Status
Checked out
Publication
Naiad Press (1983), Paperback, 256 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:"A landmark work of lesbian fiction" and the basis for the acclaimed film Desert Hearts (The New York Times). Against the backdrop of Reno, Nevada, in the late 1950s, award-winning author Jane Rule chronicles a love affair between two women. When Desert of the Heart opens, Evelyn Hall is on a plane that will take her from her old life in Oakland, California, to Reno, where she plans to divorce her husband of sixteen years. A voluntary exile in a brave new world, she meets a woman who will change her life. Fifteen years younger, Ann Childs works as a change apron in a casino. Evelyn is instantly drawn to the fiercely independent Ann, and their friendship soon evolves into a romantic relationship. An English professor who had always led a conventional life, Evelyn suddenly finds all her beliefs about love, morality, and identity called into question. Peopled by a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a novel that dares to ask whether love between two women can last..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member DanieXJ
In some ways I'm sorta sad that I saw the movie before I read this book. I wonder if I would have appreciated the book even more if I wasn't constantly comparing the book to the movie. They are quite similar in theme and in some scenes and such, but, there are also big differences too (because of
It's about Evelyn. An older woman, a Professor with a PhD who has come to Reno to get a no contested sort of divorce. Live in Reno for six weeks, go to court, voila divorce. She stays at a sort of Inn/Bed and Breakfast place. Frances owns/runs the place with her son Walter. And then there's Ann who lives there as well. Ann is a cartoonist (satire and political I think, not so much the funny papers). But, she also works at a Slot Parlor. In the book the two women Ann and Evelyn look very much alike, which is one of the reasons they begin interacting in the first place. That was one of the few things in the book that really threw me off since in the movie they most definitely don't look alike.
It's a typical lesbian romance fiction in that the back and forths the twists and turns weren't too different from the norm, but, other than that it wasn't typical at all. The descriptions especially were amazing. I could see everything so clearly. And the dialogue, though a teensy bit dated was awesome too. Crisp and it flowed perfectly. The characters were all really unique. (Especially Silver and her guy Joe) and they all played roles in a really tightly written plot.
So, while on the one hand it's a classic piece of lesbian fiction romance, it's also a beautiful piece of literature (in the best sense of the word) about Identity and marriage and love and it even has some heady things to expound on about gambling. An amazing novel and very truly a classic in both genre and in general.
I do have to add that I was a little depressed how the Reno Library was portrayed (although, who knows, maybe it did suck back then). And as a total aside having nothing to do with the novel, the ePub was a wicked well made/formatted one (or perhaps I've just read too many crappily made ePubs, who knows), but, I really appreciated it being a readable ePub.
ARC via Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media
Show More
the difference in what media it's being presented in (although, I don't quite understand the change in a ton of the names between the book and the movie).It's about Evelyn. An older woman, a Professor with a PhD who has come to Reno to get a no contested sort of divorce. Live in Reno for six weeks, go to court, voila divorce. She stays at a sort of Inn/Bed and Breakfast place. Frances owns/runs the place with her son Walter. And then there's Ann who lives there as well. Ann is a cartoonist (satire and political I think, not so much the funny papers). But, she also works at a Slot Parlor. In the book the two women Ann and Evelyn look very much alike, which is one of the reasons they begin interacting in the first place. That was one of the few things in the book that really threw me off since in the movie they most definitely don't look alike.
It's a typical lesbian romance fiction in that the back and forths the twists and turns weren't too different from the norm, but, other than that it wasn't typical at all. The descriptions especially were amazing. I could see everything so clearly. And the dialogue, though a teensy bit dated was awesome too. Crisp and it flowed perfectly. The characters were all really unique. (Especially Silver and her guy Joe) and they all played roles in a really tightly written plot.
So, while on the one hand it's a classic piece of lesbian fiction romance, it's also a beautiful piece of literature (in the best sense of the word) about Identity and marriage and love and it even has some heady things to expound on about gambling. An amazing novel and very truly a classic in both genre and in general.
