Pulp

by Robin Talley Narrated by Stephanie Cannon

Overview

In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. It's not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself-and Marie-to a danger all too real.

Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can't stop thinking about her senior project and its subject-classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby's own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires and tragedies of the characters she's reading about. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym “Marian Love,” and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity.

In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we've come and how much farther we have to go.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile

Stephanie Cannon narrates this audiobook, which moves between 1955 and 2017. Amid the 1950s Lavender Scare, when mass firings of gays from government jobs took place, Janet discovers a lesbian pulp fiction novel, and it opens up new worlds for her. Sixty-two years later, Abby is an out-and-proud lesbian coping with her parents’ imploding marriage. The juxtaposition of these intertwining stories highlights the incredible changes lesbian communities have undergone in 60-plus years. Cannon gives both teens a subtle mid-Atlantic accent, reflecting their shared home of Washington, DC. Other characters have distinct voices, though, interestingly, Janet’s and Abby’s love interests are both given a similar high-pitched voice. Talley’s storytelling elevates what could have felt like a history lesson. Cannon’s engaging narration ensures that listeners will dive right into these teens’ intertwining stories and not want them to end. S.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

"Skillfully illustrates the fear and isolation of being a lesbian teen in unforgiving times...A sweeping, engrossing drama full of important moments." –School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Fun but substantive.... creatively spanning time and genre." -Booklist

"Pulp pops off the page, and Talley is at her best as she explores first loves and first heartbreaks as queer girls, both today and in 1955. As the two storylines combine, readers can only marvel at Talley's deft hand and delicate characterization. PULP is a humdinger of a read. I defy anyone to put it down until the end!" -Saundra Mitchell, editor of All Out and author of The Vespertine series.

"A moving chronicle of a challenging time and a lively portrait of today...A delightful love story on many levels." -Ann Bannon, author of the legendary lesbian pulp series The Beebo Brinker Chronicles

"[A] wonderfully ambitious and incredibly creative exploration of queer literary history." - Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights

"Cleverly written...superlative pacing...Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history." –Kirkus Reviews

"Quite moving... Pulp...offers a pointed reminder that history is never that far behind us."
-BookPage

JANUARY 2019 - AudioFile

Stephanie Cannon narrates this audiobook, which moves between 1955 and 2017. Amid the 1950s Lavender Scare, when mass firings of gays from government jobs took place, Janet discovers a lesbian pulp fiction novel, and it opens up new worlds for her. Sixty-two years later, Abby is an out-and-proud lesbian coping with her parents’ imploding marriage. The juxtaposition of these intertwining stories highlights the incredible changes lesbian communities have undergone in 60-plus years. Cannon gives both teens a subtle mid-Atlantic accent, reflecting their shared home of Washington, DC. Other characters have distinct voices, though, interestingly, Janet’s and Abby’s love interests are both given a similar high-pitched voice. Talley’s storytelling elevates what could have felt like a history lesson. Cannon’s engaging narration ensures that listeners will dive right into these teens’ intertwining stories and not want them to end. S.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-08-20

Two Washington, D.C., lesbian teens, 62 years apart, each discover classic lesbian pulp fiction—late midcentury paperbacks depicting a shadowy world of forbidden love.

For 18-year-old Janet Jones in 1955, A Love So Strange is a revelation: She had no idea "other girls might feel the way she did." Janet and her friend Marie, who are both assumed white, tentatively explore their growing attraction but face warnings from an African-American lesbian couple that Marie's government job and reputation are in danger. For high school senior Abby Zimet in 2017, the world is different. She has been out to her accepting white Jewish family since ninth grade. Nursing a broken heart from the breakup with her bisexual classmate Linh, a Vietnamese-American girl, Abby turns to reading pulp novels and researching gay and lesbian life in midcentury D.C. Talley (Our Own Private Universe, 2017, etc.) adds complexity by tying Janet's and Abby's storylines together: Both girls write their own pulp novels, creating two additional plotlines. The books within a book are cleverly written to mimic pulp styles, and the superlative pacing will hook readers. The acknowledgments describe the author's meticulous research and the actual historical events (e.g. the persecution of queer government employees during the Lavender Scare of the 1950s) and literature upon which the book is based. Readers familiar with D.C. may find the liberties taken with geography distracting.

Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history. (bibliography) (Fiction. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169979947
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/13/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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