Journey to Fulfillment

by Valerie Taylor

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Pulp, Lesbian

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Valerie Taylor is the pen name of Velma Young (1913–1997), author of the lesbian pulp classics Whisper Their Love (1957), The Girls in 3-B (1959), World Without Men (1963), Journey to Fulfillment (1964), and Ripening (1988). With the $500 proceeds of her first novel, Hired Girl (1953), Taylor bought a pair of shoes, two dresses, and hired a divorce lawyer. After leaving her husband, she kicked off a prolific career as the author of pulp fiction novels, poetry (under the name Nacella Young), and romances (under the name Francine Davenport). A longtime activist for gay and lesbian rights, she was a co-founder of Mattachine Midwest and the Lesbian Writers Conference in Chicago. (source)

Reviews

[Ollie T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lesbian pulp novel about a Holocaust survivor who finds a new life in America as a lesbian should be my exact genre but it’s hard not to feel bummed by SO many damaging tropes. Obviously reading the next one immediately.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronologically speaking, this is the first book in the Erika Frohmann series, although it was published third or fourth (depending if you consider "Stranger on Lesbos" part of the series). This book is set right after Erika is liberated from the concentration camp after the war, and details how she comes to America and what happens to her after she arrives.

I like the character of Erika (at least in the other books I've read that have her in it), and it's interesting to see her early years. But the book has some serious issues.

The first is the fact that every girl Erika comes across is a lesbian. Seriously. Every girl mentioned in this book by name that is Erika's age is a lesbian, as well as "Martha" (who is older).

Second, the ending is creepy. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil it, but, seriously. Creepy!

Third, there is a lot of abuse between these pages, and I'm not talking about what happened to Erika in the concentration camp.

I do like that Erika doesn't go straight butch from the get-go and that it is a gradual process with some missteps and steps back.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Kind of have to love finding original editions of this and the other two books in the series in a queer bookstore in DC. Kind of have to love the ridiculous premise: a concentration camp survivor who "journeys to fulfillment" in a Chicago suburb after being adopted by an American family. Pretty weak showing overall though. Originally published in 1964.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing for historical reasons.