Introducing Lesbian Fiction: Gillian Rodgerson

Gillian Rodgerson is an editor at Insomniac Press, a lesbian book publisher, and she recommends Love Ruins Everything by Karen X Tulchinsky.



Which lesbian book should you read first?

I really love Love Ruins Everything by Karen X Tulchinsky. It's the story of bumbling butch Nomi Rabinovitch, looking for love and finally finding it. It's funny, honest, and gives readers a sense of what life was like during the dark days of the worst of the Aids epidemic as Nomi's gay cousin Henry investigates a conspiracy at the heart of the fight against the virus. 


The story moves between San Francisco and Toronto, the dialogue is real, and the characters are vividly drawn. Nomi's effervescent Jewish family and her varied group of lesbian friends provide an engaging backdrop to this tale of romance and activism.Karen X. Tulchinsky has gone on to write and edit lots of other things, including the sequel to this one, Love and Other Ruins, and the award-winning The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky, so it's also a good introduction to the work of a terrific Canadian lesbian writer.

• Love Ruins Everything, Insomniac Press. New edition. (originally published by Press Gang). 

PS. Full disclosure: I'm an editor at Insomniac, but I love the book or we wouldn't have republished it!

Gillian Rodgerson at www.insomniacpress.com


Further reading:

• Buy Love Ruins Everything by Karen X Tulchinsky on Amazon
• See all guest posts in the Introducing Lesbian Fiction Event
• See the main page about the Introducing Lesbian Fiction Event 2012