Dancer Dawkins and the California Kid

by Willyce Kim, Eunsong Kim (Foreword)

Dancer Dawkins is a swift-footed, weed-smoking football stud. Her lover, Jessica, left their place in Los Angeles to join a Napa Valley cult, where she believes she has found salvation. Willie Gutherie, the cigar-smoking, self-proclaimed California Kid, collides with Dancer in San Francisco, and the two join forces to liberate Jessica from the clutches of cult leader Fatin Satin Aspen. Willyce Kim's campy, women-centered Western novel is a celebration of queer joy. While her vibrant vignettes are filled with California whimsy through a kaleidoscope of food and sports metaphors, darker political undercurrents of the Vietnam War and the infamous Bohemian Grove inhabit this uncanny adventure. Buckle up for this wild, spunky, and unabashedly queer ride!

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Queer

170 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2023

Reviews

[Bella Burcsak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some twelve year old lesbian is reading this with a flashlight in their closet and good for them

[Tyler Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is under the radar for LGBTQ+ novels, but its 2023 republication shows us what was there all along: a groundbreaking, hilarious, and deep overlooked “classic”! The pacing and storytelling are both fantastic and unique, and the novel is filled with camp and subversive humor. Moreover, it tackles important issues and questions about Asian American queer life as well as global politics. If you enjoy Kaveh Akbar, Jeanette Winterson, or Tom Robbins, you will love this book!

[s.a.west · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I just read.

[Denise Schlachtaub · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only part of this book that I enjoyed was the personification of a german shepherd. Other than that amusing side characterization, it wasn't worth the time it took to read.

[ghostlypicnic · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fun romp through California that read like a silly goofy action flick.

[Kevin Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 version??? Love

[yuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

willyce kim was my entrypoint into my undergraduate thesis on the women's press collective, but till now, i had never gotten my hands on this novel. love reading about lesbians and their hijinks