Reception
Although pulp novels were not reviewed by serious literary journals, The Ladder in 1959 gave it a very favorable review, claiming, "the book is very realistic, the writing is excellent for a paperback, and the ending is so very happy that it sets the book almost in a class by itself. The author is sympathetic herself, but she pulls no punches. She definitely realizes the drawbacks as well as the advantages."
In 1959, ONE, Inc. reviewed I Am A Woman, giving it mixed reviews for the descriptions of the sex scenes and Marcie's "unbelievable" personality, but being especially impressed with Jack and Terry, the happy ending, and the fact that the book was written for homosexuals, as opposed to entertainment for heterosexuals which was much more common. The review read, "It is indeed heartening to read a happy ending in this era of suicidal finishes; and this is a complete happy ending...and works out quite logically. I Am A Woman is a book that basically all homosexual readers, both men and women, will enjoy reading."
A 1969 retrospective of lesbian paperback fiction called I Am A Woman a "blockbuster" that heaps praise on the character of Beebo Brinker, "who carries off a barroom seduction scene that is surely a classic".
Chapter 8 of I Am A Woman was included in a compilation of excerpts from what author-editor Katherine V. Forrest considered the best examples of lesbian pulp fiction books, aptly named Lesbian Pulp Fiction in 2005.
Read more about this topic: I Am A Woman
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)