My Favourite Lesbian Novels...So Far!
So... a few summers ago I started looking for novels that were written by or featured women who love women. At first it was harder then it sounds as I was looking for stories that were more then erotica, although that was fine too. I have come across a few good ones and some TERRIBLE ones! Here are a few of my favourites in no particular order! I am not going to give a lot away so to find out more you will have to go exploring yourself. If you have any to add from your own reading comment below:
The Well of Loneliness - Radcliffe Hall
No list is complete without this one. It deserves a place for its importance in both LGBTQ* literary history and the fight against literary censorship. Besides that, the story was a great read and Stephen is an iconic character!
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
This novel punches you in the stomach from page one and doesn't really let up. Beautifully written and emotionally wrenching, this one tackles issues of sex, race, identity, and poverty without flinching from the ugly.
Desert of the Heart - Jane Rule
Amazing! Also incredibly important for LGBTQ* literary history. This is one of the first lesbian novels of have at least a hint of a possible happy ending. Also, Jane Rule's writing is superb and I felt drawn right in from page one.
Rubyfruit Jungle - Rita Mae Brown
Rita Mae Brown is an interesting character all on her own she co-authored a series of detective novels with her cat, which makes me really like her. I read this one in a sitting and Molly's story is the write mix of anger, adventure and fun!
Delta of Venus - Anais Nin
Some of these stories will offend pretty much anyone, but others are incredibly beautiful, especially Elena. Anais Nin wrote many great stories from many perspectives and I highly recommend them all!
Claudine series - Colette
Beautifully written! Colette was one of the great actors in the Paris artistic community. I haven't read all of them yet, but everything by Colette has been excellent. Although not in the same vein as the Claudine please read The Cat if you ever see it!
Trilogy - H.D.
Poetry! We all need some of that and these are incredible.
Leave of Absence - Lucia Frangione
An amazing play set in a rural Canadian community that is heartbreaking and brilliant. I identify with elements of this have grown up in a rural community myself and Frangione is one of Canada's awesome playwrights!
Blue is the Warmest Color - Julie Maroh
I cried. My girlfriend cried. My friends cried. Read it! I loved the art and the story, though some of the script can be a little hard to follow. Also the movie isn't as good, but still worth watching.
Honourable Mentions:
Nightwood - Djuna Barnes
Please don't shoot me, but I would classify this as pretentious and overdone. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't. It is important in the history and experimental fiction should always be encouraged so please read this and let me know what you think!
The Green Cafe - Anonymous
This book is terrible and ugly and pretty much propaganda for why lesbians are twisted and diseased, but a very good portrayal of an era.
Female Man - Joanna Russ
I have mixed feelings about this one. I love Russ' Alyx stories and parts of Female Man were pure gold, but the overall effect was scattered and hard to follow.
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas - Gertrude Stein
Stein is an amazing character and integral to the Paris art scene as well as helping so many artists get on their way. Her writing though is....chaos and self-congratutory in a way that just irritates me.
There are lots of other books I want to read and hopefully in a bit a can do a part two to this!