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Beebo Brinker #2
I Am a Woman
Lauded as the Queen of Lesbian Pulp for her landmark novels of the 1950s, Ann Bannon defined lesbian fiction for the pre-Stonewall generation.
Following the release of Cleis Press's new editions of Beebo Brinker and Odd Girl Out, I Am a Woman finds sorority sister Laura Landon leaving college heartbreak behind and embracing Greenwich Villages lesbian bohemia. This edition includes a new introduction by the author.
Shameless tales of wanton dyke lust are finally unveiled!
Following the release of Cleis Press's new editions of Beebo Brinker and Odd Girl Out, I Am a Woman finds sorority sister Laura Landon leaving college heartbreak behind and embracing Greenwich Villages lesbian bohemia. This edition includes a new introduction by the author.
Shameless tales of wanton dyke lust are finally unveiled!
Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
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1087 people want to read
About the author
Ann Bannon
23 books167 followersAnn Bannon (pseudonym of Ann Weldy) is an American author and academic. She is known for her lesbian pulp novels, which comprise The Beebo Brinker Chronicles and earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction."
Bannon was featured in the documentaries Before Stonewall (1984) and Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)
Bannon was featured in the documentaries Before Stonewall (1984) and Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
August 20, 2019
This picks up a while after Odd Girl Out, when Laura makes her way to New York City without Beth. In a lot of ways, it's about Laura figuring out what it really means to be a lesbian in Greenwich Village, away from the safety of the dorm room where she first fell for Beth.
This is the book where the iconic Beebo Brinker shows up, as well as Jack, a hilarious and sweet gay man in his early 40s. This may have been peddled as sleaze, but make no mistake that it's a snapshot in time of gay life in New York. The series as a whole saved more lives than we can ever know, by showing queer women that they weren't alone in a time when it was illegal to be gay.
This is the book where the iconic Beebo Brinker shows up, as well as Jack, a hilarious and sweet gay man in his early 40s. This may have been peddled as sleaze, but make no mistake that it's a snapshot in time of gay life in New York. The series as a whole saved more lives than we can ever know, by showing queer women that they weren't alone in a time when it was illegal to be gay.
November 30, 2018
3 1/2 stars.
Stop falling in love with those straight women, Laura!
Another great entry in (in my opinion) one of the greatest lesbian pulp series' ever. Ann Bannon knows how to make an unrequited love story that makes your heart ache, and she knows how to write sleaze ball villains that you love to hate.
We also finally get to meet Beebo Brinker, even though she is pretty much just a side character here (even though the whole series is named after her).
Stop falling in love with those straight women, Laura!
Another great entry in (in my opinion) one of the greatest lesbian pulp series' ever. Ann Bannon knows how to make an unrequited love story that makes your heart ache, and she knows how to write sleaze ball villains that you love to hate.
We also finally get to meet Beebo Brinker, even though she is pretty much just a side character here (even though the whole series is named after her).
November 27, 2015
This pulp fiction novel is funny, entertaining, emotional, and a blast from the past.
December 9, 2017
I wanted to read some proper 50s lesbian pulp fiction and this turned out to be exactly what I expected, in both good and bad ways
July 4, 2021
4.5 stars. Let’s be real. This is pulp. It’s not the best written thing out there. It’s melodramatic and ridiculous. But I adored it, and that’s why I’m rating it so high.
This one reminds me of a more grown-up, pulpy version of Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Laura, a closeted lesbian, flees Chicago for New York. She’s avoiding an abusive father and a broken heart. Her old girlfriend Beth broke up with her and married a man, and she’s utterly wrecked.
In New York she finds a job as a typist and rooms with Marcie. The two become fast friends, but Laura falls for Marcie hard—and painfully pines in secret. Marcie sets her up with her friend Jack... who turns out to be gay too, and introduces Laura to queer bars and a life for people like them. Laura meets Beebo (I know), a gritty butch woman, and they’re instantly attracted to each other but you know, Laura’s still pining over Marcie. Marcie and her on and off husband Burr drag Laura into their relationship problems. And then things are complicated further when Laura is forced to face her dad.
Look, Laura’s a mess. She’s emotional, unstable, insecure, and pretty much everyone tells her to get some therapy. You’ll want to shake some sense into her each time. But I empathized with her and just wanted to give her a big hug. Her and Jack’s friendship was the sweetest thing on Earth — a bit reminiscent of Evelyn and Henry from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The type of love and friendship that one can only dream of.
The gripping soap opera antics aside, I honestly really saw myself in Laura. When I started reading, I didn’t know the historical context, and it was only when I reached the halfway point that I researched a bit. This novel, that awful title aside, is a landmark work of lesbian pulp fiction. It was pretty much the first time lesbian characters could live happily ever after, as opposed to going insane or dying, which was required due to censorship laws. It was one of the few books that told lesbian women in the 60s that they weren’t alone, that they could find love, that they would be all right, that they deserved happiness. Bannon never realized she’d have such an impact. She wrote this while trapped in an unhappy marriage. Her books were a fantasy to escape into, since she couldn’t live the life she wanted.
Even seventy years later, her book has made its mark.
If you’re a sapphic woman, or interested in queer history, or generally want a glimpse into classic pulp fiction, I highly recommend reading this.
This one reminds me of a more grown-up, pulpy version of Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Laura, a closeted lesbian, flees Chicago for New York. She’s avoiding an abusive father and a broken heart. Her old girlfriend Beth broke up with her and married a man, and she’s utterly wrecked.
In New York she finds a job as a typist and rooms with Marcie. The two become fast friends, but Laura falls for Marcie hard—and painfully pines in secret. Marcie sets her up with her friend Jack... who turns out to be gay too, and introduces Laura to queer bars and a life for people like them. Laura meets Beebo (I know), a gritty butch woman, and they’re instantly attracted to each other but you know, Laura’s still pining over Marcie. Marcie and her on and off husband Burr drag Laura into their relationship problems. And then things are complicated further when Laura is forced to face her dad.
Look, Laura’s a mess. She’s emotional, unstable, insecure, and pretty much everyone tells her to get some therapy. You’ll want to shake some sense into her each time. But I empathized with her and just wanted to give her a big hug. Her and Jack’s friendship was the sweetest thing on Earth — a bit reminiscent of Evelyn and Henry from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The type of love and friendship that one can only dream of.
The gripping soap opera antics aside, I honestly really saw myself in Laura. When I started reading, I didn’t know the historical context, and it was only when I reached the halfway point that I researched a bit. This novel, that awful title aside, is a landmark work of lesbian pulp fiction. It was pretty much the first time lesbian characters could live happily ever after, as opposed to going insane or dying, which was required due to censorship laws. It was one of the few books that told lesbian women in the 60s that they weren’t alone, that they could find love, that they would be all right, that they deserved happiness. Bannon never realized she’d have such an impact. She wrote this while trapped in an unhappy marriage. Her books were a fantasy to escape into, since she couldn’t live the life she wanted.
