Customer Reviews

One Degree of Separation

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having just finished yet another formula romance where some traumatic past event keeps two women from accepting that they're in love for 249 pages (but they figure it out on page 250, end of story) I was feeling pretty jaded as I started One Degree of Separation.

I don't know how Karin Kallmaker does it! Fifteen romances and she nevers writes the same story twice. On the first page -- the first paragraph! -- she made me laugh. Then I laughed some more. Then, when Liddy Peel walks into the story in Chapter 2 I was on the floor.

Not that either character has to quip a joke every sentence. Nor is their humor based on belitting others as less cool than they are. (I hate that about some romances whose entire humor rests on making fun of other people.) It's their wry outlook on their *own* life that got the first giggle and from there I was completely hooked.

It has to be good writing for me to enthusiastically believe a rather improbable turn of events in a small town. And not only do I buy every bit of the plot, Kallmaker's erotic touch is so compelling that when Marian and Liddy look at each other the first time I positively *felt* the rush.

Marian and Liddy's courtship is set against the backdrop of a cast of well-defined secondary characters who swill coffee and drop amusing wisdom about such topics as what constitutes hot talk in bed, and if it's okay to date the ex of an ex. Marian, meanwhile, is trying to stay in control of her life, but Inner Slut and Inner Prude refuse to get along. Sophisticated, big-city girl Liddy knows she herself is still suffering angry depression from her last relationship, but swear to freakin' god, how can a librarian in Iowa freakin' City be so sexy? And such a great kisser? It's not fair!

When it became clear that both women had something in their past that still hurt and made it hard for them to trust that happiness could be real this time, I believed that too and it's the way Kalmmaker tells the story that makes it possible. And when Marian arrives on Liddy's doorstep in the middle of a rainstorm the night that follows is one of Kallmaker's hottest ever.

Taking place over just four days of sizzling Iowa summer, One Degree of Separation is the best lighthearted romance I've read in a long time. I am in awe of Kallmaker's range. Her latest before this, Maybe Next Time, spanned 40 years of the heroine's life, and was one of the most intense, wrenching romances I've ever read. Then Kallmaker turns around and delivers this amusing but never vicious, heartfelt but never sappy, steamy, engaging story of two ordinary, every day women who make you believe in the extraordinary power of love.

Once again, I ended a Karin Kallmaker romance absolutely certain that some day that kind of magic can happen to me.

I had so much fun reading this book - I was dismayed by how quickly I finished it. I couldn't put it down!

There are a lot of things I like about this book - but what I like the most is that the lesbians in this book know they are lesbians. I get so tired of reading coming out stories. In this book, although there don't seem to be enough lesbians in town, at least the ones who are there take their lesbianism as just a fact of life and the story doesn't have to revolve around it. I loved the fact that one of the main characters was a librarian and all the references to librarians, especially since my partner is one. The mid-west college town setting was amusing. The reason I don't give this book 5 stars is that one of the character's constant swearing to herself annoyed me.

This book was a delight! Karin Kallmaker deftly incorporated humor and real heart into this fun, emotional, and surprisingly spirited read. I highly recommend it....Review by Blayne Cooper, author of "The Last Train Home," "First Lady," and other works of lesbian fiction.

I have previously read some of Kallmakers books and I think that this one might be her best book this far. She has always been good at doing research but I have sometimes in previous books felt that she had included too much of it in the storyline. This book has, however, a perfect balance between the research she's done and the fiction. One Degree of Separation doesn't have the complex plot that Substitute for Love had but it has a lot of charm and and other qualities that make up for it.

What are the chances? They say anyone can be connected to another person with six degrees of separation. What happens when there is only one? One woman, trying to recover from an abusive relationship takes a job in a town where she meets a woman who is also recovering from the same type of situation. Although somewhat attracted to each other, they both voice the "I'm not looking for a relationship" comment. Tentatively forming a friendship, they begin to spend more and more time together. Can they heal the wounds that each is carrying, learn to trust and to love again? And just what exactly is the one degree separating them?

A fantastic story, where the writer weaves a tale taking the reader on a journey filled with drama, intrigue and at times, laughter. Once again the skills of the writer are very evident in the story, interlocking the lives of the characters with everyday situations and obstacles placed in their paths and of friendships forged.

A terrific book! Another in the long line of well-written books by a fantastic writer!

This is not your mother's library! It's the library where I wish I'd spent all my youth though. Imagine going to the library and there at the desk is this cute, sweet, honest, knowledgeable, kind, OUT LESBIAN there to answer your every question. I would have asked *this* Marian the Librarian where to find the girls-who-like-girls book, let me tell you.

