The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories

Rating:
Summary: Stinks of "message" from the head.
Review: Alisa Surkis and Monica Nolan, The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (Kensington, 2003)

Okay, so lesbians and horses, and a cover straight off a fifties dime novel. How can you possibly go wrong? Let me count the ways, you wretched thing.

I can't, and probably don't want to, count the number of said dime novels I've read, nor the time I've wasted on them. Some achieve a kind of unintentional, campy humor, and the blurb on the back promises that this is the angle Surkis and Nolan took with The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories. Really, I had high hopes. But instead of humor brought on by the lunkheaded and unthinking actions of the protagonists, what emerged from this book was relentless, unending political diatribe. Somehow I knew when I got to the words "oppressed by the Patriarchy" I wasn't going to be going anywhere with this. When two Depression-era teens get into debates about the various faults of marxism and capitalism, it got worse. Stories will occasionally stop for a quick direct-to-reader chat about the evils of (fill in the blank, all the usual suspects are here).

So I guess it makes sense for me, since I would seem to be a member of the Patriarchy thanks to possession of outdoor plumbing, to oppress this book. But, I hold no position of power, so unfortunately for the authors (since, after all, oppression is the quickest route to the bestseller lists these days), the worst I can do is give it an awful review, one which it quite richly deserves. Like the pseudo-fiction of other writers who care about nothing but making a point, the material herein is okay if you feel like reading endless political dialectic. But that doesn't make it art. * ½

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny/Very Entertaining
Review: This collection of short stories is a great read. All the stories are very funny and very entertaining and each one plays off of key bits of lesbian history and culture in clever but appreciative ways. The stories are nicely over the top and campy, making me laugh out loud multiple times, but you also end up actually caring about the characters and what happens to them (both the girls and the horses!). Going along for the ride (sorry) and reimagining a world where girls can keep their horses AND get the girl was loads of fun. The cover is excellent also!