Even seventy years later, her book has made its mark.
If you’re a sapphic woman, or interested in queer history, or generally want a glimpse into classic pulp fiction, I highly recommend reading this.
June 11, 2021
i had a fucking BLAST with this. to make this a topical review, it's one last stop but in the 50s and without time travel and if i loved it.
this is a book about LOVE, in a million different forms. i was honestly the most unexpectedly moved by laura's friendship with jack, a gay man, who ends up being her best friend, someone she'd clear out her savings for and someone who'd relentlessly scour new york city for her. jack's the very first person she can talk to about being gay and about her abusive father, in a meaningful contrast to the way she can't talk to marcie.
there's this way that i am a woman articulates how being closeted and carrying around a secret like being gay, especially in the 50s when that was often a lifelong secret, creates a boundary between a person and everyone else. laura is irrevocably lonely and spends the whole book looking for love and connectedness and despite that, still can't actually talk to marcie even when marcie begs her to say something real, to tell her what's going on. even when laura wants to, that barrier remains up. you carry around secrets your whole life, you can't suddenly stop just because you want to, just because someone else wants you to, but once the dam breaks it all comes out. on the relationship between marcie and laura, i loved that it wasn't simple. when laura tells marcie she loves her, marcie isn't horrified because she's homophobic she's horrified because she'd known since they met and was treating laura's love like a game up until she really grew to admire laura and by that point, it was all too late. they're both fucked up by it at the end! their friendship crashes and burns and like beth i assume marcie will show up in the next book married and dead to laura, and that's sexy.
i wasn't that into laura in the first book, to me beth was the star of odd girl out but god is she killer in this. she's fucking up constantly at work, in her friendships, in her romantic life, and she's still fucked up over beth; the whole book she's having an extended mental breakdown and everything feeds into each other. laura vacillates between hopeless sobbing and erratic anger at the drop of a hat, at turns begging people to help her and coldly rebuffing their attempts. she has a breakdown in the arms of a complete stranger on the subway for christ's sake and it leads to one of the best exchanges in the book: "Nobody knows me. I don't even know myself. I don't know what I'm doing here," she said brokenly. "I'm a stranger in this world." / "Everybody's a stranger when you look at it that way. But everybody got a chance to find a little love. That's the most important thing. When you got a little love, the rest don't seem so strange or sad no more." laura was a complete mess in this book and i love her for it.
i loved beebo (what's not to love about an overconfident, kind of sleezy butch who works an underpaying job because they let her wear pants? she's multifaceted! she's great!!!) and i was really into the passionate hate sex she and laura got up to. by the time laura tells beebo she loves her and beebo says she can't hate her any more, there's nothing left but love (kickass line, imo) and they walk off together toward beebo's apartment on cornelia st (YES TAYLOR SWIFT @ ME I JUST WANT TO TALK), i really didn't buy that they were actually in love with each other. in a lot of ways, this reads to me like laura once again ignoring her real feelings for an idealized view of love, but honestly laura deserves a stretch of doing that in a much less complicated situation, so good for her. fingers crossed the next books about their breakup are banging.
this is a book about LOVE, in a million different forms. i was honestly the most unexpectedly moved by laura's friendship with jack, a gay man, who ends up being her best friend, someone she'd clear out her savings for and someone who'd relentlessly scour new york city for her. jack's the very first person she can talk to about being gay and about her abusive father, in a meaningful contrast to the way she can't talk to marcie.
there's this way that i am a woman articulates how being closeted and carrying around a secret like being gay, especially in the 50s when that was often a lifelong secret, creates a boundary between a person and everyone else. laura is irrevocably lonely and spends the whole book looking for love and connectedness and despite that, still can't actually talk to marcie even when marcie begs her to say something real, to tell her what's going on. even when laura wants to, that barrier remains up. you carry around secrets your whole life, you can't suddenly stop just because you want to, just because someone else wants you to, but once the dam breaks it all comes out. on the relationship between marcie and laura, i loved that it wasn't simple. when laura tells marcie she loves her, marcie isn't horrified because she's homophobic she's horrified because she'd known since they met and was treating laura's love like a game up until she really grew to admire laura and by that point, it was all too late. they're both fucked up by it at the end! their friendship crashes and burns and like beth i assume marcie will show up in the next book married and dead to laura, and that's sexy.
i wasn't that into laura in the first book, to me beth was the star of odd girl out but god is she killer in this. she's fucking up constantly at work, in her friendships, in her romantic life, and she's still fucked up over beth; the whole book she's having an extended mental breakdown and everything feeds into each other. laura vacillates between hopeless sobbing and erratic anger at the drop of a hat, at turns begging people to help her and coldly rebuffing their attempts. she has a breakdown in the arms of a complete stranger on the subway for christ's sake and it leads to one of the best exchanges in the book: "Nobody knows me. I don't even know myself. I don't know what I'm doing here," she said brokenly. "I'm a stranger in this world." / "Everybody's a stranger when you look at it that way. But everybody got a chance to find a little love. That's the most important thing. When you got a little love, the rest don't seem so strange or sad no more." laura was a complete mess in this book and i love her for it.
i loved beebo (what's not to love about an overconfident, kind of sleezy butch who works an underpaying job because they let her wear pants? she's multifaceted! she's great!!!) and i was really into the passionate hate sex she and laura got up to. by the time laura tells beebo she loves her and beebo says she can't hate her any more, there's nothing left but love (kickass line, imo) and they walk off together toward beebo's apartment on cornelia st (YES TAYLOR SWIFT @ ME I JUST WANT TO TALK), i really didn't buy that they were actually in love with each other. in a lot of ways, this reads to me like laura once again ignoring her real feelings for an idealized view of love, but honestly laura deserves a stretch of doing that in a much less complicated situation, so good for her. fingers crossed the next books about their breakup are banging.
February 18, 2017
It's cheesy, it's melodramatic, it's not exactly poetry-- in short, it's pulp. But it's damn delicious, like a big bowl of Lucky Charms marshmallows. I couldn't help comparing it to "Stone Butch Blues" what with the 50s New York gay bar scene setting, but "I Am A Woman" is infinitely more readable and charming and I'd recommend it above "Blues" to anyone interested in pre-Stonewall gay bar history. I can't really fault it for any of its shortcomings (Laura's changing backstory, her dad's supervillain speech, Beebo being bizarrely quick to forgive Laura for 1) Calling her someone else's name during sex 2) using her for sex and 3) insulting her job and gender presentation) because it's all so sincere. Poor old Laura. Good old Jack and Beebo. They're all kind of assholes but I love em anyway. Here's hoping the success of "Carol" leads to an Ann Bannon film adaptation.
