LESBIANA

BY GENE DAMON

141. JOURNEY TO A WOMAN BY ANN BANNON. FAWCETT GOLD MEDAL, 1960

THIS IS MISS BANNON'S FOURTH LESBIAN NOVEL AND PERHAPS IT IS HER BEST TO DATE. IT IS CLEAR THAT SHE IS BECOMING A SPOKESMAN FOR HER PEOPLE. ONCE AGAIN SHE WRITES OF THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT APPEARED IN ODD GIRL OUT, I AM A MOMAN AND WOMEN IN THE SHADOWS, BUT THIS NOVEL GOES BACK TO THE OTHER HEROINE OF THE FIRST BOOK, BETH, AND COVERS FULLY A 10-YEAR PERIOD IN HER CHARACTERS' LIVES.

RISING ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS, MISS BANNON'S PORTRAIT OF BEEBO BRINKER MAKES BEEBO THE MAIN CHARACTER. THE WHOLE BOOK CAN BE SUMMED UP BY QUOTING THE WORDS BETH USES TO DESCRIBE BEEBO WHEN BETH IS FIRST BECOMING AWARE OF LOVE FOR HER. SHE LOOKS AT BEEBO'S FACE AND THINKS:

"THERE WAS WISDOM IN IT AND THE TRACE OF PAIN LIVED THROUGH AND LEARNED FROM, AND A VERY SPECIAL PERSONAL BEAUTY THAT ALMOST NO ONE ELSE WOULD HAVE CALLED BY THAT GENTLE NAME." VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE,

[42, STR‍ÅNGER ON LESBOS BY VALERIE TAYLOR, FAWCETT (CREST) 1960.

FRANCES, 35-YEAR-OLD WIFE AND MOTHER, FEELS IGNORED AND DESERTED. SHE ENROLLS IN A UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LITERATURE COURSE TO ALLEVIATE HER BOREDOM. SHE MEETS THE HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE MARY BAKER, A TV EXEC IN HER LATE TWENTIE: WORKING FOR AN M.A. DEGREE IN HER SPARE TIME.

FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK THE AUTHOR DELINEATES A CONVINCING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN, AND SOME OF THE PASSAGES ARE URPRISINGLY WELL WRITTEN FOR A PAPERBACK. THE LAST HALF OF THE BOOK IS THE USUAL STEROTYPED PAPERBACK NOVEL