An encounter between trophy wife Carolyn Blake and her new neighbor - tall athletic artist Val Hunter - leads to a close friendship and deepening emotions that young Carolyn has never known.
Suddenly, as Carolyn questions what she has always accepted, her carefully manicured domestic life begins to unravel. Husband Paul Blake, a successful rags-to-riches businessman, recognizes the threat that Val Hunter represents, and he is not about to let his wife out of his control or accept any of her stirrings of self-determination.
Originally published by Naiad Press - 1986
also published by Harrington Park Press/Alice Street Editions - 1995
Review
Katherine V. Forrest's newest novel is the kind of revelatory, uplifting prose that gave courage in the 1970s to millions of women who were first learning what sexual politics was all about. Her style is a blend of romanticism and consciousness-raising dogma made tasty by her strong sense of adventure and racy sensuality.When Carolyn, the young wife of an ambitious executive, begins to awaken to the emptiness of her life, it is not long before the conflict starts. Her husband Paul is a textbook case of pathological chauvinism: he rigidly controls his wife's style of dress, job opportunities, contact with friends; and he uses the title "princess" to both exalt and ensnare her. The final showdown is precipitated by Carolyn's growing friendship with Val, an imposingly tall and sharp-witted visual artist who lives in the bungalow next door with her adolescent son. The novel offers many of the classic fantasy scenarios spawned by the early women's movement, from intellectual sparring between the neanderthal husband and the progressive, independent woman to a blushing yet lusty first sexual encounter between the two women. In her narrative, Forrest provides each character and circumstance with enough texture and complexity to make the story interesting. Carolyn's awakening to her need for independence and her love for Val is revealed with knowing delicacy. Paul, too, is more than simply a metaphor for misogyny. The author understands and describes the feelings of inadequacy and fear that are at the root of male supremacy behavior. There are a couple of elements that keep this story from transcending the limitations of the genre of popular romance. The naivete of the characters (the story is set during the Reagan re-election campaign) feels contrived. They are nominally aware of the political events of the previous decade yet their responses are emotionally flat, as if the information remained compartmentalized. This is not consistent with the sensitive nature of the three characters Forrest has created. And while Forrest's narrative explains the characters and their motivation, her dialogue does little to support that information. Too often it sounds anonymous. It could be used more to move the plot and define her characters and less to make political points. This book will please Katherine Forrest fans and people trying to catch up to the women's liberation movement, both of whom exist in great numbers. -- From Independent Publisher
About the Author
Katherine V. Forrest's 15 works of fiction are in translation worldwide and include her eight-volume Kate Delafield mystery series. Her stories, articles and reviews have appeared in national and international publications. Awards and honors include four Lambda Literary Awards, the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement from the Publishing Triangle, and the Lambda Literary Foundation's Pioneer Award. Senior editor at Naiad Press for a decade, she is currently supervising editor at Spinsters Ink and editor-at-large for Bella Books. During her almost three decades of editing she has worked with many LGBT authors, and she has edited or co-edited numerous anthologies. She lives in San Francisco with her partner of almost two decades and their two personality-plus cats.
Description:
An encounter between trophy wife Carolyn Blake and her new neighbor - tall athletic artist Val Hunter - leads to a close friendship and deepening emotions that young Carolyn has never known.
Suddenly, as Carolyn questions what she has always accepted, her carefully manicured domestic life begins to unravel. Husband Paul Blake, a successful rags-to-riches businessman, recognizes the threat that Val Hunter represents, and he is not about to let his wife out of his control or accept any of her stirrings of self-determination.
Originally published by Naiad Press - 1986
also published by Harrington Park Press/Alice Street Editions - 1995
Review
Katherine V. Forrest's newest novel is the kind of revelatory, uplifting prose that gave courage in the 1970s to millions of women who were first learning what sexual politics was all about. Her style is a blend of romanticism and consciousness-raising dogma made tasty by her strong sense of adventure and racy sensuality.When Carolyn, the young wife of an ambitious executive, begins to awaken to the emptiness of her life, it is not long before the conflict starts. Her husband Paul is a textbook case of pathological chauvinism: he rigidly controls his wife's style of dress, job opportunities, contact with friends; and he uses the title "princess" to both exalt and ensnare her. The final showdown is precipitated by Carolyn's growing friendship with Val, an imposingly tall and sharp-witted visual artist who lives in the bungalow next door with her adolescent son. The novel offers many of the classic fantasy scenarios spawned by the early women's movement, from intellectual sparring between the neanderthal husband and the progressive, independent woman to a blushing yet lusty first sexual encounter between the two women. In her narrative, Forrest provides each character and circumstance with enough texture and complexity to make the story interesting. Carolyn's awakening to her need for independence and her love for Val is revealed with knowing delicacy. Paul, too, is more than simply a metaphor for misogyny. The author understands and describes the feelings of inadequacy and fear that are at the root of male supremacy behavior. There are a couple of elements that keep this story from transcending the limitations of the genre of popular romance. The naivete of the characters (the story is set during the Reagan re-election campaign) feels contrived. They are nominally aware of the political events of the previous decade yet their responses are emotionally flat, as if the information remained compartmentalized. This is not consistent with the sensitive nature of the three characters Forrest has created. And while Forrest's narrative explains the characters and their motivation, her dialogue does little to support that information. Too often it sounds anonymous. It could be used more to move the plot and define her characters and less to make political points. This book will please Katherine Forrest fans and people trying to catch up to the women's liberation movement, both of whom exist in great numbers. -- From Independent Publisher
About the Author
Katherine V. Forrest's 15 works of fiction are in translation worldwide and include her eight-volume Kate Delafield mystery series. Her stories, articles and reviews have appeared in national and international publications. Awards and honors include four Lambda Literary Awards, the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement from the Publishing Triangle, and the Lambda Literary Foundation's Pioneer Award. Senior editor at Naiad Press for a decade, she is currently supervising editor at Spinsters Ink and editor-at-large for Bella Books. During her almost three decades of editing she has worked with many LGBT authors, and she has edited or co-edited numerous anthologies. She lives in San Francisco with her partner of almost two decades and their two personality-plus cats.