Incidentally, who's the busty babe on the cover supposed to be? She doesn't fit the description of a single character in the novel. That's pulp covers for ya.
Incidentally, who's the busty babe on the cover supposed to be? She doesn't fit the description of a single character in the novel. That's pulp covers for ya.
September 5, 2023
In the 1950’s Ann Bannon launched the Lesbian pulp fiction genre. She broke through the isolation and shame that is typically portrayed in these novels and instead offered women characters who embraced their sexuality. For being created so long ago this still hit so close to home and I couldn’t put it down.
Who doesn’t want a Beebo love story? 🥹
Although it takes you through a series of emotions it was so fun to read and so highly relatable.
Who doesn’t want a Beebo love story? 🥹
Although it takes you through a series of emotions it was so fun to read and so highly relatable.
February 20, 2023
Love what this is- for her bravery of writing the book alone. Also cant get enough 1950’s lesbian yearning.
February 25, 2013
1959 was a hard time to be gay or lesbian, even in Greenwich Village where (apparently) a buck could buy you three drinks in a gay bar and leave you with enough change for a phone call!
Sweet young lesbian Laura Landon has run away from an overbearing father and is trying to make it on her own in the Big Apple. She falls in love with her straight roommate, becomes the obsession of a tough butch, and fails at her office job. Fortunately she has a great gay guy friend named Jack who is there for her when she needs it - and she needs it a lot.
Poor Laura whines a lot and she makes some bad choices. Sometimes you feel like slapping her until you remember that she's just twenty and from the Midwest and it's 1959: she's never listened to Lady Gaga or heard of Ellen or seen a "It Get's Better" video on YouTube.
Sweet young lesbian Laura Landon has run away from an overbearing father and is trying to make it on her own in the Big Apple. She falls in love with her straight roommate, becomes the obsession of a tough butch, and fails at her office job. Fortunately she has a great gay guy friend named Jack who is there for her when she needs it - and she needs it a lot.
Poor Laura whines a lot and she makes some bad choices. Sometimes you feel like slapping her until you remember that she's just twenty and from the Midwest and it's 1959: she's never listened to Lady Gaga or heard of Ellen or seen a "It Get's Better" video on YouTube.
February 6, 2010
Laura Landon is somewhat less self-hating than she was in Odd Girl Out, but she is still pretty freaking annoying. Also totally outshined by the cynical alcoholic Jack Mann, who introduces her to '50s Greenwich Village gay culture, and butch-tastic Beebo Brinker.
July 26, 2023
Another fantastic novel by Ann Bannon following the winding life of the main character Laura. I seem to never get bored of Bannon’s novels. Even as a sequel, I was constantly intrigued by a character I’m not partial to. I think that is important to state because a lot of people can’t read/enjoy books that have an “unlikable” protagonist. I personally don’t like to let that stop me from reading a book—hence why I still continue to read about Laura’s life. This book is filled with unique experiences that make me shiver in excitement. I love meeting all the characters that Laura comes into contact with. I feel as if I can insert myself into her world as if I am the angel or devil on her shoulder.
I will say that whilst reading this book I was met with the privilege of connecting to this book so easily because I am white. Every single character in this book is white. The only non-white person is an older Black woman who is written with racist descriptions layered in stereotypes. I was very ashamed that Ann Bannon put this part in, but it also made me realize that Ann Bannon fails to be inclusive in her books. It makes me sad because she is such an incredible writer who is so obviously ignorant about people that aren’t white. Even with all the love I have for this book, I cannot ignore the racism that Ann Bannon conveys in her writing. I also can’t diverge from realizing my own privilege in the books that I read. A huge part for my interest in this book is because I can connect to the story and I bet a main part is because all the characters are white. So along with Ann Bannon being ignorant, I too am ignorant to the non-inclusiveness of her novels.
This book has opened so many doors into imagining who I am. It has helped me in ways to connect with myself and my own thoughts. Every chapter I read, I grow with Laura. I age in maturity with every page I turn. I am in love with Ann Bannon’s Beebo Brinker novels and the excitement, anger, shock, and revelations that come with it.
I will say that whilst reading this book I was met with the privilege of connecting to this book so easily because I am white. Every single character in this book is white. The only non-white person is an older Black woman who is written with racist descriptions layered in stereotypes. I was very ashamed that Ann Bannon put this part in, but it also made me realize that Ann Bannon fails to be inclusive in her books. It makes me sad because she is such an incredible writer who is so obviously ignorant about people that aren’t white. Even with all the love I have for this book, I cannot ignore the racism that Ann Bannon conveys in her writing. I also can’t diverge from realizing my own privilege in the books that I read. A huge part for my interest in this book is because I can connect to the story and I bet a main part is because all the characters are white. So along with Ann Bannon being ignorant, I too am ignorant to the non-inclusiveness of her novels.
This book has opened so many doors into imagining who I am. It has helped me in ways to connect with myself and my own thoughts. Every chapter I read, I grow with Laura. I age in maturity with every page I turn. I am in love with Ann Bannon’s Beebo Brinker novels and the excitement, anger, shock, and revelations that come with it.
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December 14, 2023DIOS MIOOOOOOOOOO Q ME VA EL CORAZÓN A MIL Q dramon q romance LO amo y odio amarlo porque apoya la idea de amor romántico idílico pero Esq quiero leer más y. Mas y massssssss
Lo q quiero decir esque es un pulp fiction pero es buenísimo para alimentar la adolescente q sigue habiendo en ti (es fuerte)
Lo q quiero decir esque es un pulp fiction pero es buenísimo para alimentar la adolescente q sigue habiendo en ti (es fuerte)
November 9, 2007
I've never read a book all the way through in one sitting, and started again from the beginning immedately, as I have with I Am a Woman.
I don't like new fiction. I resist it fighting tooth and nail. My partner brought this book home to me while on an extended trip and recommended it. I'd seen Bannon's books for many years and had resisted them for some reason. I was an idiot. I must have been seated while reading this book, but I don't remember it. All I remember is being levitated right off the sofa by the raw passion of Bannon's words. I think my body was actually sore for several days afterward because it was so tensed while reading it. I don't understand the physics of how ink and paper tranfers energy like that.