This book was like a fantasy come to life. All my life I have had the hots for librarians. I think it's because Barbara Gordon was a librarian -- you know, BATGIRL! I laughed a lot and really felt like if I went to Iowa City I'd find Marian and Liddy drinking coffee, along with the rest of the gals. No telling who'd be with whom by then, except Marian and Liddy -- they're meant for each other. Wouldn't I like to be a fly on the wall for their sex life!

I did not think that Karin Kallmaker could come up with a heroine that was sexier than the savagely intelligent, tormented, motorcycle riding Reyna, but Marian flipped all my lights to green. She can check out if I'm Dewey any day!

"Life is twisted" is a favored exclamation from Liddy, a twenty-something dyke from Berkeley, California. Newly graduated from Cal with her Masters degree, Liddy has taken a contract to conduct research for a nationally known writer and finds herself trapped in the Iowa corn-belt for the summer. Her goal was to get away from the West Coast and an affair that ended very badly. She has no intention of getting romantically involved with anyone this summer. The women of Iowa City which boasts, arguably, the highest concentration of dykes living in any town in the Midwest, have other plans for "fresh meat." Even Liddy finds herself reconsidering her goals when she meets "Marian the Librarian."

If you are a librarian living in the "River City," Iowa and your name is Marian, you might as well surrender and embrace the humor of the musical. Marian Pardoo, on the Reference staff at the Iowa City Public Library, has done just that. Her dog answers to "Professor Hill" while her cat is dubbed "Trombone." Marian enjoys her work and is pleased with life in semi-rural Iowa. However, she is nursing some major heartache. That pain sometimes makes her life very difficult.

Neither Liddy nor Marian is prepared for the chemistry that strikes when they meet. Their conflagration is wonderful, frightening, and more than a little confusing. Or as Liddy wonders, "Was she in a foreign movie with no subtitles? Or was this just the way the dykes dated in Iowa City? Yes, no, yes, no, talk, talk, and more talk?" p112

The two women struggle to overcome their fears of getting hurt by love again and find that sometimes communication is difficult. When Marian looks for a greeting card to express her feelings for Liddy, she finds, "There weren't any cards that said, 'Can we do it like rabbits and still be friends?' Not one read, 'Ignore what I'm saying and jump me, now!'" p122

Having a crush on a gym teacher is a fairly common element in the school years of most future dykes. In One Degree, Kallmaker pays tribute to what has to be a close second for many of the "nerdier" lesbians, that of the crush on a librarian. Or as she has Marian reflect of her decision, years ago to become a librarian, "It always seemed like whatever I could dream I could find at the library. And ever since I was a girl I thought librarians were the guardians of all the mysteries of time. It never occurred to me .... That I could be one of the guardians." p43

Kallmaker's romp through the lesbian community in a Midwestern College town is entertaining, sexy and touching. While One Degree is one of her most lighthearted novels, Kallmaker taps readers on the shoulder with a few well-placed political observations. She illustrates the realities of public library employment and points out a frightening aspect of our post-9/11 world, i.e., the Patriot Act and its assault on privacy and the free access to information.

One Degree is a delightful romantic comedy, filled with humor, lust, and lots of intelligent, interesting dykes. Kallmaker's characters have a familiar feel and it's easy to identify with them. They are individuals, yet likely to remind readers of women they know. As the novel opens, Marian is having a bad PMS day and she writes in her journal, "Someone will die if my period doesn't start tomorrow." p1 When Marian self medicates with chocolate, it's a sentiment with which most women can empathize.

The "square dance" of lesbians working together and loving each other in a small community will be a familiar theme in the lives of many readers. Kallmaker calls these dances with compassionate understanding, a taste for irony, and a deliciously wicked wit. Interestingly, she continues a dialog that has threaded its way through some of her other romances, as Liddy and Marian discuss definitions and nuances of the butch and femme "do-si-do." One Degree of Separation is just plain fun to read. So get out your dance cards and enjoy the music!

The excellent writing, pacing, humor, and insight of this stellar book reminded me of Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or possibly some of Rita Mae Brown's books. Just very, very well done (...). The dialogue, characters, and overall plan of the book are all flawless. You cannot go wrong with this one! Would also recommend MAYBE NEXT TIME.

If you didn't like 'Maybe Next Time' then you were not alone. But with 'One Degree of Separation' Kallmaker is back on top hysterical and raunchy form.

Wonderful characters, brilliant dialogue and an awesome plot. Really a pleasure to read.