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Riverfinger women
LESBIAN NOVEL - SET IN LATE 60'S,EARLY 70'S - DEPICTS LESBIAN LIFE AT THAT TIME DURING EARLY 2ND WAVE FEMINISM
183 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 31, 2010
This was a fantastic book. The style was occasionally immature but gave the reader a good point from which to watch the narrator growing up. The story was fresh and had a very authentic "feel." I liked the main character and, considering that I live in a rural place with a very smalll LGBT culture, it was exactly what I needed. I'll probably read it again and again.
January 25, 2014
Original Blog Post: http://headouttheoven.blogspot.com/20...
There is one thing I liked about this book. Yes, it was written in 1974 but it has a contemporary feel to it. This may sound cliche but it is true all the same.
In the present categorization of things, this would be considered a YA book by many. Written by a young Elana Dykewomon, Riverfinger Women does give the reader the 'youngish' feel to the writing style, to quote someone else who read this. It took time for me to read but then I find it personally difficult to read this style of writing. And yet, it was a fantastic experience and it was very hard to put down once I got into it.
This is the story of a young woman coming into terms with her homosexuality during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When songs like I Am Woman by Helen Reddy were blasting the radios serving to encourage those who needed it. Songs like these made women all over the world shout out loud for their rights in very vocal and physical ways - on the streets. The protests marched, the movements they gave birth to, we still see and join today. Even the bras they burned. Expensive come to think of it.
These were the women that made the world what it is today. This is the world we women enjoy today. Women like Dykewomon left their mark on our world with simple things like their coming of age stories and making a difference.
Should this have been written in contemporary times, it would not have really created any real waves. This was, however, written decades ago, when the times were rougher, when the times were less accepting, when the times had societies shocked as books like these were published. This is what made it such a great read for me. What surprised me, really, was that it did not feel like it was written all those years ago. It's plot was quite present and just as real then as it is today.
Awesome, enlightening read.
Note: Review based on an ebook copy sent by Netgalley.
There is one thing I liked about this book. Yes, it was written in 1974 but it has a contemporary feel to it. This may sound cliche but it is true all the same.
In the present categorization of things, this would be considered a YA book by many. Written by a young Elana Dykewomon, Riverfinger Women does give the reader the 'youngish' feel to the writing style, to quote someone else who read this. It took time for me to read but then I find it personally difficult to read this style of writing. And yet, it was a fantastic experience and it was very hard to put down once I got into it.
This is the story of a young woman coming into terms with her homosexuality during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When songs like I Am Woman by Helen Reddy were blasting the radios serving to encourage those who needed it. Songs like these made women all over the world shout out loud for their rights in very vocal and physical ways - on the streets. The protests marched, the movements they gave birth to, we still see and join today. Even the bras they burned. Expensive come to think of it.
These were the women that made the world what it is today. This is the world we women enjoy today. Women like Dykewomon left their mark on our world with simple things like their coming of age stories and making a difference.
Should this have been written in contemporary times, it would not have really created any real waves. This was, however, written decades ago, when the times were rougher, when the times were less accepting, when the times had societies shocked as books like these were published. This is what made it such a great read for me. What surprised me, really, was that it did not feel like it was written all those years ago. It's plot was quite present and just as real then as it is today.
Awesome, enlightening read.
Note: Review based on an ebook copy sent by Netgalley.
February 12, 2014
A story about a young woman coming to terms with homosexuality in the 60's and 70's. This book was written in 1974, when it was even harder for homosexuals. I enjoyed this book and the main character.
January 10, 2022
The narrative jumps a bit and is a little hard to follow at times, but I liked it, and it's historical significance is to be appreciated.
August 15, 2017
a lot of reviewers have said that this is dykewomon at her most amateur, and i agree; she plays fast and loose with the concept of a distinct plot, and the narration is winding and a little difficult to follow. her later works are much more clear and follow a more distinct narrative. but lord do i love those explicit depictions of lesbians and lesbian culture! lord does she ever get those dyke feelings right on the nose!
September 20, 2022
“Oh living oyster-locked November, have you no happy first deductions for your orphans to remember? Pilgrim with your muzzle full of suspicion and guilt, will you not reconsider and admit that desire can be tender?”
September 4, 2025
A narrative and characters that are oftentimes impossible to follow. Prose I was reading often felt so confusing and nonsensical. Others, absolutely genius. She captures sapphic feeling in the most poetic way - only a queer person could write about sex and emotion this way..(!)
January 11, 2023
This book is good, of a time and with a really endearing ending. The afterword written 20 years after is phenomenal
November 4, 2024
Came to this because I enjoyed Beyond The Pale so much, but didn't quite connect with it as much. The narrative and timeline jumped around a bit too much for my personal liking.
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July 17, 2009daughters inc.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews