Pulp by Robin Talley / ★★★

[Kimber]

Pulp by Robin Talley
★★★

For the most part, Pulp is a dual storyline that switches back and forth between Abby in 2017 and Janet in 1955. Both are young, gay women either in high school or just graduated. They both live in or near Washington DC. They both discover lesbian pulp fiction and it changes their lives in different ways. As the reader becomes familiar with each woman’s story, it is clearly demonstrated in sharp comparison how different the culture is for LGBTQ+ in 2017 than what it was in 1955.

The author included historical research about the Lavender Scare that occurred along with McCarthyism in the 50s and threatened the safety and ruined the livelihoods of many during that time period. The subject matter of the book was fascinating but the execution was lacking. The cadence was choppy and sometimes confusing. In addition to the two storylines separated by 60+ years, there were three pulp fiction stories included, with their own characters, which may have added to the unwieldy feel.

I did enjoy the story overall, and I loved the last 60 or so pages, when a certain event occurred that sort of wrapped up the two storylines in a satisfactory way. While reading, I was reminded of the non-fiction memoir of Cleve Jones called When We Rise: My Life in the Movement because of how it opened with him discovering there were other people like him by reading an article in Rolling Stone, and then went on to describe his life-long experiences with LGBTQ+ activism. When We Rise was a powerful story that I highly recommend.

[Hebah]

I've got this on my TBR. If you want other topical reads about the time, I really enjoyed Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which felt very older YA, more adult book club paced, following just one plotline with some flashbacks. There's a bit of pulp novel in it too, though it's more catalyst than subplot.

[Kimber]

Hebah wrote: "I've got this on my TBR. If you want other topical reads about the time, I really enjoyed Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club, which felt very older YA, more adult book cl..."

Hebah, this book looks wonderful. Thank you for the recommendation!

[NancyJ]

The political angle sounds interesting. I never heard that term before - the lavender scare. It seems funny to think of lesbians as scary now. A lot has changed even in the past 20 years.

I almost got this book, but then I found a book about a real life woman who published one of the best selling pulp magazines in the nation. Queen of the Pulps: The Reign of Daisy Bacon and Love Story Magazine. I haven't started it yet, but given what you described, I think it's safe to assume that it contained only MF love stories.