Rating: 
Summary: Beyond coming-out...
Review: Absorbing and intense, this novel goes far beyond typical "coming-out" literature. Set in Dublin in the 80's, Hood follows the main character Pen (thirties, a teacher) through the week following her lover's death. Jealousy, intimacy, passion, shame and even humor: it's all here as we experience the grieving process with an invisible widow. Grief is not a quick phase and so the book may at times feel weighty and a little slow-moving. But stick with it -- and you won't have to make yourself do that for long -- for Emma Donoghue's delicate and deft prose will pull you back in. You may even find yourself as I did: coming back to read Hood again and again. In the end, this is a book about indentity and finding hope -- not in spite of, but through, one's pain.
Rating: 
Summary: Complex reading about complex relationships
Review: Emma Donoghue serves to her readers, in very dense prose, the first seven days of Pen's life after her on-again, off-again lover of 13 years, Cara, is killed in a car accident. The reader is taken on journey of mourning, as Pen tries to make sense of a complex and tumultuous relationship that ended far too soon. In that, the reader does not disappoint. We see the ways Pen builds up walls and defenses, covers herself with hoods, as it were, to deal with such a painful loss. I wish we could have seen more development of some of the other characters, particularly of Cara's father. His behavior, his detachment, makes no sense to me, and I am frustrated that we are never given a reason for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Boring.
Review: I am currently half-way through this book and find it an absorbing read. The characters of Pen and Cara are realistically portrayed and already I feel as if I know them. I am intrigued to find out how Kate is going to fit into the whole scenario. Anyone who wants to read more of Emma Donoghue's writing should read "Seven Pictures Not taken" in The Scribner Book of Irish Writing edited by John Somer and John J. Daly. I don't think I have read a better crafted short story in contemporary Irish writing.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: I bought this book on a whim when living in London and wound up writing numerous essays on it for my graduate degree. The book is poignant and true--the pain that Pen feels for the loss of Cara, as well as the realization that her identity has been lost both by being with Cara and with being widowed suddenly, is heartbreaking for anyone to read, gay or straight.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving, serious, compeling story...
Review: I came to this book through a book club, and I'm glad I did. It's not a book I would have ordinarily picked up, but sticking with it was well worth it. The prose is a bit dense at times, but it just attests to the book's richness. Hood's seven chapters are organized by the seven days Pen experiences right after her lover's death, but the flashbacks, dreams, and memories make it a full, lengthy story, and the organization lets us into the heart and mind of a character. I recommend this book, especially for readers who like books that focus on one particular, strong character.
Rating:
Summary: I cannot put into words how much I love this book.
Review: I have read this book many times, and at times it makes me sob with bitter sadness, and at other times it makes me laugh out loud. The writing is exquisite; the bathtub scene (Pen's memory of a peaceful time with her and her recently deceased lover) captures perfectly what the essence of love is. It's beautiful. The frustration that Pen feels at having to keep silent about her partner's death (because she works at a Catholic school and because she lives in Ireland) transmits frustration to the readers as well -- but not in that hokey, "oh being a lesbian is so hard" preachy way. It is Pen's evolution as she learns to cope with Cara's death and to face certain truths she didn't want to deal with previously. I also believe that it is a beautiful love story but in a realistic way - the main characters are not perfect, yet their love is so intense. It's not a "romance" -- it's a real-life, complex love story. I haven't been as big a fan of Donoghue's other novels so far, but this one stands out as exceptional for its writing, story line and character development. Read Hood -- with a box of tissues nearby.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking!
Review: I want all of her books! This is a story you don't want to end. It covers all ranges of human emotion with a twist. I regret that the majority of lesbians in this book enjoy more bed hopping than stable, loving relationships. The main character of the book is so identifiable, so loving that I cried when she cried and laughed when she laughed! I would recommend this book to all of my friends!
Rating:
Summary: Dublin lesbian, Pen O'Grady, loses her lover of 13 years.
Review: Pen's lover, Cara, never makes it home after a vacation inGreece. Killed in a senseless traffic accident by a drunkendriver, Cara was only "faithful" to Pen within her idea of the term. For the week following Cara's death, Pen reviews her life with Cara since they met at school as teenagers and became "s.o.g.s." -- sort-of-girlfriends. In dealing with her grief and pain of recollection of Cara's affairs, Pen thinks about the many hoods we all wear. "Dykehood was definitely a baseball cap," she thinks to herself as she dons the hood of widow's weeds. And Pen must also deal with Kate, Cara's sister, who returns from the U.S. after an absence of 14 years. Kate, with whom Pen was first infatuated when the 3 were in school together. A beautifully wrought book. Warning: explicit lesbian sex.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful fiction
Review: This is one of the finest works of fiction that I have read in quite a while. Usually I do not read "lesbian" fiction as I take my disappointment with the writing much too personally. This book is so painfully sad, and yet so beautifully evocative that I rank it among my favorites of all authors. This writer - new to me with this read - is outstanding - and I am ordering her other books. (that much was written in 2000)
(Now an update) - December, 2004 - having read almost everything this author has written, I must say that she is indeed a talent, uneven at times - but how many authors have you read recently whose work isn't uneven at times? Slammerkin was fun. Emma (and now, having read almost all you've written, I believe I can address you by your given name) - please explore the dark side again. You have a strangely powerful, even erotic language of loss.
Rating:
Summary: Uncommon
Review: Whenever I encounter a novel with homosexual themes, I usually roll my eyes. You can predict what's going to happen most of the time: the two fall in love, they disagree about coming out/ one gets beat up/ they have to hide/ etc., they are pulled apart, then they come back together against all odds and love overcomes all. All except death. This novel is great because, for the most part, this is not the plot. Cara's death has nothing to do with her sexuality, and besides having to explain her relation to Cara, Pen's grieving is the grieving of anyone who has lost someone close. This is not about lesbians (although they are the main characters); it's about love and grief and living through that grief, no matter what sexual orientation you are. I definitely reccomend it.
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