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A review by atomic_tourist
Always by Kris Bryant
This year has been my first year reading romance. I expected to hate the genre, but I've found I love the escapism and the "feel-good" quality that characterizes love stories. ALWAYS was a whirlwind of a trip to Italy, and I had a nice time reading this story.
Even though I liked ALWAYS, I've been bothered by a trend in sapphic romance novels where everyone is molded exactly to the patriarchy's beauty standards. Like, come on! Describing Camila's skin as "perfect" because she didn't have any freckles or moles... Passages waxing poetic about the "amazing" (AKA skinny!!) physique of these women... All the comments about how it's beautiful when they put on makeup or do their hair... Not to mention the emphasis on their fair skin... And I've read 2 other books this year that did the same thing. I understand that, on TV and film, women don't get roles unless they look a certain way. But this is a book!!! Please please please, I am begging romance writers, especially gay women, to undo their idea of what it means to be "beautiful" or "desirable" and to stop pushing the male gaze into books that are supposed to be for gay women.
Plus, how are you going to write a book with major flashbacks to 1940s Italy without mentioning World War II or the Holocaust? Like, let's not forget what Italy was doing in the 1940s, or by whom they were ruled... Italy was literally part of the Axis Powers and Mussolini was in control to some extent up until his execution in 1945. Not to mention, nearly 1 in 7 Italian Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Even in a light romance, I'd think Italian (and American) atrocities are worth mentioning.
So I guess maybe this is a good book to read if you're not a critical thinker? Undeniably, Bryant has a talent for building tension between her love interests, but I was consistently bothered by the beauty standards imposed on her characters and also the lack of historical consideration.
TBH, as I am writing this review, I've come to the conclusion that the best lesbian-authored book set in Italy will *always* be THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY. Ms. Highsmith cannot be beaten, unfortunately.
Even though I liked ALWAYS, I've been bothered by a trend in sapphic romance novels where everyone is molded exactly to the patriarchy's beauty standards. Like, come on! Describing Camila's skin as "perfect" because she didn't have any freckles or moles... Passages waxing poetic about the "amazing" (AKA skinny!!) physique of these women... All the comments about how it's beautiful when they put on makeup or do their hair... Not to mention the emphasis on their fair skin... And I've read 2 other books this year that did the same thing. I understand that, on TV and film, women don't get roles unless they look a certain way. But this is a book!!! Please please please, I am begging romance writers, especially gay women, to undo their idea of what it means to be "beautiful" or "desirable" and to stop pushing the male gaze into books that are supposed to be for gay women.
Plus, how are you going to write a book with major flashbacks to 1940s Italy without mentioning World War II or the Holocaust? Like, let's not forget what Italy was doing in the 1940s, or by whom they were ruled... Italy was literally part of the Axis Powers and Mussolini was in control to some extent up until his execution in 1945. Not to mention, nearly 1 in 7 Italian Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Even in a light romance, I'd think Italian (and American) atrocities are worth mentioning.
So I guess maybe this is a good book to read if you're not a critical thinker? Undeniably, Bryant has a talent for building tension between her love interests, but I was consistently bothered by the beauty standards imposed on her characters and also the lack of historical consideration.
TBH, as I am writing this review, I've come to the conclusion that the best lesbian-authored book set in Italy will *always* be THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY. Ms. Highsmith cannot be beaten, unfortunately.