Verge

by Z Egloff

Claire McMinn has three to stay sober, to stay away from sex, and to get into film school. She’s already adept at surviving her crazed family, rescuing (and seducing) her best friend, and pretending to ignore the advice of her sponsor—a gay man, impervious, fortunately, to all her charms. As Verge begins, Claire’s last goal is jeopardized when a past affair with a professor’s wife catches up with her and she is kicked out of his class. In her quest to obtain a video camera to complete the course work on her own, she is introduced to Sister Hilary, the nun who runs a local community center. Claire leaves their meeting with a volunteer job at Sister Hilary’s agency, a chance to make a documentary about it, and a tangle of complications. Verge is a novel of self-forgiveness and growth if not redemption, a tale of developing vision if not romance, and is more of a testament to the importance of community and friendship than a tale of a dysfunctional family. And it’s a very satisfying read. Verge will appeal to readers who are interested in spirituality, addiction recovery, the madcap humor of gay/lesbian AA, the creative arts, and the lives of twenty-first-century nuns, as well as the trials and tribulations—and adventures—of contemporary lesbians. Z Egloff was born in California, raised in the Midwest, and schooled (academically and otherwise) in Amherst, Massachusetts, and on Cape Cod. Verge is her first novel.

Genres: Lesbian, LGBT, Fiction, Queer

280 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Z Egloff (they/them) was born in California, raised in the Midwest, and schooled (academically and otherwise) on the East Coast. At Amherst College, where they received a B.A. in English, their mentor was David Sofield. He encouraged their writing but their abandoned the pursuit post-college; they had yet to find their voice. Z spent the next decade running a small farm in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, driving a tractor and plucking weeds. At age thirty, ready for something different and less physically taxing, they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a Masters in Psychology. After completing their MA, they worked as a counselor and case manager with high-risk teenagers. All of these experiences, though interesting and rewarding, failed to fully satisfy. It wasn’t until they began writing fiction age 39 that they knew they had found her vocation. Z's debut novel, Verge, was awarded the Bywater Prize for Fiction in May of 2008.

Z is also an ordained minister with Centers for Spiritual Living, holding a Master’s in Consciousness Studies from Holmes Institute. Z, along with their wife Rev. Dr. Melissa Phillippe, is the co-founder of OhMyGod Life, a non-profit organization. OhMyGod Life’s mission is to bring radical joy to the world. At their virtual home, OhMyGodLife.com, they offer videos, music, books, classes, and more. Z and Melissa also speak, perform music, and facilitate workshops and retreats nationwide.

Reviews

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book. if z egloff were a man; if this were for young adults; if the market liked stories of women who fall in love with other women, this would have been a best-seller. but maybe i love that it wasn't a bestseller and that one of the two independent bookstores we have in miami had a stack of them in the shop and i liked the cover enough to buy it. the write-ups by alison bechdel and emma donaghue didn't hurt.

many of us complain about the dearth of well-written, powerful women's/lesbian stories (i hesitate to pigeonhole this book: it's a good book for everyone), but you know, they exist. they are just not published by the misogynistic, homophobic big presses. you have to go and find them.

the protagonist of this third-person novel is a 20-something film student with a bunch of hurt under her skin and a huge longing for wholeness, acceptance and love. the beginning is about a Very Bad Thing she did to her college advisor and mentor, as a consequence of which said college professor blackballs her and kicks her out of his class. claire couldn't agree more. the college advisor, with whom she had a genuine bond of admiration and friendship that suddenly counts for absolutely nothing -- not even a conversation or an explanation -- is entirely right. she is scum.

it goes from there. claire fucks everything up. claire is disaster incarnate. claire brings mayhem wherever she goes. and people, kindly, remind her of this all the time. the book reminds her, and us, of this all the time. but when you stop to think you have to ask yourself what it is exactly that claire is doing that is so bad. and you see that it's nothing. claire is doing nothing bad. she is a recovering alcoholic and very hurt, but she is kind and sweet and she tries. she is also very butch, a boywoman, and doesn't much like to care-take, especially when the objects of such care-taking are children. this last is a key motif, because claire's failure to be a caretaker of children is the one thing the novel does not forgive her. we know this because her path to redemption hinges (very slightly) on turning this around. so maybe we should have a conversation on why women must good with children. we don't expect this much from guys, do we? do we have gay novels in which the redemption of the main character attaches itself to a sudden awareness that there are kids who need taking care of? i don't know. maybe there are. it's important to be kind to children. but it's okay not to have the child bug, too.

all in all, though, you feel that the third person narrator, who is very much stuck inside claire's head, is not entirely in her corner. she, the third person narrator, is very down on claire.

and then claire falls in love with this woman religious, and the woman religious with her, and this is done so well, so tactfully and delicately and deeply, it's hard to think of this writer as a first-time novelist. the suspense is breath-taking, the pace masterful, and the whole thing is told with startling wit, sentence by sentence. the wit never lets up.

all along claire, the bad bad person, berates herself for her seductiveness. she is corrupting the (much older) woman religious, just as she corrupted everyone she ever loved or had sex with.

i imagine claire's alcoholism has a lot to do with this, with being unable to bear love, attraction, the very fact of herself, her existence. but there is also a tremendous amount of internalized homophobia here, and these two women (claire and the woman religious) are fighting demons that are way too big for them.

so at the end this is about how women -- religious, not religious -- can cope with loving each other without beating tragically on themselves for this overwhelming want and need.

this whole story is told with such grace, depth, endless surprise, lovely imagery, funny funny funny humor, and skillful construction, it's a delight to read.

[Elaine Burnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very impressive debut novel. Anyone who can get Alison Bechdel and Emma Donoghue to do cover blurbs has something going for her. My guess is she won't be with a lesfic publisher for her next one. This is the story of Claire, a young film student struggling to cope with life sober. This is an alcoholic who does manage to change. It's a funny read, not really poignant. The rather bizarre blurb on amazon says, "Verge will appeal to readers who are interested in spirituality, addiction recovery, the madcap humor of gay/lesbian AA, the creative arts, and the lives of twenty-first-century nuns, as well as the trials and tribulations—and adventures—of contemporary lesbians."

That said, I finished the book with a ho hum. It was good, but I didn't feel very connected or invested in Claire, which is odd given the extremely tight third person POV. It reads like first person. She reminded me of the MC in Gotta Find Me an Angel, but not as annoying. It's the voice. Distinctive, yet perhaps overdone. Could be a generational thing. I'm not twenty-something and even when I was I was nothing like her. But the writing is excellent. I'll also give Bywater a nod for using FSC-certified paper. And excellent cover design. Very professional altogether.

[Bett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an early manuscript, and found the writing to be sharp and funny. The writing is bright, funny, and serious when it needs to be. Character descriptions are droll and dry. This novel is a remarkable debut. I hope we get more from this writer, Z Egloff.

[Melissa Phillippe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books for me that, as a writer, I was blown away - every page or two I'd practically slap my forehead in awe at the way something was put - the story was a can't-put-it-down-one...
All in all - totally awesome!

[Ulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read! Sweet and funny, but not only that! Couldn't put it down!

[Baxter Clare Trautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Egloff has created an endearing character, full of foibles and promise. Verge bolts into action and Egloff sustains the pace with fresh, creative writing. The romance is above average, taking time to develop amid reasonable setbacks which are never maudlin or neurotic. Egloff’s secondary, and even minor characters are fleshy and fully developed. Verge is a mature and refreshing tale of falling in love not just with another woman, but with one's self.

[Bywater Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winner of the fourth annual Bywater Prize for Fiction.

"Verge is powerful, quirky, and fresh." -Alison Bechdel

"A wry story of confronting your demons, Verge has heart and wit and intelligence." -Emma Donoghue

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just LOVED this story! It was engaging and fun and I just happen to love the author, my friend Z, too!! Great read!

[Mk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bike on the cover and a genderqueer main character... I had high hopes. The book got stronger as it went along, but isn't a must read.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative, engaging, not highly-polished, but definitely enjoyable.

[Simon]

Just didn't do it for me.

[Francis Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it.

[Sophia Barsuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish that Z. Egloff had written more than two books. Her dialogue is reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin; her descriptions of nature are on par with Elisabeth Goudge. Absolutely incredible writing.