eren_emerald's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.5
As a queer person, I loved this book and loved every bit of information that it presented me with. Not just that, but it reads like a novel whilst still being informative and so it feels very accessible for anyone just getting into non-fiction.
emilyofthegreenwood's review against another edition
4.0
This book paints such a clear picture of lesbian feminist activism in the mid '70s, and how women both embraced and struggled to find intersectional footing in two different civil rights movements with competing values. This book is an essential piece of lesbian history, and I can't recommend it enough.
mkat303's review against another edition
3.0
I almost gave this 4 stars, as I found Cordova's description of 1970s lesbian feminism in L.A., lesbian involvement in underground movements (e.g. the S.L.A.) and the battle at the gay community center really interesting. However, I quickly bored of her relationship drama. Also, the book could have used some copy editing.
zeinm1980's review
3.0
This book is basically a lesbian feminist Anna Karinina: 80% politics, 20% star-crossed lovers. I appreciated the behind-the-scenes insight into the fights that precluded cooperation across gay liberation and lesbian feminism in the 1970s, and Cordova is an engaging writer with a keen attention to details as well as a flair for what will be compelling. In some parts it felt a little tedious to go through the details. Enter Rachel. Condova's star-crossed affair did so much for me as a reader. I thought it was a sexy depiction of an un-butch/femme (but actually butch/femme) relationship. It also reminded me of what it's like to be 26 and think that the end of your dating life coincides with the beginning of it, which is to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the drama of it and the wisdom to know it was drama. The political and personal stories, and their unexpected conclusions, stayed with me for a long time. I would recommend this to anybody interested in lesbian feminism, feminism, or politics in the 1970s.
kellymce's review
3.0
Lags a bit at the end, and gets a tad corny with the star-crossed lovers-subplot, but overall, a compelling memoir by one badass lesbian feminist.
abby's review
2.0
weirdly, reads as if Robert Heinlein decided to write a story with a radical lesbian feminist reporter as the hero
with passages like, "I reached into my jeans and pulled out my silver Zippo lighter. “Listen,” I said, as I flicked it open and spun the wheel with my thumb. “Did you hear the grate of the wheel against the flint? Metal on metal, immutable force against un-giving force equals a spark, a flame, a fire. That’s the principle of dialectic materialism.” “Run that by me again?” “It’s a political theory, Pody. A process of social change spelled out by the German philosopher, Karl Marx.” I took a long drag off my cigarette."
which are either amazing or horrifying or both
with passages like, "I reached into my jeans and pulled out my silver Zippo lighter. “Listen,” I said, as I flicked it open and spun the wheel with my thumb. “Did you hear the grate of the wheel against the flint? Metal on metal, immutable force against un-giving force equals a spark, a flame, a fire. That’s the principle of dialectic materialism.” “Run that by me again?” “It’s a political theory, Pody. A process of social change spelled out by the German philosopher, Karl Marx.” I took a long drag off my cigarette."
which are either amazing or horrifying or both
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