Alma Rose

by Edith Forbes

A young woman who has spent her entire life in a small, dusty town off the Interstate, working at her pop's mercantile, has her life thrown into chaos when a vivacious, cowboy-booted trucker, rolls into town.

Genres: Fiction, Lesbian, LGBT, Queer, Romance, Adult Fiction, Lesbian Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home-spun story about a woman who sculpts her lover's sleeping figure in a mountainside, as catharsis, and the conflict it brings to her small tight-knit, right-leaning, low-key community for whom the highway and the world has passed by.

Starts slow, builds up nicely, and has some excellent observations about human nature that are apropos to our current political condition.

The ending was, at first blush, a disappointment until I gave myself time to think about it... No big declaration, no big exclamation point, but actually quite in line with the nature of the main protagonist and the town in which she lived.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this when I need a good cry. Beautiful and sad, a love story of the truest kind. Wouldn't you want someone to be so haunted by you she or he would do the same?

Just reread (1/29/2016). This needs to be a movie.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written romance that is also a coming-of-age novel about a middle-aged woman who finds love with a trucker name Alma. Her feelings for Alma spur her on to create a monumental (literally) work that eventually changes the town's outlook on life.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, presenting three-dimensional characters with sensitive insights into their minds and thoughts, especially the main character, Pat. Meeting Alma Rose acts as a catalyst for Pat to become her own person. There is also humor in certain characters over-the-top behavior trying to control others’ behavior. Edith Forbes is an under-recognized writer.

[Kelsey Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t like the ending but other than that, it was an enjoyable read. Edith Forbes writes small-town life well without being gimmicky.

[Virginia Markhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to like this book, but I did anyway. I enjoyed the small town atmosphere and the biddy that goes along with it. Not a fan of the lifestyle of the main character but I liked all the emotion that the author was able to portray, Very good!

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this when I read it in my early 20s. I was on a gay & lesbian literature kick at the time. My only notes from my journal of 1994 about it are: "Good."

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a rather shy woman who encounters a lady named Alma Rose. Alma Rose isn't in Pat's life forever, but this book dods a really good job at exploring various lesbian issues. The end is a bit of a Cliffhanger, but it was a really good and thought provoking book regardless.

[Cam Schwanebeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautifully written. Truly something. Pat reminded me of Wyatt and oh my gosh has a really powerful voice. I would read it again, maybe in 6 years

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good! 4.49 stars - almost enough to round up to 5 but not quite.

[KarlaC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dug this book out of my TBR pile. I'd been looking at it for years and thought it would be a welcome diversion. It was. I admit I didn't think the book would be any good, but it was. Printed in 1993 when lesbian fiction wasn't that much of a thing, and when lesbian loss wasn't talked about that much, this book was surprisingly insightful. I'm glad I read this book, and I'm glad the memory of loss is a distant memory to me.

[Jacquy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was mich an diesem Buch direkt angesprochen hat, ist das Thema Homosexualität, was auch heutzutage leider noch verhältnismäßig selten in Büchern angesprochen wird und da dieser Roman bereits 1995 erschien, war es für mich noch interessanter, da mich interessierte, wie das Thema behandelt werden würde. Auch wenn das noch nicht allzu lange her ist, hat sich die öffentliche Meinung in den letzten Jahren doch gewandelt.

Zunächst geht es allerdings erst mal um die Protagonistin und man lernt Pat und ihr Leben kennen. Man erfährt, dass sie schüchtern ist und nicht gut auf Menschen zugehen kann und auch sonst lässt sie lieber die anderen das Gespräch dominieren und beteiligt sich nur soweit wie nötig. Mir war sie sehr sympathisch, weil ich mich sehr mit ihr identifizieren konnte und es wirklich selten ist, dass eine Hauptfigur wirklich ein ruhiger Mensch ist und nicht nur als Mauerblümchen dargestellt wird, in Wirklichkeit aber super beliebt ist. Man lernt ihren Alltag gut kennen und auch wenn handlungsmäßig oft viel passiert, habe ich diese Teile wirklich gerne gelesen. Zwischenzeitlich wurde die Erzählung doch eher trocken, aber darüber kann ich gut hinwegsehen.

Alma Rose hingegen redet einfach drauflos, auch wenn sie den Gesprächspartner gerade erst kennengelernt hat, und nimmt kein Blatt vor den Mund. Damit stellt sie den totalen Gegensatz zu Pat dar und dieser Kontrast war spannend mitzuerleben.
Dass Pat Gefühle für Alma Rose entwickeln würde, wird bereits im Klappentext angedeutet und ist damit kein Spoiler. Wie das dargestellt ist und sich entwickelt, hat mir sehr gefallen. Es geht nichts zu schnell und die Autorin geht auch genau darauf ein, was währenddessen in Pats Kopf vorgeht und was sie darüber denkt.
Außerdem wird ihre Umwelt in der Erzählung nicht vernachlässigt und der Leser wird auch darüber informiert, was ihre Familie und Nachbarn davon halten, wobei es natürlich geteilte Meinungen gibt und diese nicht nur auf Klischees beruhen.

Die Liebesgeschichte spielt zwar eine wichtige Rolle, nimmt aber nicht die gesamte Handlung ein. Es geht nicht nur darum, sondern auch um die Eigenschaften der Protagonisten, die sehr realistisch waren und wie gut diese in der Realität nun zusammenpassen. Generell erschien mir die ganze Geschichte einfach glaubhaft und nichts war klischeehaft und nur wenig übertrieben.

Fazit:
Das Thema dieses Romans ist zwar die Liebesgeschichte zweier Frauen, aber diese ist weder kitschig, noch stellt sie die gesamte Handlung dar. Es geht um das Leben der Hauptfigur, aber auch weitgehender um das Motto „Gegensätze ziehen sich an“ und dessen Folgen. Ich kann das Buch nur empfehlen.

[Endo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is truly one of the most real works of lesbian fiction i have ever read. cried multiple times. i have an entire google docs spread of quotes i saved from this novel. it is beautifully written, wonderfully illustrated with sensory details and does a fantastic job at illustrating the inner turmoil of the protagonist. as a person who grew up lesbian in a small country town EXACTLY like this one, words really cannot properly express how appreciative I am to be able to see me in a book i read, so flawlessly. the pain and betrayal from a first woman loving woman breakup, the disapproval of a largely socially conservative environment, the (significant spoiler) seeking out of male attention as a form of self inflicted pain as a form of escapism. feeling never inclined towards relationships BEFORE alma rose appears, and then the subconscious longing. OH. how gutwrenching the longing is made in this book. experience with it or not, i think most readers can feel the strain and stress portrayed in the extremely messy relationship that results in a town memorial, town monument, town scandal. i would read this book again, fall in love with it again, and agonize over just how realistic it all is (maybe minus the huge monument, but hey, the romantic types can dream).

[Nairne Holtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Alma Rose, Forbes examines the transformative power of love and what it means to come out in a small conservative community. Pat Lloyd works at her father’s convenience store in the proverbial one-horse town in ranch country. She’s the strong, silent type who has resigned herself to an asexual and uneventful existence until a beautiful, charming female trucker shows up. They embark upon a discreet love affair, and Alma Rose helps Pat change her life. Unfortunately, the only change Alma is interested in is constant, and steady Pat is devastated when her lover disappears. To deal with her secret heartbreak, Pat creates a giant sculpture of Alma Rose, which becomes a peculiar source of tension for the town, drawing out enemies and allies. This is a close-to-perfect book whose qualities of dry humour, intelligence, and something ineffable like warmth of spirit will win over the romantics and the cynics.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this older novel at a $5-a-bag book sale and enjoyed it. The characters felt real, and I liked seeing them change and interact. Parts of it seemed implausible, like Pat carving an enormous stone monument of a woman without realizing other people would see it as a very big coming-out, and parts were predictable (I could tell who Pat would end up with the minute that person appeared on the scene). But I liked that the overall trajectory of the novel was unusual (I didn't expect half the book to be about the stone carving), and I liked Pat and the depiction of the town.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I got a little bored by the nineteenth time they told us what the desert looks like. It's hot, it's dry, there are rocks. And the book didn't so much end as . . . stop. But the story was engaging, and the sort of woman-over-nature (ish) battle was fun. Most of it is well-written, just maybe a little repetitive on the descriptive bits.

[Amanda Arra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down until I finshed it. Edith Forbes is one good writer! This book is about a woman living in a small western town who "finds herself" through her friendship with a newcomer to town.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alma Rose is a beautiful story of a woman who is gay in a small, dusty town in the desert. What she does with this new-found knowledge, and the woman she comes to love is the subject of Edith Forbes story. A beautiful, heartbreaking ending that shows how love can strengthen even when it hurts.

[Laura (booksnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book while sick with H1N1. It was a good book to read while sick, with nothing to torment feverish dreams, it was a good solid, descriptive unique love story. I think I will donate it to the school library as I think other people deserve to read this book and enjoy it as I have.

[Relaxolgy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written in a mellow tone. Heart warming.

[Carrie]

books I've read,glbt fiction

[Juli · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Becky Seielstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good. I didn't really like that it wasn't really wrapped up at the end, but I did enjoy this book.

[Eileen Galer · Rating 4 out of 5]

great first novel. nice language, good story

[Caralynn West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. First I've read by this author. Plan to read more. It was a joy to read.