A Crystal Diary

by Frankie Hucklenbroich

Frankie Hucklenbroich's razor-edged, compelling, often wryly humorous story hustles us from the blood-and-beer-drenched corners of her St. Louis meat-packing district '5Os youth, through the sex-soaked Hollywood alleys of her '6Os baby butch years, into the druggy metropolis of '70s San Francisco. Moving relentlessly from one woman to another until faces and bodies blur, scamming her existence, learning what the street has to how to make a buck, how to make it with a woman, how to court the dangers of crystal meth, how to survive.

Genres: Lesbian, LGBT, Queer, Memoir, Nonfiction, Addiction, Drugs

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Morgan M. Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever wished that Stone Butch Blues was less political and much sleazier? If so, you're in luck because Frank Hucklenbroich is here to provide you with 50s-70s era butch sleaziness that eschews the easy political storytelling of Feinberg in favour of a more realistic look at butch-femme life before Stonewall.

[Freyja Vanadis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written book about the life of a butch lesbian in the 1950s and '60s. She's a despicable creature; the way she thinks about and treats femme women is a shame, but the writing is amazing. I suspect there's more than just a little autobiographical reference to the author's own life, since she's a self-admitted butch dyke who lived a "mostly illegal" life up until 1980. I don't know if she's still alive; this book was published in 1997 and I can't find anything about her after that on the Internet, but I'd like to read more by her if she's written more.
**update** I was finally able to discover a little more about her. Unfortunately, she's no longer with us: 1939-2009.

[Ronni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the title, not sure this is a novel. I have a pretty clear impression that it's a memoir? Lots of seamy Denver scenes, including the stealing of a baby(!) Definitely a book I would re-read if I'd already read everything else I was interested in. Of note, I read this book prior to the time of Goodreads, but feel compelled to add it.

[John Treat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revelation. I came for the crystal, stayed for the rest. This novel should have won every award in the world. By like Frankie writes, the world hates butches.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus christ.

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few lines from A Crystal Diary:


Don’t you know – and the mad lights I’d get to know so well were dancing in her eyes even in that dark place – that honesty is just another word for a certain subtle ignorance.


One time she told me her power over me is that she’s so weak it makes her stronger than I am. I tripped on that for days.


…a breath-breaking blow to the heart.

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a novel or a memoir, but either way I gather that it includes events taken from the author's life.

If I was to take this as complete fiction, it would warrant 2-3 stars. It was depraved, but I love crazy characters and I found the style very readable. Alas, it didn't affect me as much as I was hoping it would when I read an extract in The Persistent Desire.

Now, if I assume that this is a memoir - as many sources tell me it is - then it enters 1 star territory. Sassafras Patterdale's review of Califia's Doc and Fluff (which I rated 5 stars) calls it the most femmephobic book they have ever read. Clearly they haven't read A Crystal Diary.

The most disturbing part is not Nicky's (or Frankie's???) actions but the way they are handled within the context of the book. Her attitude and opinions get worse as the book goes along, going from admiration of women to disdain for the fact that femmes (who are apparently only good for the 3 Ps, which I'm sure you can guess the nature of) will start disrespecting you if you're too nice to them. This frankly stupid generalisation - as well as the description of Nicky's public abuse of her girlfriend, for whom she acts as a pimp; her manipulation of a 'girl' (we don't find out her age) to convince her to turn tricks; and various other repulsive things - are never fixed or even addressed. In fact, the book ends with an epilogue in which Nicky (Frankie???) seems to put on an air of protectiveness and love for her femmes.

This book is what would happen if Stone Butch Blues and Doc and Fluff bought a kid (which happens in this book, coincidentally!) on the internet and raised it together. In my opinion, both of these books did the main themes of A Crystal Diary better than it could manage them itself. Overall, I'm not offended at this book's existence - I'm sure there was a time and a place where butches who behaved like this were accepted and even celebrated - but, as a femme, I think I would have been perfectly happy to live my whole life not finding out about it.

[T Rauni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nicky was an awful person. All the mistreatment women suffer at the hands of men, she bragged of doing also. I feel morally sick thinking of her character.

[SweetCorn03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a low down dirty dog. this is definitely worth reading.

the scene with the tiger was very memorable.

i love firebrand books i feel sad when i think about it though but whenever i see one in a used bookstore i grab it! RIP