On Lill Street

by Lynn Kanter

In this novel set in the 1970s, a politically correct lesbian feminist separatist finds herself living in a suburban mixed-gender household.

Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Lynn Kanter is the author of the novels Her Own Vietnam (2014, Shade Mountain Press), The Mayor of Heaven (1997) and On Lill Street (1992), both published by Third Side Press. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies Lost Orchard (SUNY Press), Breaking Up is Hard to Do, and The Time of Our Lives (both Crossing Press), and the literary journal Verbsap. Her nonfiction has appeared in Referential Magazine and the anthologies Coming Out of Cancer (Seal Press), Testimonies (Alyson Publications) and Confronting Cancer, Constructing Change (Third Side Press).

Lynn is a lifelong activist for feminist and other progressive causes, and has the T-shirts to prove it. She works as a writer for the Center for Community Change, a national social justice organization, and lives with her wife in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story, which is a slice of lesbian-feminist life from the mid-70s. Coincidentally it was also the time when I was waking up from childhood, so it's an incredibly evocative and resonant book for me. The protagonist, Margaret, is 24 and so politically correct that it hurts to read her story sometimes. She's sincere and committed and angry and vulnerable. Then she gets a job in a bookstore, falls in love with a straight woman, and finds herself living an entirely different life. The writing is gently wry, and if you happen to have lived through any of the times described herein, nostalgic and hilarious. There are also bittersweet notes from the future Margaret scattered throughout, which help to explain what happened after.

This time through there were a few things which struck me as anachronisms and sent me scurrying to Wikipedia- but I'm happy to say that Kanter was right and I was wrong.

This book captures, for me, this point in time with a poignant and pitch-perfect tone. Recommended.

And here's a quote I can't resist sharing, from one of the notes from the future Margaret:

"In those days, her feminist commitment was like a sleek, powerful dog that stalked beside her on a leash, barely under her control. Now the dog lives in her house and sleeps on her kitchen floor..."
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