Undertow

by Amy Schutzer

Fiction. Gay/Lesbian Studies. Written in the lyrical language of dreams, UNDERTOW is the love story of two women brought together by accident, their histories revealed in alternating streams of consciousness that resemble impressionistic swirls of paint. A lyrical first novel -- Utne Reader. UNDERTOW mixes memory and desire and reminds us how dangerous and jagged, and how necessary, love is -- Elizabeth Brownrigg.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Lesbian

229 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Rasma Haidri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Character one is painting a house. Character two watches her from his car, wishing he could finger fuck her and wondering if she’s wearing underwear. Character one falls off ladder and breaks hip, severe injury, lands in ER attended by none other than Character Two, whose bedside manner in triage is to chuckle to himself that he was right, no underwear, when his patient’s overalls are cut away. Now his goal is to seduce her by making himself her sole caretaker during convalescence.

Does anyone like this guy? Or even buy the shallow characterization of a medical professional?

Okay, spoiler, character two is a WOMAN! They’re lesbians! Does that make this kind of sleaze more palatable? No. Especially when it is written in the most washed out purple prose you would find in a “don’t write like this” manual for aspiring novelists. Sorry, but this is a strong candidate for my worst ever reading experience, right up there with God is a Bullet.

[Julene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this shortly after it was published in 2000. Amy is a Dangerous Writer and this book is a gripper that I could not put down. It follows two women, one becomes disabled and the other cares for her. It is a haunting love story that clips along. Juddith Barrington says on the blurb, "Undertow succeeds in reminding us that all relationships must find a way to accommodate the past."