Love Shook My Heart: New Lesbian Love Stories [Paperback]

Irene Zahava (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The 25 stories in Love Shook My Heart are love stories in the broadest sense, from unclouded girl-meets-girl romances to fantasies in faraway kingdoms--even a wintry story based on the Grimms' fairy tale "Frau Trude." Some of these pieces will seem familiar to readers. The coming-out narrative, for instance--that exclusively gay genre--is well represented, including the requisite lesbian back rub. And there are lots of ex-lovers in the book--another fixture on the lesbian landscape--some running away, others returning, full of endearments.

Less romantic, but equally resonant for queer readers, is Judith Stein's "Members of the Wedding," a painful portrayal of culture shock in which two "fat Jewish dykes" travel from Boston to attend a straight wedding in Nashville, Tennessee,a city that seems to them like "some kind of alternate-reality amusement park." The best piece in the collection may be Antonia Matthew's inventive "If This Were...," in which two women seduce each other by imagining what they would be doing and saying if they were characters in a romance. Not all the stories here meet the literary level of "If This Were...," but most are interesting and thoughtfully written, quietly documenting passion in its many changing forms. --Regina Marler

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books; 1st edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555834043
• ISBN-13: 978-1555834043
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,124,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest, subtle book to read during a rainstorm, October 13, 2000

By	Gabrielle Anex - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Shook My Heart: New Lesbian Love Stories (Paperback)

I bought this book because I wasn't interested in the "Erotic Lesbian" anthologies that seem to dominate the gay and lesbian fiction section. It was a pleasant surprise. I have devoured this book like ice cream on a hot day. Every story (I can think of only one exception- "Shelling Peas"-too much "telling" and too preachy) had a unique voice and honest tone. I have found something to relate to in each separate story. "If This Were..." was exceptionally clever, "Swing Shift" was timely, "The View From Inside" had me laughing out loud, "Members of the Wedding" had me crying, "Wood" was a moving novella. Most lesbians will find something in each story to take with them. If you enjoy reading lesbian stories that are subtle, yet have many layers to them, this is the book to buy.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Slightly the "dumb blond" version of a book, January 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Love Shook My Heart: New Lesbian Love Stories (Paperback)

Besides the story with the rabbit, "Bunrab" which was very amusing, the rest are moreless boring. It was a dissapointment after "Tasting life twice", which I have found absolutely 5 stars. I guess I was hoping for something "heavier"...