These books were love letters Bannon wrote to women she was unable to join. This one was publishe din 1959. Bannon uses Laura Landon again, tightly controlled Laura who is unable to mask her desires and embodies her passion as a "column of fire." Laura's a bit older and braver from Odd Girl Out, but again her passion spills out of the pages in brightly colored light. And Laura meets her match in the equally passionate character of Beebo Brinker, who is so arresting and irresistable, one can't help being impressed with her to the point of infatuation.
Bannon visited the gay bars of Greenwich Village on short trips for the duration of one year while she was living in Philadelphia. She created Beebo Brinker because she felt she needed to - no one existed who was like her. She walked this tightrope between wanting to be with these women in Greenwich Vilage and honoring her obligations made by a woman steeped in a traditional upbringing. It's no wonder Laura is wound so tightly. Oh, to have been able to see her (and Bannon) finally realize those moments when she was free enough to be herself.
Read the story of Bannon's life as it explains her books, and as the books explain her life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bannon (I wrote that, too...)
I don't like new fiction. I resist it fighting tooth and nail. My partner brought this book home to me while on an extended trip and recommended it. I'd seen Bannon's books for many years and had resisted them for some reason. I was an idiot. I must have been seated while reading this book, but I don't remember it. All I remember is being levitated right off the sofa by the raw passion of Bannon's words. I think my body was actually sore for several days afterward because it was so tensed while reading it. I don't understand the physics of how ink and paper tranfers energy like that.
These books were love letters Bannon wrote to women she was unable to join. This one was publishe din 1959. Bannon uses Laura Landon again, tightly controlled Laura who is unable to mask her desires and embodies her passion as a "column of fire." Laura's a bit older and braver from Odd Girl Out, but again her passion spills out of the pages in brightly colored light. And Laura meets her match in the equally passionate character of Beebo Brinker, who is so arresting and irresistable, one can't help being impressed with her to the point of infatuation.
Bannon visited the gay bars of Greenwich Village on short trips for the duration of one year while she was living in Philadelphia. She created Beebo Brinker because she felt she needed to - no one existed who was like her. She walked this tightrope between wanting to be with these women in Greenwich Vilage and honoring her obligations made by a woman steeped in a traditional upbringing. It's no wonder Laura is wound so tightly. Oh, to have been able to see her (and Bannon) finally realize those moments when she was free enough to be herself.
Read the story of Bannon's life as it explains her books, and as the books explain her life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bannon (I wrote that, too...)
September 20, 2022
“𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒.”
“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛?”
“𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙. 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙. 𝑉𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟.”
“𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦, 𝐿𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑎. 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠, 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑥. 𝑊𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡."
——
I have been meaning to read a Beebo Brinker book for ages. The iconic lesbian pulp novels are legendary for a reason and I really loved this. It was funny, relatable and not at all what I expected. While I know the authors rarely had much control over the covers of pulp novels I expected something more salacious and tragic but instead what I got was an honest and emphatic portrayal of lesbianism. The story is the second in the series but still works as a stand alone (I haven’t read the first one) and follows Laura after the woman that helped her realise she was gay married a man. Laura moves to New York to escape her controlling father’s influence and tries to build a life there as a closeted but awakened lesbian. Naturally she falls head over heels in love with her very straight roommate, because of course she does. I really enjoyed the earnest portrayal of crushes in the book, the contrasts between the more seasoned gay characters and Laura and the way it presents the passing on of knowledge in the gay community. Most same-sex attracted people know the feeling of falling in love/having a crush on a straight person and I thought it depicted the subject in a relatable and funny way without trivialising it. In fact the experience is one that unites her with the other gay characters she meets. The book was genuinely hilarious- partly as a product of its time and partly intentionally. There were many moments where I couldn’t believe it was written in the 50s. I also really loved the butch love interest that was Beebo Brinker herself, and the exploration of how gender presentation impacts and informs the gay experience. I really enjoyed it, it was a fun read and no one died at the end!
“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛?”
“𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙. 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙. 𝑉𝑢𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟.”
“𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦, 𝐿𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑎. 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠, 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑥. 𝑊𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡."
——
I have been meaning to read a Beebo Brinker book for ages. The iconic lesbian pulp novels are legendary for a reason and I really loved this. It was funny, relatable and not at all what I expected. While I know the authors rarely had much control over the covers of pulp novels I expected something more salacious and tragic but instead what I got was an honest and emphatic portrayal of lesbianism. The story is the second in the series but still works as a stand alone (I haven’t read the first one) and follows Laura after the woman that helped her realise she was gay married a man. Laura moves to New York to escape her controlling father’s influence and tries to build a life there as a closeted but awakened lesbian. Naturally she falls head over heels in love with her very straight roommate, because of course she does. I really enjoyed the earnest portrayal of crushes in the book, the contrasts between the more seasoned gay characters and Laura and the way it presents the passing on of knowledge in the gay community. Most same-sex attracted people know the feeling of falling in love/having a crush on a straight person and I thought it depicted the subject in a relatable and funny way without trivialising it. In fact the experience is one that unites her with the other gay characters she meets. The book was genuinely hilarious- partly as a product of its time and partly intentionally. There were many moments where I couldn’t believe it was written in the 50s. I also really loved the butch love interest that was Beebo Brinker herself, and the exploration of how gender presentation impacts and informs the gay experience. I really enjoyed it, it was a fun read and no one died at the end!
December 10, 2012
With apologies by the author for the silly title this is a truly great pulp lesbian novel, actually it's truly great period. Maybe it was growing up in a repressive evangelical christian household in a tiny village but I so identified with the frustration and repression faced by the queer characters in this book. They were all so passionate, it seemed like nearly all the conversations were fights, or mixtures of sarcasm and wit. It was a lovely idealistic portrayal of queer life in New York. The characters over dramatic and tragic were wonderful. I loved all of Sarah's conversations with Jack the older alcoholic gay man who took her under his wing. Despite being the 50s, despite the stereotypes it all felt very real to me. Beebo was fantastic, sarcastic and sensitive. Laura was so confused, a bitch and totally mental but you still felt sorry for her. Jack was fantastic. Marci was probably the least dynamic or interesting character, though even by the end I was warming up to her a little. This was such a fun book, yet so pulled at your heartstrings reading about the problems of queers in New York at that time. Despite the time difference they were people that you knew and hung out with. I can picture the bar they all hung out in perfectly. I feel like there was real wit and wisdom in this book. All told I think I probably preferred it slightly to Beebo Brinker, but then I think that is because I identify more with Laura than Beebo. (Shy book reading type that she was). I will definitely have to read the rest of the series.
September 16, 2021
I don't remember when I've run into the astonishing world of Ann Bannon, but I sure was so much looking forward to her fiction, for the sake of peculiarities of the characters, but her intelligence, her wit humor, and generally the topics she covers within her series is reflecting what level of mindest, the consciousness of capturing the female's psychic, without any stereotype, and her dedication she puts there on her work, is really impressive to me.
I am a woman is a part of 4 books series, but just jumping into the 2nd book, without any background knowledge of what's going on whatsoever, the reader is struck with how interestingly enough the novel started with a mysterious less talkative character until we get under her skin, her anxiety, her passions, her fears, her father figure and her childhood trauma, and neglect, panicking, denial, that Laura seems way much familiar, like an old friend, or even as a reflection of our own repressing of identity, or unsolved issues, or undeveloped ego, just as how we see her through this series, and how she devoples and discovering herself, and the interaction with others.
The plot is simply the tangle of a bunch of people, as they are trying to navigate through life, and it's a mix between the song that the Raincoats once wrote, which is named Lolla, and Susie Myerson from The show Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Just as the main character is a spoiled bourgeois' lady with unresolved issues with her husband, this novel is just the same, except that there's now a queer roommate with this lady and her beloved left clerk, whose gender expression is getting bullied.
Beebo is a gender-fluid queer, whose social state, along with her genderlly misbehaving for the job she works on, pretending to be a guy, seems to be challenging the stereotypical role for a woman. A gender rebel that is no good than drinking herself till being drunk, just as how the old men within the middle classes during the 1930s do, yet she's very much capable of having the space for affairs. It seems to me that the once most infortunein life, socially, financially, are the ones who are more capable of exchanging and receiving compassion, trust, and intimacy and that is what we see in Beebo.
You’re ridiculous,” she said. “You’re a little girl trying to be a little boy. And you run an elevator for the privilege. Grow up, Beebo. You’ll never be a little boy. Or a big boy. You just haven’t got what it takes. Not all the elevators in the world can make a boy of you. You can wear pants till you’re blue in the face and it won’t change what’s underneath.”
The story seems to be a coming-of-age novel, where the protagonist, just as the protagonist of Plath on the bell jar, travels to NYC to discover herself, her growing desires and passion, and her unresolved issues all seems to be haunting her even through New York. Through this novel, we see all kinds and types of love, and as an astrology hoe, it's hard not to track these patterns down.
Lura seems to be having an arise venus, she's blindly impulsive toward a forbidden passion that will cause her nothing but disappointment, yet she seems to be aggressive and dismissive towards those who actually love her, yet an old lover of hers, is still haunting her, blinding her even more for seeing people as they are, and rather self-projecting her ex on them
I was a fool, a blind fool. I wouldn’t listen.” She was thinking of all the warnings
from Jack and Beebo that she willfully ignored.
“You loved love. It showed in all you said to me when we first met. You
needed love and you went looking for it. You went looking for
another Beth. You were bound to find her. You found her in every
female face that appealed to you.
The captures of the pushing and fighting of love, intimacy, and desires, keeping yourself occupied with work and job so you still have a persona and you are independent away from passion, is also a trait of an arise venus, that kept skimming in and out of commitments.
She needed something else to keep her perspective, her independence.
Marcie, on the other hand, had the stereotypical image of a blonde bimbo. She seems to be having a Sagittarius Venus, she's not intellectualizing love, it's just instinct for her, she knows nothing about affection and mutual admiration, but just the play-acting and the friskiness of love.
Laura, I had no idea you could love like
that. I didn’t know it could be beautiful or touching, or tragic. I
thought it was mostly play-acting. I thought the only real love was
between men and women. But you made it beautiful, Laura. I don’t
know what else to call it. I’m ashamed. Clear through my soul.
Terry seems to be a Leo venus, who loves to possess money, gifts, and seek to be the center of the attention, yet he also loved it when he's being demanded with a bit of toughness
Terry rolled over and looked at him. He was a medium-sized well-built boy, bright and handsome and easily bored, affectionate by nature, but spoiled, quick with his temper and
quick with his generosity. He was not quite sure, being young and
desirable if he was in love with Jack. He liked being admired by a
lot of people. But he was not the money-grubber Jack had painted
for Laura. He liked to be dominated and he was waiting for Jack to
make a move in that direction.
He likes to be shoved around a little.
But whatever their style and the type of love is, that every individual possesses, love, and connection as a human needs seems to be a necessity in life, that bonds people together, through support and caretaking, and that's the journey.
I don’t know what
I’m doing here,” she said brokenly. “I’m a stranger in this world.”
“Well, now,” said the woman, “Everybody’s a stranger when
you look at it that way. But everybody got a chance to find a little
love. That’s the most important thing. When you got a little love,
the rest don’t seem so strange or sad no more. There now, honey,
there now.”
The way Ann captures the queer community, revolving around bars, and mutual friends during the 50s, and their conflict with power, hasn't changed a bit from nowadays, and it's still relative as today.
I am a woman is a part of 4 books series, but just jumping into the 2nd book, without any background knowledge of what's going on whatsoever, the reader is struck with how interestingly enough the novel started with a mysterious less talkative character until we get under her skin, her anxiety, her passions, her fears, her father figure and her childhood trauma, and neglect, panicking, denial, that Laura seems way much familiar, like an old friend, or even as a reflection of our own repressing of identity, or unsolved issues, or undeveloped ego, just as how we see her through this series, and how she devoples and discovering herself, and the interaction with others.
The plot is simply the tangle of a bunch of people, as they are trying to navigate through life, and it's a mix between the song that the Raincoats once wrote, which is named Lolla, and Susie Myerson from The show Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Just as the main character is a spoiled bourgeois' lady with unresolved issues with her husband, this novel is just the same, except that there's now a queer roommate with this lady and her beloved left clerk, whose gender expression is getting bullied.
Beebo is a gender-fluid queer, whose social state, along with her genderlly misbehaving for the job she works on, pretending to be a guy, seems to be challenging the stereotypical role for a woman. A gender rebel that is no good than drinking herself till being drunk, just as how the old men within the middle classes during the 1930s do, yet she's very much capable of having the space for affairs. It seems to me that the once most infortunein life, socially, financially, are the ones who are more capable of exchanging and receiving compassion, trust, and intimacy and that is what we see in Beebo.
You’re ridiculous,” she said. “You’re a little girl trying to be a little boy. And you run an elevator for the privilege. Grow up, Beebo. You’ll never be a little boy. Or a big boy. You just haven’t got what it takes. Not all the elevators in the world can make a boy of you. You can wear pants till you’re blue in the face and it won’t change what’s underneath.”
The story seems to be a coming-of-age novel, where the protagonist, just as the protagonist of Plath on the bell jar, travels to NYC to discover herself, her growing desires and passion, and her unresolved issues all seems to be haunting her even through New York. Through this novel, we see all kinds and types of love, and as an astrology hoe, it's hard not to track these patterns down.
