Thirtyfour

by Tanith Lee, Esther Garber

After her mother breaks her neck, falling down a marble staircase, Esther goes to Paris. Amoral, (perhaps justifiably) paranoid, Esther is a survivor, but on her first night in a city made of river and rain, she is seduced by the elusive and phantasmal Julie d'Ouest. Though previously often raped and manhandled, never before has the jaundiced Esther known sexual pleasure. What can she do, but set off in pursuit of this demon lover, across a landscape mazed with all the helpers and hinderers of a mythic quest. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, threading between England, France before the wars, and Egypt apparently at the turn of the century, the text seems flavoured with anachronisms, discrepancies. Is Esther, writing from a later, modern era, (under the eye of her put-upon sister, Anna) letting her memory play tricks on her? Is the world of her recollection real - or is it a game, a dream, an escape from illness and frustration; the land of What-might-have-been.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Tanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.

Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.

Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.

Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.

Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.

Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd been on the lookout for this book for some years, without luck... but interlibrary loan finally came through for me! Let's hear it for ILL!!!

This short book is from the perspective of the fictional Esther Garber, who's also one of the purported authors of Lee's 'Disturbed by Her Song.' Here, we're immediately introduced to a young Esther, who, disturbed by her mother's dramatic death, runs away to what may be 1930's Paris. After some unpleasant experiences, which she accepts in an oddly detached manner, she agrees to see a sexual client who turns out to be an alluring woman, Julie, dressed as a man. Esther's previously-unrealized desires are woken, and she insists on pursuing the elusive Julie past all reason.

As the story progresses, it is revealed that the story of the young Esther is being told by the elderly, infirm Esther of later days... and that her memories are unreliable at best and likely delusional in many respects. However, truth may come wrapped in seeming lies.

This work reminded me quite a bit in tone and feel of Anais Nin's 'Delta of Venus' and 'Little Birds,' and in part, may have been inspired by such writing.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is classified as lesbian erotica but it’s more bizarre and disconcerting in the style of Lovecraft with some obsessive sexual tension. The book is a reflection of her youth by our unreliable narrator, Esther. The stories have a dreamy, fantastical style of her memories of life in Paris, Egypt, and England in the 1930s or so.

Interesting read by a prolific author. The only other books I’ve read by Tanith Lee are the Flat Earth series.

[Craig Laurance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Metafictional cross genre lesbian erotic. Anais Nin meets Rikki Durcornet.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I really want to say in this review is "HUH?" I am sorry but this book was NOT anything I enjoyed, but I had to give it 2 stars instead of 1 because it made me think/wonder if weird is normal. lol If that makes any sense. I mean, I think a lot of us say our family is weird, but not in the same sense that Tanith Lee writes of weirdness.

If I understood this correctly, this is told from the perspective of Esther Garber who has obviously experienced trauma in her life. She ends up taking a client named Julie who is a cross-dresser and appears dressed as a man...hmm...wake up Esther! All I will say here is that sexual desires are aroused, so if you want to know what happens read the book! I think others might like it more than I did as is normally the case since we all think so differently.

The one thing I did like about the book? It's SHORT - thank God!