Best Lesbian Summer Beach Reads 2009

Great Lesbian Fiction for Summer 2009

Author of the Stonewall Book Award-winning novel Slammerkin, Emma Donoghue recently took home a Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Fiction. In her latest novel (this one is Donoghue’s sixth), two women living in Victorian-era London bump into one another after several years apart. One is unhappily married, the other is an established hero of the British women’s movement, and a chance meeting intertwines their lives together again. The Sealed Letter has been getting rave reviews from LGBT and mainstream press alike, for its ability to make modern-day issues surrounding feminism and marriage relevant amidst an intricately crafted historical setting.

Ever since I saw Secretary, I’ve been hopelessly addicted to both Maggie Gyllenhaal (who played the Lee, the film’s masochistic protagonist) and Mary Gaitskill (who penned the short story the film was based on). Gaitskill is brilliant about writing on women’s sexuality, and though this newest collection of short stories isn’t super abundant on girl-girl content (though the story “Today I’m Yours” is about a fizzled lesbian relationship), I hope other queer readers like myself will still find her work as captivating and relevant as I do. Erotic, dark and twisted (from Gaitskill, you should expect no less!) these are the kind of stories that can completely transport you in the short time it takes to finish them.

Tied with The Sealed Letter for the Best Lesbian Fiction award, short story collection All the Pretty Girls hasn’t received as much mainstream attention as Donoghue’s novel. Hopefully the Lammy Award will bring Mayor some well-deserved new readers though. These artfully told stories reveal believable female characters with lives wracked by poverty and violence, and inspire beauty where it’s unexpected.

Edited by John Lessard

OK, so you can’t be dark all the time. If some of my first three selections have you depressed or so introspective that it’s annoying, this one is light, funny, and fun to flip through when you’re not quite in the mood to really read but want a little stimulation (long summer road trips come to mind).

by Daphne Gottlieb

You’ve got to love queer performance poet Daphne Gottlieb, if for no other reason than the fact that she had the balls to corral a bunch of accomplished writers to contribute to an anthology just about her. It’s not entirely clear what is fact or fiction, which is part of the appeal of this fascinating and creative collection, which includes pieces by Ariel Gore (of HipMama fame) and Sarah Katherine Lewis (who wrote last year’s highly recommended Sex and Bacon).

Gottlieb also published a new book of poetry this year, Kissing Dead Girls: dark, pretty, and sensual as they come.

Former Essence magazine editor Linda Villarosa’s debut novel tells the coming-out story of character Angela Wright, who’s engaged to a man but more intrigued by a new female acquaintance. Navigating the waters of newly discovered sexuality and African American identity alongside issues of race and class, Villarosa writes with both fresh perspective and the sophistication of a seasoned novelist—perhaps thanks to years of journalism experience.

If you came out 25 years ago, maybe you’re so over tales of first-timers at this point, but I personally think there’s something so hot about that very first lesbian encounter, that one girl you will never, ever forget. With lots of new and newish writers, this book is sometimes clumsy and a bit under-the-radar, but worth hunting down.

This post-apocalyptic lesbian love story takes place on Planet Blue, where some of the disgruntled residents of the decaying and polluted planet Orbus (a place much like Earth, but set in the future) have escaped to. Winterson manages to craft an unusually intelligent sci-fi romance, which will appeal even to girls who aren’t your typical genre fans.

As far as beach reads go, this is as good as it gets: 212 easily digestible pages, perfectly balanced between levity and intelligence. Seaton’s alter ego Molly Meek recounts her incarnations as a devout Christian, a boozer, a 12-stepper, a sex-fiend and eventually an out-and-proud lesbian, happily devoted to a butch named Mars. This was another Lammy winner, taking home to prize for Best Lesbian Memoir.

Edited by Sabrina Chapadjiev

This essay collection includes work from many of my favorite feminist writers and artists (bell hooks, Inga Muscio, Annie Sprinkle, and Kate Bornstein, for example) on the concept of the tortured female artistic genius, ala Sylvia Plath or Virginia Wolfe. One of the most powerful (and empowering) sentiments I took from this anthology is the realization that some of my own greatest feminist heroes, our generation’s moves and shakers, have been burdened with the same self doubt as the rest of us. If you’re using this summer to finally complete that novel, painting or any other artistic pursuit, the shared wisdom and experience might help.