Lura seems to be having an arise venus, she's blindly impulsive toward a forbidden passion that will cause her nothing but disappointment, yet she seems to be aggressive and dismissive towards those who actually love her, yet an old lover of hers, is still haunting her, blinding her even more for seeing people as they are, and rather self-projecting her ex on them
I was a fool, a blind fool. I wouldn’t listen.” She was thinking of all the warnings
from Jack and Beebo that she willfully ignored.
“You loved love. It showed in all you said to me when we first met. You
needed love and you went looking for it. You went looking for
another Beth. You were bound to find her. You found her in every
female face that appealed to you.
The captures of the pushing and fighting of love, intimacy, and desires, keeping yourself occupied with work and job so you still have a persona and you are independent away from passion, is also a trait of an arise venus, that kept skimming in and out of commitments.
She needed something else to keep her perspective, her independence.
Marcie, on the other hand, had the stereotypical image of a blonde bimbo. She seems to be having a Sagittarius Venus, she's not intellectualizing love, it's just instinct for her, she knows nothing about affection and mutual admiration, but just the play-acting and the friskiness of love.
Laura, I had no idea you could love like
that. I didn’t know it could be beautiful or touching, or tragic. I
thought it was mostly play-acting. I thought the only real love was
between men and women. But you made it beautiful, Laura. I don’t
know what else to call it. I’m ashamed. Clear through my soul.
Terry seems to be a Leo venus, who loves to possess money, gifts, and seek to be the center of the attention, yet he also loved it when he's being demanded with a bit of toughness
Terry rolled over and looked at him. He was a medium-sized well-built boy, bright and handsome and easily bored, affectionate by nature, but spoiled, quick with his temper and
quick with his generosity. He was not quite sure, being young and
desirable if he was in love with Jack. He liked being admired by a
lot of people. But he was not the money-grubber Jack had painted
for Laura. He liked to be dominated and he was waiting for Jack to
make a move in that direction.
He likes to be shoved around a little.
But whatever their style and the type of love is, that every individual possesses, love, and connection as a human needs seems to be a necessity in life, that bonds people together, through support and caretaking, and that's the journey.
I don’t know what
I’m doing here,” she said brokenly. “I’m a stranger in this world.”
“Well, now,” said the woman, “Everybody’s a stranger when
you look at it that way. But everybody got a chance to find a little
love. That’s the most important thing. When you got a little love,
the rest don’t seem so strange or sad no more. There now, honey,
there now.”
The way Ann captures the queer community, revolving around bars, and mutual friends during the 50s, and their conflict with power, hasn't changed a bit from nowadays, and it's still relative as today.
June 22, 2017
Kept me turning the pages but the plot was a bit scattered. The characterization was great, even if I didn't agree with some (many) of their actions. The ending was way too fast. Looking forward to seeing what happens between those two in the next book.
December 15, 2023
when you're in a neurotic-off and your opponent is laura landon :0
July 16, 2020
This series is so interesting from a literary and sociological perspective and what really struck me is so many of the conversations the characters have are ones that my friends and I have all the time in 2020, yet this book was published in 1959.
The blossoming friendship between gay man Jack and lesbian Laura is incredibly touching and well written, and I really love the solidarity and paralelled experiences between them. It reminded me of friendships I have with gay men as a Lesbian, and sometimes i just laughed and shook my head and thought gays really are all the same and some things never change. It was really nice to see the gay best friend trope done in this way, instead of jack being a straight womans pet, he becomes an almost mentor to a lesbian and they unite in their similar problems, and towards the beginning *spoiler* he is the one who tells her she is a lesbian. It's much closer to reality both characters and their friendships feel so three dimensional and real and I didnt realise how much I needed to see that portrayed. Nobody but a lesbian could have written that, and ann bannon I salute you for getting gay friendships so right despite being closeted and in many ways just an observer of the queer community. The real love story of this series seems to be the one between laura and jack.
On the other hand, this book made me extremely sad, and frustrated. The way butches are portrayed (beebo) is really horrible. I understand that this was the 1950s, but what made me sad is just how little the perception of butches and gender non conforming women has changed. and you can feel and see the internalised homophobia bannon was dealing with pervading each word sometimes.
It made me miss hanging around a shitty bar with my friends, giving eachother the same advice that we wont follow ourselves in the smoking area, meeting someone on a lesbian club night and having an instant bond because youve both just been through so much, the way my gay friends protect me and look out for me, they way we're all disasters but try and help eachother be less disasterous. Light teasing between the gay men and lesbians poking fun at eachother for making the same mistakes and for the ways we follow our corresponding stereotypes, making a whole crowd laugh with an inside joke we all somehow know and sometimes acting like teenagers in our twenties because we never got to do teenage stuff in our adolescence, our dark and macabre and surreal sense of humour and ability to laugh in the face of anything.
And for all the fun that can bring sometimes, and how much I miss it, it comes from a dark place, and for all the beauty in our community so much toxicity can grow because there's so much suffering underneath. And this book portrays that, and I have started the sequel and can see it continues to unwrap this. And it makes me sad. Because little has changed.
This is such an important series and in some ways its incredibly subversive, and honestly the more i read the more I am surprised with how good it actually is, and how relevant it still is. This book is funny, camp, bleak, hopeful, romantic and sensual all at once.
The blossoming friendship between gay man Jack and lesbian Laura is incredibly touching and well written, and I really love the solidarity and paralelled experiences between them. It reminded me of friendships I have with gay men as a Lesbian, and sometimes i just laughed and shook my head and thought gays really are all the same and some things never change. It was really nice to see the gay best friend trope done in this way, instead of jack being a straight womans pet, he becomes an almost mentor to a lesbian and they unite in their similar problems, and towards the beginning *spoiler* he is the one who tells her she is a lesbian. It's much closer to reality both characters and their friendships feel so three dimensional and real and I didnt realise how much I needed to see that portrayed. Nobody but a lesbian could have written that, and ann bannon I salute you for getting gay friendships so right despite being closeted and in many ways just an observer of the queer community. The real love story of this series seems to be the one between laura and jack.
On the other hand, this book made me extremely sad, and frustrated. The way butches are portrayed (beebo) is really horrible. I understand that this was the 1950s, but what made me sad is just how little the perception of butches and gender non conforming women has changed. and you can feel and see the internalised homophobia bannon was dealing with pervading each word sometimes.
