Cause from where I'm from, I feel like there is. I live in a country where it is painful to admit, our own literature is most likely in a shadowy corner, than the grander center aisles of a bookstore. And in that shadowy corner, is a more shadowy section of gay literature. I always feel a strong rush of excitement when I see a lesbian book when I search my favorite bookstores. It's that rare. Perhaps, the gay community were steps ahead putting their voices and stories in print than us lesbians, I don't know. All I know is, I want more. I want to hungrily devour whatever lesbian literature I can get my hands on--better if its from a local scene.
With that, let me share with you a pleasant surprise I was blessed with last night. Because something happened post-sex, and by sex I mean something else--I just wanted the drama, I couldn't sleep. I decided to start reading this young adult book that I pulled out for one of my book reviews, Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate.
This book cover inspires me to have black hair. |
Fallen in Love is part of the Fallen series, a love story between angels. For Fallen in Love, what we have are back stories of the characters of the Fallen series. Think of it as fan fiction, or the unnecessary author response to the typical reader's question "what happened to characters A, B, C?"
Nonetheless, I have to say, I was pleased to find out that within this young adult "supplementary" book, is a lesbian love story. I am very pleased for various reasons, beginning with 1. Fallen in Love is a book with a young targeted demographic. I really think it's important to incorporate such forms of love, heterosexual and homosexual, in the literature we feed the youth nowadays because the issue between the sexes is more alive than ever in this period to which they're born--even blessed with.
But what truly delighted me was the part where in the lesbian chapters, the romantic conflict the author decided to focus on was in the issue between them being angels, not both girls. I have always dreamed of a community where our sexes and preferences would be taken as a matter of flatly. Where to be in love with the same sex is treated with as much normalcy as being in love with the opposite sex is. The lesbian story line in Fallen in Love fed that fantasy. It wasn't a grand story, Fallen in Love wasn't a grand book, but for that effort, I give it my fondness.
I wish to find more lesbian books/stories to share with you. If you know any, please do share with me too.
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