I do have to add that I was a little depressed how the Reno Library was portrayed (although, who knows, maybe it did suck back then). And as a total aside having nothing to do with the novel, the ePub was a wicked well made/formatted one (or perhaps I've just read too many crappily made ePubs, who knows), but, I really appreciated it being a readable ePub.
ARC via Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media
Show Less
LibraryThing member trixtah
I saw the movie first, in 1986, and love it, but the book is even better. The movie changes a few of the facts (including names, unnecessarily), and indulges itself in some truly tacky dialogue and sentimentality.
The book goes much more into the characters' thoughts and fears, goes *way* more into
The book goes much more into the characters' thoughts and fears, goes *way* more into
Show More
Ann and Silver's relationship, and gives a much more rounded view of Ann's stepmother. It has much more depth, compared to the movie, and while it is "quieter" in tone, it is more compelling. Show Less
LibraryThing member rebelwriter85
Good read. Creatively written. The movie Desert Hearts is still better.
LibraryThing member thorold
Definitely a better-than-average specimen of the "LGBT classic" - a thoughtful, well-written and not too predictable lesbian romance with lots of interesting period detail about the Nevada gambling industry. As a few others have mentioned, there's also plenty of entertainment value in trying to
Show More
spot places where the 1985 film actually used part of the book. (Apart from the setting in Reno and the occupations of the two main characters, there isn't much overlap between the two.) Show Less
LibraryThing member banjo123
I had read this book years and years ago, and quite liked it then. I was rather afraid to re-read, because often lesbian fiction that I liked in the old days doesn't hold up. I think that back then I was just excited to read books that reflected my life, so I wasn't super critical. The other thing
In [Desert of the Heart], there were times when I felt that the characters were way to serious and melodramatic for the situation. I had to remind myself that, for the error, the drama made sense. There was very little room, and that time, for an independent woman, and absolutely no room for an out lesbian to live safely. That said, I do think that at times Rule is just to serious and philosophical. But she is a good writer, I think, and the story is interesting. Evelyn Hall comes to Reno to get a quicky divorce. This is back when divorces were harder to get, and so it meant staying in Reno for 6 weeks and pretending that she was establishing residence there. She meets a quirky younger woman, Ann Childs, who works in a casino, and has her own struggles with intimacy. The book is interesting also for it's descriptions of Nevada, the casinos, and that whole world.
So the book has a happy ending--hooray! I thought it was worth my reading time... probably 3 1/2 stars, maybe 4?
Show More
is its just hard to remember, in 2016, how much things have changed, and how hard it was to be a lesbian just a generation ago. I was talking just the other night with a friend about the movie Carol. She was kind of complaining that the movie left her feeling so sad. I had to remind her that for that time, that was a happy ending. In [Desert of the Heart], there were times when I felt that the characters were way to serious and melodramatic for the situation. I had to remind myself that, for the error, the drama made sense. There was very little room, and that time, for an independent woman, and absolutely no room for an out lesbian to live safely. That said, I do think that at times Rule is just to serious and philosophical. But she is a good writer, I think, and the story is interesting. Evelyn Hall comes to Reno to get a quicky divorce. This is back when divorces were harder to get, and so it meant staying in Reno for 6 weeks and pretending that she was establishing residence there. She meets a quirky younger woman, Ann Childs, who works in a casino, and has her own struggles with intimacy. The book is interesting also for it's descriptions of Nevada, the casinos, and that whole world.
So the book has a happy ending--hooray! I thought it was worth my reading time... probably 3 1/2 stars, maybe 4?
Show Less
LibraryThing member elenaj
Subtle, philosophical, beautiful, hopeful. Characters I was curious about and frustrated by, that I argued with and rooted for. So much better than the movie (Desert Hearts) that it's kind of ridiculous.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1964
Physical description
256 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0930044398 / 9780930044398