It made me miss hanging around a shitty bar with my friends, giving eachother the same advice that we wont follow ourselves in the smoking area, meeting someone on a lesbian club night and having an instant bond because youve both just been through so much, the way my gay friends protect me and look out for me, they way we're all disasters but try and help eachother be less disasterous. Light teasing between the gay men and lesbians poking fun at eachother for making the same mistakes and for the ways we follow our corresponding stereotypes, making a whole crowd laugh with an inside joke we all somehow know and sometimes acting like teenagers in our twenties because we never got to do teenage stuff in our adolescence, our dark and macabre and surreal sense of humour and ability to laugh in the face of anything.
And for all the fun that can bring sometimes, and how much I miss it, it comes from a dark place, and for all the beauty in our community so much toxicity can grow because there's so much suffering underneath. And this book portrays that, and I have started the sequel and can see it continues to unwrap this. And it makes me sad. Because little has changed.
This is such an important series and in some ways its incredibly subversive, and honestly the more i read the more I am surprised with how good it actually is, and how relevant it still is. This book is funny, camp, bleak, hopeful, romantic and sensual all at once.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2024
tengo que reconocer que me cuesta mucho ser justa con esta novela. los comportamientos que exhiben los personajes son muy problemáticos.
January 14, 2023
Laura gets a job as a secretary in New York and starts living with a roommate, Marcie, whom she becomes infatuated with. Marcie, however, is straight. Meanwhile, Laura also discovers gay bars and meets Beebo Brinker, a woman who is much more confidant and comfortable in her sexuality. There develops a sort of love-triange wherein Laura is torn between her feelings for Marcie and Beebo. Laura is again kind of a frustrating main character, as she insists that she knows better than everyone else and ignores their warnings only to spiral into hysterical bouts of crying.
Laura's family is retconned so that, rather than having divorced parents, her mother and brother drowned in a horrible boating accident. Her father could only save one and he chose Laura and regreted it ever since.
I loved the character of Jack, a gay man who takes Laura under his wing. The best parts of the novel for me were Laura's friendship with Jack and her relationship with Beebo. Also enjoyed the snapshot into Greenwich Village in the 50s. However, I got awfully tired of all the drama around Marcie and Laura's father (rather than just ignoring him because he was awful and abusive, Laura repeatedly goes to the hotel she knows he's staying at again and again and again until they finally run into each other.)
Laura's family is retconned so that, rather than having divorced parents, her mother and brother drowned in a horrible boating accident. Her father could only save one and he chose Laura and regreted it ever since.
I loved the character of Jack, a gay man who takes Laura under his wing. The best parts of the novel for me were Laura's friendship with Jack and her relationship with Beebo. Also enjoyed the snapshot into Greenwich Village in the 50s. However, I got awfully tired of all the drama around Marcie and Laura's father (rather than just ignoring him because he was awful and abusive, Laura repeatedly goes to the hotel she knows he's staying at again and again and again until they finally run into each other.)
December 15, 2018
This is the fourth lesbian pulp novel I've read, and the best one so far! (Before this, I've read The Price of Salt, Women's Barracks, and the first book in the Beebo Brinker series, Odd Girl Out.)
There were a few moments of the LGBT experience that made me laugh with how true they were:
"They looked at her - her own kind - from the bar and the tables, and didn't recognize her. And Laura looked around at them and thought, I'm one of you. Help me." This is honestly part of my modern-day femme experience, and I'm sure it can apply to other experiences as well.
After Jack and Laura duck out of a double date where they were pretending to be a straight couple: "As soon as they were in the street Jack sighed, 'God. I couldn't have stood another minute of it. Straight people are so depressing.'"
Read this book with the knowledge that some of the social ideas will make the modern mind cringe a little. Despite that, it is entertaining and such a lovely representation of lesbian pulp novels.
There were a few moments of the LGBT experience that made me laugh with how true they were:
"They looked at her - her own kind - from the bar and the tables, and didn't recognize her. And Laura looked around at them and thought, I'm one of you. Help me." This is honestly part of my modern-day femme experience, and I'm sure it can apply to other experiences as well.
After Jack and Laura duck out of a double date where they were pretending to be a straight couple: "As soon as they were in the street Jack sighed, 'God. I couldn't have stood another minute of it. Straight people are so depressing.'"
Read this book with the knowledge that some of the social ideas will make the modern mind cringe a little. Despite that, it is entertaining and such a lovely representation of lesbian pulp novels.
July 2, 2021
a caveat: this is probably closer to a 3.75 and it's also not a 4 by most standards of literature, but it *is* a 4 if we're rating it by pulp standards
anyway this book is a blast lmao. laura was unbearable in odd girl out but in this book she spends the whole time having an identity crisis and being the messiest bitch alive. it's absolutely delicious and very fun to read! bannon's writing improved tremendously between books, both in terms of prose--it goes around in circles far less than the previous book and is far less. uh. turgid--and character development. every single gay person this book operates on an unhinged frequency that would kill mike pence on impact. i love jack, i would kill a man for butch icon beebo and her stupid name.
there are a few things that made my enjoyment falter, such as throwing around the word 'rape' like it was a trivial thing (also when the encounters in question are consensual), and laura being sexually assaulted by her father, which felt like bannon trying to conform to genre/publisher standards more than anything. don't worry, laura nearly kills him with an ashtray. but her having the freudian excuse of fearing men bc of her father and being a lesbian because of that is a little cheap imo.
anyway this book is a blast lmao. laura was unbearable in odd girl out but in this book she spends the whole time having an identity crisis and being the messiest bitch alive. it's absolutely delicious and very fun to read! bannon's writing improved tremendously between books, both in terms of prose--it goes around in circles far less than the previous book and is far less. uh. turgid--and character development. every single gay person this book operates on an unhinged frequency that would kill mike pence on impact. i love jack, i would kill a man for butch icon beebo and her stupid name.
there are a few things that made my enjoyment falter, such as throwing around the word 'rape' like it was a trivial thing (also when the encounters in question are consensual), and laura being sexually assaulted by her father, which felt like bannon trying to conform to genre/publisher standards more than anything. don't worry, laura nearly kills him with an ashtray. but her having the freudian excuse of fearing men bc of her father and being a lesbian because of that is a little cheap imo.
October 24, 2024
although i hate ¾ of the characters, the story fckd me up in a good way (as odd girl out did); Laura's relationship w his father broke me inside dude, and the way it ended, omggg i was CRYING.
I love the plot twists at the end, everything ended up so fast and abruptly but it seemed correct bc of how bad Laura's mental health was, like i cant even call her stupid anymore, she was out of her mind fr, and honestly i kinda like that it made sense her character was so impulsive and emotionally unstable bc of her backstory, she aint no Mary Jane.
It was so hard to process tho, i have to admit i got tired of Laura's crap at some point but whatever.
