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friendofhayley's review
A lot of it feels made up, which I understand why. There's gaps in the narrative. Just didn't get why she keeps falling in love with them. Very romanticized.
amandabrookem's review against another edition
5.0
amelia possanza loves and admires lesbians so much it’s extremely palpable and the dedication she’s put into this archive and history of lesbians is so rich. i have no more snarky one liners about how relatable this is, it’s just so so good and so well done, i have the utmost respect for archivists of lost history
earth222emilie's review against another edition
3.0
I found both the historical/archival elements and the memoir elements enjoyable, but felt somewhat strung about by the structure.I, too, love collecting historical lesbians, and was introduced to some new ones which was lovely. I related so much to Possanza's experiences growing up as a lesbian and in sport. But idk by the last section and epilogue I found the structure of anecdote/history pretty jarring. I liked the more fictionalised sections best. The entire work probed lots of super relevant social implications regarding the sapphic subversion of normative society, but for some reason I can't really place, I wasn't totally satisfied.
I think I just expected more unique interpretations and more of a gender expansive queering of the archive. And the epilogue didn't thoroughly consider the reverberations of these histories, gap-filled or otherwise.
What kinds of legacies have made it out of the dusty lavender attics? I guess Possanza answers that question for us about herself, but I suppose I mean a broader, community-level legacy. What do we make out of this? All that said, I found many parts so interesting and I'm so so glad books like this one are getting published. And I kind of love the vibe Possanza radiates of just completely drowning into the archives and looking for more and more evidence of lesbian love and care and joy and survival, and bringing that into her own life.
I think I just expected more unique interpretations and more of a gender expansive queering of the archive. And the epilogue didn't thoroughly consider the reverberations of these histories, gap-filled or otherwise.
What kinds of legacies have made it out of the dusty lavender attics? I guess Possanza answers that question for us about herself, but I suppose I mean a broader, community-level legacy. What do we make out of this? All that said, I found many parts so interesting and I'm so so glad books like this one are getting published. And I kind of love the vibe Possanza radiates of just completely drowning into the archives and looking for more and more evidence of lesbian love and care and joy and survival, and bringing that into her own life.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
This is the book 18-year old me wishes she could have found while searching for the word lesbian at her university's card catalog.
I highly recommend the audiobook as you get the original recording from some of the oral histories!
I highly recommend the audiobook as you get the original recording from some of the oral histories!
manicmeg's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
It started slow but the ending is fantastic! It’s an important piece of history that I’m glad has been recorded
bingpup's review against another edition
i really wanted to love this but i could not get in any sort of rhythm with it and never feel gravitated towards reading it unfortunately