Tipping the Velvet: A Novel by Sarah Waters
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Book Reviews of Tipping the Velvet: A Novel
Book Review: The only book I have finished in the past year...
Summary: 5 Stars
There are probably five books sitting on my nightstand, half -finished, by authors whose work I normally love. I was loaned "Tipping the Velvet" by a friend and read it over one weekend.
I can see how the novel would have vast mainstream appeal, but I believe I enjoyed it so much because it was the first novel I truly saw myself in. I have read enough "lesbian novels" to know that most are pretty terrible. And I've read enough Victorian novels about female companions to know that there was sex that should have been included. Waters certainly achieves her goal of making lesbian relationships visible and alive in time and place where they were previously hidden.
One reader complained that there was "too much sex," which he was probably saying for the sake of argument because few men don't enjoy reading about women doing it. The graphic descriptions and the frequency of sex in the novel is necessary to show the development of the character from "confused" to "tom," as well as to challenge the chaste reputation of Victorian women. "All that sex" is also included to contrast, for example, the tenderness of Nancy and Kitty, the rough, emotionally vacant interactions of "Neville" and Diana, and finally the more assured and entirely consensual lovemaking of Nancy and Florence.
For all the sex, however, it was the latter portion of the novel that I was most impressed with. While I feared a real love storyline with Florence the Socialist (especially following such whirlwind romps through the sheets) would compel me to stick a finger down my throat, I found myself crying over the complex union of two imperfect and damaged young women. I also was worried that I smelled a thinly veiled socialist agenda, but there were enough Socialist jokes (courtesy of Nancy) to allay that fear. These jokes served, ingeniously, to show the disconnect between the left-leaning thinker and the working person who has no time for or understanding of theoretical politics. And certainly the political movements of the time are interesting enough to warrant use as the backdrop for the more important love story. Finally, endearingly following the Victorian tradition, Waters gives the reader a satisfying conclusion
Another reader complained of Waters' reversion to lesbian stereotypes. What novel was she reading? I found the peripheral lesbian characters, especially DIckie, to be quite amusing and cleverly written (the whole Dorian Gray bit had me laughing out loud in the subway). Waters manages to poke fun at lesbian culture while ultimately telling a story that affirms "alternative" sexualities.
Waters certainly is a masterful stoyteller. This novel is a landmark contribution to the canon of lesbian literature. More importantly, it provokes the reader to think a little more deeply about "female companionship" in Victorian England, and even the modern world. Lesbians are, far too often, still quite invisible.
Book Review: Highly recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh, Sarah Waters, how I love thee! I've rarely read a book so fast. This one was 472 pages and I devoured in about five hours. I got it from the library, to be honest. I wish I'd bought it, so I could lend it, but who would I lend it to, considering what it's about? It's something of a historical novel, set in the late 1800's, about a girl born to a oystering family in Britain. Are you yawning? Don't. She becomes involved in the stage. Boring? Not just any stage... but masher shows. Masher means girls-dressed-as-gents, pretending gallantry, singing saucy numbers full of innuendo, swinging canes. Our heroine falls for one of these "masher" girls and in doing so slowly, and without any education or vocabulary, unearths her own lesbianism. The plot is just fantastically interesting, and erotic in places, and completely full of 1890's jargon, sights, and sounds. The sexual nature of the book's theme is both understated, almost accidental, and completely central. Women dressed as men, women passing as men... I've never seen a treatment so lavish and so practical. I'm already browsing Amazon looking for used copies of her other books. This one was the author's first novel and is highly acclaimed. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of her work. Sarah Waters! I've never heard of her before! I picked the book because of its interesting cover and the fact it was highly reviewed by The New York Times Book Review; I didn't even know what it was about. I love not knowing what a book is about, when I start to read it. I love trying to figure out where the author is going. I love not being able to guess or unpuzzle it too quickly. I avoid reading the inside covers, I don't read the summaries, or the back covers, sometimes I don't even read the content of the review - only check good/bad and the review's origin - I don't want to spoil it by knowing anything else. This book rewarded me. (P.S. I just found out that in Britain the book was so popular they made the whole thing into a BBC television mini-series! It's ordered on NetFlix already. I WANT IT. It's funny how something can exist for so long, and be so popular, and there's always the day you hear about it for the first time.)Book Review: Realistic Portrayal
Summary: 5 Stars
The other reviewers were not joking when they said they couldn't put it down. Indeed, when really analyzing the traits of the main character I must contragulate Waters on, more than anything, making Nan so likable given her glaring flaws. For a protagonist so utterly devoid of loyalty (except to the memory/obsession with Kitty) to get so under the skin is a major feat. SPOILERS:
She abandons her family and never looks back. She abandons Mrs. Milne and Gracie, again admitting to be happily free of them. Then manipulates her way into the life of somone she literally does not even know, based on one momentary chance encounter. And yet, through all of this there is something likable about Nan that keeps the reader engaged. What that is, I don't know. Maybe Waters has captured more than a grain of real life lesbian or just plain human drama in that a creature as young and lovely as Nan can get away with murder and still be sought after and worshipped by every woman in town. One thing that Waters may have used to her advantage in drawing the reader to empathy with Nancy is the narrator's voice -- Nancy at 40-something, often criticizing and wondering at her own bad behavior. Very effective in that we know she must have outgrown her immature selfishness.
