A review by thetomeraider
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Oof. I hated this book. I know it's beloved. I can't help it. Please do not revoke my LGBTQ+ membership.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
Spoiler
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship