Young Wives' Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership [Paperback]

Jill Corral (Author), Lisa Miya-Jervis (Author), Bell Hooks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Live Girls Series | Publication Date: June 9, 2001

The term “wife” is fraught with conflicting connotations for many young women today. Although the word suggests companionship and commitment, it’s weighted with the knowledge that marriage is a male-dominated institution in which women have been subservient for centuries. In this provocative collection of essays, writers in their twenties and thirties discuss how they’re navigating the waters of sanctified long-term relationships. Juhu Thukral speaks of marrying to please her traditional Indian parents; Rachel Fudge wonders whether alternative ceremonies can lead to greater equality in marriage; Kate Epstein tries to balance motherhood with a career; Kristy Harcourt, a lesbian, discusses her ambivalence about marriage ceremonies; and Leslie Miller struggles with being identified as half of a couple.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Organized by Corral, a freelance editor, and Miya-Jervis, editor and publisher of Bitch magazine, this anthology by Generation X women is both fascinating and provocative. It's also just an all-around good read, as the 30 pieces are uniformly well written, a welcome change from most anthologies. Straight and queer authors give intimate looks at their love lives, particularly their present (or just-past) long-term relationships. Topics range from how one woman ended up in a nine-year trilateral relationship that resulted in children to how an author is balancing her needs for privacy and intimacy. Topics in between include how to deal with lesbian weddings, straight weddings, balancing partners' ethnicity, having children, naming children, not having children, not getting married at all, and being a lesbian married to a gay man. A foreword by bell hooks rounds out this work, another entry in Seal Press's excellent "Live Girls" series, which focuses on marriage and intimacy from the perspectives of twenty- and thirtysomething women. Highly recommended for all collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (June 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580050506
• ISBN-13: 978-1580050500
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book rocks, August 16, 2001

By 

Girlycake (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Young Wives' Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership (Paperback)

As a young feminist, I had an exceptionally difficult time reconciling my beliefs with the fact not only was I head over heels in love with a man, for some reason I was even thinking I wanted to marry him. I had spent most of my life to date deriding the institution of marriage, and when I realized that commitment was in fact what I wanted with this man, I felt utterly confused. I wish I'd had this book three years ago when I was looking for some guidance -- even reading it now gave me a fresh dose of insight and made me realize that there are OTHERS out there as well who struggle with this decision.

In short: this book rocks. No matter what your situation and persuasion, you'll find something inside you can relate with.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome, July 5, 2001

By 

jane belen (boston, MA usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Young Wives' Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership (Paperback)

This is an outstanding collection of essays. I could easily relate to many of the postives and negatives of relationship commitments that all of the women discussed. I found this book a breath of fresh air!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, Charming & Honest, April 2, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Young Wives' Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership (Paperback)

I found this book to be witty, charming and honest. It offers examples of how heterosexual relationships are challenged and penalized by gender hegemonhy and the social narrative of heteronormativity. Moreover, it's far from a dry or verbose scholarly text. It is clever and fun to read.