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A review by curlyhairbibliophile
Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America by Krista Burton
2.0
Moby Dyke is promised to provide a campy road trip nonfiction collection about the last remaining lesbian bars across the United States and try to discover why they are shrinking at an alarming rate. I was expecting some history of the bars, interviews with patrons, and some journalistic integrity wrapped up in a beautiful nonfiction memoir.
Instead, we received a half-baked research book about the lesbian bars I could have found by reading the descriptions in the Yelp reviews. She often failed to look up the bars' history or do any research outside of finding the address and (often incorrect) hours posted for the bar. Many of the bars would tell her she missed a large event, conference, or celebrity meet and greet by one or two days. Something that would have been avoided if she had reached out to the bars/owners prior to the trips, like an investigative journalist.
Much of the bar trips were rinse and repeat: she'd tell us about the cocktail menu, describing and steryotyping the people within the bar ("straight sorority girls", "femmes", "mascs" despite saying again and again about how she hated being steryotyped as straight), and talking about a vague connection she has to the bar (such as her tangent at the Nashville lesbian bar where she told us about how she really hated karaoke). There was no history, unless she was told it in the case of the lesbian bar in Oklahoma City, and very little nuance.
By the final bar in Oklahoma City, Krista had interviewed several patrons and told about the queer scene in the area. If only she had done this in ANY of the other bars. Simply put: one dive bar in one city is not going to differ significantly from another. What makes it interesting, is the history and stories. This missed the mark exponentially.
I think my review can be boiled down to this: Moby Dyke is a book about Krista and she is visiting lesbian bars. If you are a fan of Krista, this would be a perfect memoir for you! But if you are looking for a history of lesbian bars across the United States, this article would suffice.
Instead, we received a half-baked research book about the lesbian bars I could have found by reading the descriptions in the Yelp reviews. She often failed to look up the bars' history or do any research outside of finding the address and (often incorrect) hours posted for the bar. Many of the bars would tell her she missed a large event, conference, or celebrity meet and greet by one or two days. Something that would have been avoided if she had reached out to the bars/owners prior to the trips, like an investigative journalist.
Much of the bar trips were rinse and repeat: she'd tell us about the cocktail menu, describing and steryotyping the people within the bar ("straight sorority girls", "femmes", "mascs" despite saying again and again about how she hated being steryotyped as straight), and talking about a vague connection she has to the bar (such as her tangent at the Nashville lesbian bar where she told us about how she really hated karaoke). There was no history, unless she was told it in the case of the lesbian bar in Oklahoma City, and very little nuance.
By the final bar in Oklahoma City, Krista had interviewed several patrons and told about the queer scene in the area. If only she had done this in ANY of the other bars. Simply put: one dive bar in one city is not going to differ significantly from another. What makes it interesting, is the history and stories. This missed the mark exponentially.
I think my review can be boiled down to this: Moby Dyke is a book about Krista and she is visiting lesbian bars. If you are a fan of Krista, this would be a perfect memoir for you! But if you are looking for a history of lesbian bars across the United States, this article would suffice.