The Finer Grain

Rating:
Summary: honest and fun
Review: For me it was one of those books that you can't put down. The story of a girl discovering herself through life. Amory had lived with her "aunt" all her life, not knowing anything about her past. After her aunt's death, she discovered a picture that seemed all too familiar to her, so familiar that she couldn't imagine why. Her life continues as she goes to college, explores her attraction to women, but the only thing that can free her from the fear of truly allowing herself to be who she is will be knowing about her past. Great writing from the author, the chacacters are real and the story compeling.

Rating:
Summary: honest and fun
Review: For me it was one of those books that you can't put down. The story of a girl discovering herself through life. Amory had lived with her "aunt" all her life, not knowing anything about her past. After her aunt's death, she discovered a picture that seemed all too familiar to her, so familiar that she couldn't imagine why. Her life continues as she goes to college, explores her attraction to women, but the only thing that can free her from the fear of truly allowing herself to be who she is will be knowing about her past. Great writing from the author, the chacacters are real and the story compeling.

Rating:
Summary: Something doesn't click
Review: Have you ever been in one of those conversations where you're talking to a group of people, but what they're saying doesn't quite make sense to you? When it seems like they're talking in a code they understand, but you don't know it? Well, this is their book. There is enough of a story here that you can follow along, but you always get the sense that there's a plot running in the background that the characters know, but you aren't seeing. Some of their conversations and actions don't make sense to you, but seem perfectly normal to them. Amory seems to spend her whole life doing things just because they happen and not because she's really drawn to them. Relationships just seem to spring up for no reason. I suppose it's supposed to be telling that Cady tells Amory many times that she loves her and Amory's only response is, "I know you do". This woman is missing something inside. And the ending left me totally confused. I bought this because the Naiad catalog gave it such a great write up. Maybe they wrote it so that they could get rid of their copies of this book. Maybe it's supposed to be gold because Katherine Forrest, who some people seem to treat as the goddess of lesbian literature, edited it. I just wish all of the copies had sold out before I ever had a chance to order it.

Rating:
Summary: Too quickly dismissed by reviewers
Review: who are unable to get past the controversial topic. I would have given the book 5 stars, but there are flaws: occasional jumps in events, costing some fluidity, and a slow start that really doesn't "grab" you. That being said, Ohio captures in a profound way the internal search and stuggle so much a part of many young, new lesbians' lives. She has a grasp of the essentials stuggled with by this group, something about which the professional reviewer is obviously ignorant. The depth and impact of these essentials may be lost on one who has no point of reference, but are exquisitely captured and conveyed by the author, who is obviously intimate with her subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: Too quickly dismissed by reviewers
Review: who are unable to get past the controversial topic. I would have given the book 5 stars, but there are flaws: occasional jumps in events, costing some fluidity, and a slow start that really doesn't "grab" you. That being said, Ohio captures in a profound way the internal search and stuggle so much a part of many young, new lesbians' lives. She has a grasp of the essentials stuggled with by this group, something about which the professional reviewer is obviously ignorant. The depth and impact of these essentials may be lost on one who has no point of reference, but are exquisitely captured and conveyed by the author, who is obviously intimate with her subject matter.