Another realistic and humorous element toward the end... A lot of people might think it would be totally contrived for Nan to have run into every single one of her old girlfriends in one spot -- but, alas, that is more likely than one might think. The intertwined relationships among the London lesbian "scene" are only two stone throws from what it's like today in any big city in the western world -- I'm sure of it. Good reading, great sex scenes -- again, very realistic and integrated well into the story -- for the story's sake. Great read!
Book Review: Absolutely Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
The narrator, Nan, has spent all her life working for her family in a restaurant peeling and cooking oysters. When Kitty Butler begins putting on an act at a nearby music hall, Nan never misses a show. She is captivated by Kitty and unable to take her eyes away.
Kitty and Nan meet and become very close friends, almost like sisters. Deep inside Nan hold's a secret close to her heart that she wouldn't dare tell a soul -- she's in love with Kitty. Her family is thrilled with her new friend, all except for her sister Alice who is suspicious of the budding relationship. When Kitty makes the decision to move to London to perform, she asks Nan to go with her. Despite how much her family will miss her, Nan chooses to go.
The story continues to show the devloping romance between Kitty and Nan that grows into a deep love and sexual relationship -- all until someone gets hurt. The next seven years of Nan's life are her hardest ever. She must learn lessons and experience trials and tribulations that all must endure in order to understand and appreciate life.
This beautifully written treasure chest of entertainment was one I accidentally came across and never expected to actually read. I picked it up one day out of bordom and was finished reading it within 48 hours. The story is so intricate and captivating that you absolutely cannot put it down. It is a love story that anyone who has ever fallen passionately in love with someone can relate to. Nan and Kitty's story through adolescence, growth, heartbreak, pain, love, and new beginnings is one that you will always remember. A must read for the lover of any genre.
Book Review: I laughed out loud and even cried a little!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a 17 year old girl, and a lesbian at that, I have been on a quest to find the best in film and in fiction. Luckily enough, I was able to watch Tipping the Velvet on the BBC when it aired for the States. It was very good and British (it didn't push as many buttons as one could wish.) After seeing this, I had to read the novel! But the book was not what I had expected it to be, as all book-to-movie things go. Yes, it had sex and maybe lewd at times, but the ending, I'd say, was all worth it. I'm a romantic at heart and it just hit it. Hell, I cry during every intimate sex scene in a lesbian film i.e. When Night Is Falling or Fire (all of Fire made me cry come to think of it.) I feel, if your just looking to read a long lesbian fiction novel that ends happily then this is your find. But really, if your just wanting to nit pick, if you will, at the language or knowingly guess what will come next, read it anyway! Nancy is a character who you will laugh and cry with, and at times even want to hit because she seems so childish. It took me a week to read, but I'm always busy and the moments that were left without the textured paper against my thumbs and first fingers were excruciating and left me feeling anxious and rather gloomy. So, don't put it down as I had, even if it's two in the morning and you're on your second cup of coffee trying to find out if Nan will... (fill with anything.)A Great Read!