The thing i hated—and idgaf if it was the 60s, cause it was awful to read— is how romantized abuse is 💀, like, u dont need to fucking almost SA someone bc you are "dominant" 💀💀💀, and i mention this bc i thought that Ann Bannon's ahead-of-her-time way of thinking wouldn't glorify abuse. 😭😭😔
I get all the misogynistic behaviors of male characters (and the casual racism too 💀) cause it WAS characteristic of the time but i swear THAT SCENE and Beebo's behaviors wasnt necessary omg, just yuck 😭😭😭
good book tho, would read it again <3
I love the plot twists at the end, everything ended up so fast and abruptly but it seemed correct bc of how bad Laura's mental health was, like i cant even call her stupid anymore, she was out of her mind fr, and honestly i kinda like that it made sense her character was so impulsive and emotionally unstable bc of her backstory, she aint no Mary Jane.
It was so hard to process tho, i have to admit i got tired of Laura's crap at some point but whatever.
The thing i hated—and idgaf if it was the 60s, cause it was awful to read— is how romantized abuse is 💀, like, u dont need to fucking almost SA someone bc you are "dominant" 💀💀💀, and i mention this bc i thought that Ann Bannon's ahead-of-her-time way of thinking wouldn't glorify abuse. 😭😭😔
I get all the misogynistic behaviors of male characters (and the casual racism too 💀) cause it WAS characteristic of the time but i swear THAT SCENE and Beebo's behaviors wasnt necessary omg, just yuck 😭😭😭
good book tho, would read it again <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2022
This novel is a pretty entertaining read about a neurotic lesbian who’s in love with her room mate and crying all the time and a interesting snapshot of the gay scene in new york at that time.
The romance between beebo and laura is for the most part engaging and endearing especially the last scene where beebo says she can’t hate her anymore and so has no choice but to love her. I can see why this would appeal to many gay people at the time seeing as they do get a somewhat happy ending.
I also loved the characters of jack without whom the novel would have been a lot more dull. the writing didn’t blow me away but it’s pulp so i mean i wasn’t expecting too much and it wasn’t badly written which i count as a win
However you have so glaze over a large parts of it to make it remotely readable. lots of the romance scenes are incredibly rapey and it has some incredibly outdated views on sexuality which the author even addresses in an introduction in the new printing of the book.
the weird incest bit at the end just grossed me out but i guess that was the point it just wasn’t for me
The romance between beebo and laura is for the most part engaging and endearing especially the last scene where beebo says she can’t hate her anymore and so has no choice but to love her. I can see why this would appeal to many gay people at the time seeing as they do get a somewhat happy ending.
I also loved the characters of jack without whom the novel would have been a lot more dull. the writing didn’t blow me away but it’s pulp so i mean i wasn’t expecting too much and it wasn’t badly written which i count as a win
However you have so glaze over a large parts of it to make it remotely readable. lots of the romance scenes are incredibly rapey and it has some incredibly outdated views on sexuality which the author even addresses in an introduction in the new printing of the book.
the weird incest bit at the end just grossed me out but i guess that was the point it just wasn’t for me
October 19, 2025
Look, I know what you’re thinking: what happened, the series started off perfectly, and the prequel was even better, expanding the world, fleshing out characters—how can the second novel in Bannon’s cult-classic Greenwich Village lesbian pulp fiction series suddenly take this big a nosedive? Easy answer: it’s a bad novel. Better answer: it’s a good idea gone wrong. Things start smoothly with the typical pulp fiction melodrama and romance. It gets better: Beebo Brinker’s introduction to the mainline series, and in fact her worldwide debut! She is just as charming with Laura as with Venus and Paula, and her handsome good looks and wisecracks are all good fun. Until page 98 where Beebo Brinker makes a crack about sexual misconduct. And the unsavory (to our modern-day understanding) jokes and comments and ideas and tropes come crashing down, forcing the novel to paint a pretty vulgar picture of Laura, who in this book is extremely irritating and unkind, as well as Beebo and even the wonderful (previously) Jack Mann. And do not get me started on Laura, my goodness what a character change for the worse. I understand where Bannon was going—Laura was emotional manipulated and highly abused as a child after all—but to imply that her abuse directly caused her lesbianism and for her to make a series of transphobic remarks toward Beebo Brinker and for her to constantly act all sorry for herself throughout the course of this two-hundred-page novel… By the end, I missed the old Laura, the shy bookworm from “Odd Girl Out”. However, there is one golden star I will award this second entry, other than Bannon’s a-plus writing: Laura’s overcoming of Beth’s memory and love. Well done, Bannon, and cleverly so I might add. Even so, this does little to undermine the glaring flaws this novel has to offer, including the ending which feels as insulting as a slap in the face. Let’s hope the third entry returns the series to its frankly better literary roots.
October 23, 2019
Second book in Ann Bannon's Beebo Chronicles. Really loved this. Laura moves to New York right after the end of the previous book and this follows her falling into a queer community in the Village. Of course, crushing, making out, heartbreak ensue. Laura is still a sweet ingenue and has a lot to learn about love and feelings and crushes. I hope things get easier for her! :'(
Also, I wanna say, despite these covers or what "lesbian pulp" would make you expect in a book, these books so far have a lot of emotional intensity, interpersonal interplay, you feel like you could be in these worlds with them. This isn't exactly prurient. They are relationship books which center queer women, and most interesting of all is the world they portray, which is a world very very different from the queer world we know now! An interesting way to learn how our queer ancestors had to navigate difficult terrain!
Also, I wanna say, despite these covers or what "lesbian pulp" would make you expect in a book, these books so far have a lot of emotional intensity, interpersonal interplay, you feel like you could be in these worlds with them. This isn't exactly prurient. They are relationship books which center queer women, and most interesting of all is the world they portray, which is a world very very different from the queer world we know now! An interesting way to learn how our queer ancestors had to navigate difficult terrain!
August 8, 2025
For its era and genre, this book really is groundbreaking. Yeah, it doesn't have a straightforwardly happily-ever-after ending. But it isn't an unmitigated disaster in which the protagonist resolves herself to being with a man, or realises she isn't really a lesbian, or what have you. Which puts it in the upper tier of 50s lesbian pulp inherently. Plus, this has some genuinely fun characters. Jack and Beebo are great new contributors. And while Laura herself is an utter and complete goddamn mess, it's understandable. She's really young, and really inexperienced, and hasn't really accepted herself yet, and is making a series of fairly understandably bad decisions consequently. It's tiring, but it's not bad characterisation. So as far as I'm concerned, this is the most rewarding and entertaining lesbian pulp published as of its date of printing.
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