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Strange Friends
She sat up in bed and looked at the sleeping girl beside her. Her eyes traced every line of the slender, beautifully shaped body. She wanted to put her arms around her, to caress and kiss her, to prove how very much she loved and desired this woman.
This is a frank story of Lesbian love. The author has handled the subject with delicacy and understanding and clearly depicts how such a love can be deep and real, but must defy society and all conventions.
This is a frank story of Lesbian love. The author has handled the subject with delicacy and understanding and clearly depicts how such a love can be deep and real, but must defy society and all conventions.
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Published January 1, 1955
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 18, 2023
Reading Strange Friends was like finding buried lesbian treasure! This Danish novel (originally Et Vildskud) was originally published in 1941! This US edition was published in 1955, which is also impressive.
I say it is impressive because this book offers a classic happy ending.
The main character, Vita Storm, is sympathetically drawn. She is chivalrous and idealistic. She has some period-specific turmoil about being Set Apart because her lesbianism makes her abnormal from actual women. (Same.) She considers living as a man briefly, but decides it would not solve her problems. (Especially if a woman wants to have her babies! There was a bit of angst about women needing to be mothers in this book, which I, personally, could do without.) Interestingly, there's implication nearer the beginning that Vita could be intersex, which is, of course, conflated with her queer desire. But ultimately, she accepts herself for who she is. As does her mother, which was another surprising and welcome addition.
I was very amused in the beginning when Vita did not know how to consummate her relationship with Hilda, her first love. I believe I read somewhere that this book is slightly abridged, and I could believe that the scene where Vita first has sex was cut because it jumps from her being shown to her room by an innkeeper's daughter to her standing on a balcony watching the sunrise and finally fully understanding her inherent queerness. Vita has three significant love interests throughout the novel, and I honestly was not sure how the book would end.
While this book didn't speak to me on the same personal level as say another lost lesbian classic: Anna Elisabet Weirauch's The Scorpion [Trilogy], I would definitely recommend it as a heartfelt novel that rises above the tragic dross of most queer literature from this time period.
I say it is impressive because this book offers a classic happy ending.
The main character, Vita Storm, is sympathetically drawn. She is chivalrous and idealistic. She has some period-specific turmoil about being Set Apart because her lesbianism makes her abnormal from actual women. (Same.) She considers living as a man briefly, but decides it would not solve her problems. (Especially if a woman wants to have her babies! There was a bit of angst about women needing to be mothers in this book, which I, personally, could do without.) Interestingly, there's implication nearer the beginning that Vita could be intersex, which is, of course, conflated with her queer desire. But ultimately, she accepts herself for who she is. As does her mother, which was another surprising and welcome addition.
I was very amused in the beginning when Vita did not know how to consummate her relationship with Hilda, her first love. I believe I read somewhere that this book is slightly abridged, and I could believe that the scene where Vita first has sex was cut because it jumps from her being shown to her room by an innkeeper's daughter to her standing on a balcony watching the sunrise and finally fully understanding her inherent queerness. Vita has three significant love interests throughout the novel, and I honestly was not sure how the book would end.
While this book didn't speak to me on the same personal level as say another lost lesbian classic: Anna Elisabet Weirauch's The Scorpion [Trilogy], I would definitely recommend it as a heartfelt novel that rises above the tragic dross of most queer literature from this time period.
May 31, 2026
lesbians get a happy ending and that’s all i care about
March 4, 2016
SO GOOD... i love the adoption bit. its surprisingly modern for its time.
im sad that vita had to sacrifice her vision/desires, though :(
im sad that vita had to sacrifice her vision/desires, though :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews