Beebo Brinker

by Ann Bannon

Paperback, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

PS 3552 .A495 B44 1983

Publication

Volute, 1983

Description

Ann Bannon was designated the �??Queen of Lesbian Pulp�?� for authoring several landmark novels in the �??50s. Unlike many writers of the period, however, Bannon broke through the shame and isolation typically portrayed in lesbian pulps, offering instead characters who embraced their sexuality. With Beebo Brinker, Bannon introduces a butch 17-year-old farm girl newly arrived in Beat-era Greenwich

User reviews

LibraryThing member skylightbooks

Set in the 1950s, these classic lesbian pulp novels really started it all. Ann Bannon began writing these books when she was only 22 years old. They reflect the rigid stereotypes of the '50s, but also paint the burgeoning gay and lesbian culture of NYC. Influenced and mentored by Vin Packer, Ann

Bannon influenced thousands of lesbians in the decade, to follow by her honest portrayal of lesbian lust and love in the 1950s. -Monica

Show Less

4 more

LibraryThing member ericnguyen09

A Classic Lesbian Pulp of Love, Betrayl, and A Girl Too Tall for Her Own Good

Though pulp novels are hard to find these days, Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker is one of those special rarities which have been reprinted, proclaimed a classic, and studied in universities across the country. Published in

1962, it was only reviewed by The Ladder which called the book a disappointment and sad failure. However, over 40 years later, The Ladder is no where to be seen, and LGBT scholars, queer readers, and pulp lovers across the country are still excited about it.

The novel tells the story of Beebo Brinker, who leaves her farm town for Greenwich Village, after finding it too uncomfortable and disgraceful to live in a small town. However, wherein the city at first was a symbol of freedom, she soon comes out, make friends with the local gays, and get invovled with the wicked Mona, the innocent Paula, and the irrestible star Venus Bogardus, all of who show Beebo that the city too can be a prison. It is through these relationships--a central theme in the novel--that Bannon explores the limits and possibilities of gay love and any other kind of love.

Beebo Brinker is filled with, as one might expect from a pulp era novel, larger than life characters who are appealing and unique in their own right. While some might say that they are sometime stereotypical, they are nonetheless charming. Who wouldn't be able to resist Jack Mann--man or woman, gay or straight--or even in between? Despite this, however, the novel at time drags as Beebo tries to find her place in the city, in life, and in love. But maybe, that's just the gay male side of me talking, uninterested in any lesbian sex scene however vaguely written.

The book however is part of the queer literary cannon, not only because it was an early lesbian novel, but also because it evokes a specific time, a specific place in gay history that is rarely captured so honestly. As she states in her preface, it is an offspring of that era, that time and place. Ann Bannon marked a time in literature when it wasn't wrong to be gay, and maybe it was just right to be who you were, no matter the sexuality. And it is perhaps for this reason alone that this novel should be read by any L, G, B, or T person looking to see their onw place in history.

Show Less

LibraryThing member caklr650

Man was this boring. It was like sitting in a dentist's office listening to a roomful of women have enless boring conversations. Yak Yak Yak.

LibraryThing member schatzi

Although the last book published in the Beebo Brinker series by Ann Bannon, this book is a prequel to the other books. Beebo flees to New York City, unable to deny who and what she is. While there, she encounters Jack Mann, who takes her in and befriends her. Beebo gets a girlfriend, Paula, but

Beebo is soon transfixed by the beautiful actress, Venus Bogardus.

In my opinion, this definitely isn't the best book in the series (I love Odd Girl Out the most), but it's a good story about Beebo's early years. If it had been a stand alone book, I probably would have rated it slightly lower, but I have a lot of love for the series, both historically-speaking and just fun-to-read-speaking.

Show Less

LibraryThing member caedocyon

I was not expecting to enjoy this nearly as much as I did; thus I give it 5 stars for blowing my expectations out of the water vs. 3.5-4 stars it deserves as a book in general.

I want to read more lesbian pulp novels; I hope this isn't going to set my expectations too high.

Fewer