The Cook and the Carpenter: A Novel by the Carpenter (The Cutting Edge : Lesbian Life and Literature Series)

Rating:
Summary: Points of view
Review: In this partially autobiographical work, Arnold tells of a group of women (some lesbians, some not) who form a sort of commune to support each other, and then take the idea one step further by taking over an abandoned school to create a community center to help the poor and others in need. After a few days, the police invade the building and arrest some of the members, and then the city tears down the building. While this is going on, the carpenter and the cook (who are essentially leaders-by-default in the group) have a love affair that is muddled when a visiting revolutionary becomes the third party in a love triangle. Using non-gendered language (and an invented pronoun), "The Cook and the Carpenter" doesn't reveal the genders of the protagonists until towards the end, thereby making the reader think about sex roles and gender roles consciously while reading the story. While this is certainly challenging, it's worth it for this tale that also addresses how differing viewpoints can affect any relationship.