everyone around her to get it. Brown’s book is fairly revolutionary simply because Molly never really struggles with being queer– whatever unhappiness comes her way has more to do with society (personified as her parents, co-workers, classmates, etc.) and its inability to accept her as a normal.

In the last part of the book, Brown indulges in some fairly stilted dialogue between Molly and various characters, especially on the topics of heterosexual privilege, homophobia, and feminism. It’s not only obvious and heavy-handed, it slows down an already poorly plotted book. Most disappointing, though, is the dated, myopic judgement Molly expresses for other queer people. The condemnation she has for butch/femme dynamics, while totally suited to a book written in early 1970s, is painful and disappointing.

Alyssa reviews The Superheroes Union: Dynama by Ruth Diaz

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Danika Ellis

The Superheroes Union: Dynama by Ruth Diaz is a superhero romance novel about two women and two children, and protecting and creating family in a world with metahuman powers and supervillains. The story focuses on TJ Gutierrez, single mother and incognito superhero—once Dynama, now Hidden Hand—and Annmarie Smith, non-powered nanny from superhero origins. The story is short but sweet: superhero meets nanny, nanny romances superhero, superhero’s ex and the father of her children breaks out of supervillain prison.

The romance between TJ and Annmarie is sweet, realistic, and fun to read. TJ has her hands full between being a mother and saving the city, hasn’t really dated since she sent her ex to jail, and thinks her attraction to Annmarie, who the Superheroes Union sent to watch her kids, is a bad idea. But Annmarie is great with her kids—very important for a potential love interest for a single mother—cooks for TJ, makes sure she takes care of herself while trying to track her supervillain ex, and generally seduces her.

Written superhero fiction, divorced from graphical narrative, is still an emerging genre. Accordingly, the success of authors writing it varies; but this novel holds up well. Dynama takes place in what I would consider a standard superhero version of modern reality. Strong characters, well-written plot, and sweet and believable romance make this novel worth the read. In addition, the story explores superhero families and children in an intelligent manner. This reviewer finds it refreshing to see narratives about superheroes’ children handled seriously and maturely, considering how often they are fridged, i.e. killed or retconned for drama, in mainstream superhero comics.

Usually at this point in the review, I would go over what problems I had with the book, but Dynama really is a solid, enjoyable story. If I have any objection, it would have to be to its brevity. After seeing Diaz’s handling of the genre, I would like to see more, if not with these characters, then at least in this universe.

If you enjoy romance, superheroes, or both, you should give The Superheroes Union: Dynama a read. It won’t disappoint.

Danika reviews Tierra Del Fuego: Parting Shots

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Danika Ellis

I haven’t read a lot of sci fi, and to be honest, I was little hesitant to start Parting Shots. I was pleasantly surprised! This is a complex book. Theoretically, the main character is Trevathan Evans, an officer and experienced space traveller. She has a tragic romantic past with a lover who was taken back into the fold of a cult. But there is a huge cast of characters in Tierra Del Fuego, including Trevathan’s friends and shipmates. Personally, I thought Evangelena stole the show. She works with gorillas on Earth, doing research on their ability to communicate using melodies. She is also absolutely loveable and charming. She too has a complicated romantic link back on Earth. One couple, Jazzmin and Anjelica, both black women, play a fairly minor role in Parting Shots, but I expect to see more of them in the next books in the trilogy. Another intriguing character is Avery, a bisexual chef who is occasionally Trevathan’s lover and brags about a piece of sex toy technology she has that many queers would be jealous of: an “extender”. (If you haven’t noticed, all of the women are queer.) Those aren’t even all of the main group in Parting Shots.

On top of that, Tierra Del Fuego created what I thought was an interesting world. It is 2088, and on the one hand, it is completely futuristic. People have brain implants to assist their memory and language capacity. Countries have conglomerated into giant continent units. The USA has completely lost power in the world. A colony ship is being launched that is large enough to have enough roaming ground for elephants. Children are only conceived with permission from the government. Dangerous cults threaten space travel with nano technology. On the other hand, the Tierra Del Fuego is the very first colony ship launched into space. It is still in the early stages of this technology. The situation on ship is fragile, threatened by both outside forces and internal power struggles that threaten the utopia promised to them. All people on board are equal, with equal resources allotted to them, but they were only able to come on board by paying huge amounts of money.

There is a lot in Tierra Del Fuego to contemplate. The people on board are randomly assigned an embryo if they want to have a baby. This embryo is probably mixed-race, ostensibly for gene variation (I say ostensibly because isn’t the vast majority of gene diversity in Africa?), but also because Jazzmin, the physician who worked on this initiative, proposed that this would end racism. The research and technology detailed in Parting Shots seems not so far away from now. And the plots–a shoot-first ask-later captain attempting to seize power, corruption in the brand new elected government on board the ship, threats from cults that disagree with all of the colony ship’s ideals–definitely grab your attention. And the characters are dynamic and interesting. I can’t wait to find out more about them.

There are some weak areas in Parting Shots. There are so many characters introduced in this first book that it’s hard to remember them all. The perspective also switches between them constantly. This is fairly straightforward early in the book, but once everyone’s lives begin to converge, you begin leaping between all of their heads with very little warning. You also get the perspective of some minor characters when it is convenient. The large cast I’m sure will be less overwhelming after this first book, but the quick perspective changes were disorienting. Also, although some of the technology is described very specifically, some things–like how a ship that gigantic was able to launch from Earth–are not explained at all. And there were a few typos, but those were rare.

Overall I was really impressed by Tierra Del Fuego. I haven’t read a lot of sci fi, and I very rarely start series that haven’t finished yet, but now I am eager for the next two book in the trilogy! I highly recommend Tierra Del Fuego for its great queer women characters and its intriguing premise and plots.