Jackie's Exes

Rating:
Summary: sadly befitting of the community
Review: I was skeptical at first about Jackie's Exes; wasn't sure it was something I'd be interested in. I read it on a recommendation and thought it was great. The style and content were refreshingly different from most lesbian literature available. It's worth the price, and the time spent reading. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: I was skeptical at first about Jackie's Exes; wasn't sure it was something I'd be interested in. I read it on a recommendation and thought it was great. The style and content were refreshingly different from most lesbian literature available. It's worth the price, and the time spent reading. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Left Me Conflicted
Review: Parts of this book had me grinning ear to ear and at first I thought I was in for quite a romp through Dupont Circle and the lesbian social scene. Unfortunately, about halfway through, this book loses its sense of humor.

It's an interesting idea that Jackie (oh please how tired is *that* name in lesbian lit) has so many exes they form their own support group. But the problem is that forming the support group doesn't really help anyone do anything but get a date. All these great women become more and more pathetic.

When they decide to stage an intervention to stop Jackie's horrific and damaging womanizing, the author completely lost me. What happened to the humor? It was somewhat redeemed when they decided to create their own contingent in the Pride Parade. But by then the humor had an enforced gaiety to it.

One of the things that bothered me and I guess maybe an editor should have caught is that while all these women bemoan how awful Jackie's serial seduction habit is, none of them look around the room and ask "anyone got a disease I should know about?" Really -- hundreds of lovers and not one person asks the first question I'd want an answer to?

Rating:
Summary: sadly befitting of the community
Review: The story itself was well written but the underlying themes are what makes this book worth reading. 1) Loneliness and insecurity are not good enough reasons for a bad relationship. The void cannot be filled by illusions. 2) The past tends to be glorified in our minds which is what keeps us going back.
Very highly recommended for anyone who still has fond memories of an unhealthy relationship or whose mind and heart conflict on an ex.