Another Kind of Love

One of the most appealing things about reading lesbian pulp novels is the chance to reach back in time and touch - just for a moment - the worlds of women who came before us. These women didn't have the options we have, and of course, the world of pulp was never about telling stories of triumph. Considering that pulp novels were meant to be morality tales, in which women who deviated from the norm were followed through their "unnatural" relationships, only to meet with a bad end or to marry properly, it's even more amazing that some authors pulled happy stories off. Paula Christian is not just a good pulp novel writer - she is a good writer. Even when the endings are ambiguous or perhaps not even that, there's always a sense of hope and renewal...and her grasp of character voice is stellar. No character in any of her novels sounds like any other. Because times have changed, I can see Laura and Madeline growing old, watching the world change around them, until these days when they're stepping out of their midtown NYC apartment to walk down to a GLBT rights rally, holding hands, their gray-haired heads held high. For a chance to reach back through the generations, this book is good - for a chance to read surprisingly excellently well-written fiction, this book is great.