What book did I read?
April 9, 2013 11:43 PM Subscribe
I have very little information. Maybe you read this too, though. Fiction with fantasy/paranormal elements, early or mid-90's, female author, gay romance/sex, ghosts, condom factory, divorce, maybe some Wicca?
Ok, here's the sum total of what I remember about the book:
Plot details:
A middle-aged woman who is involved with the paranormal, has a second sight, or possibly was a pagan/Wiccan/had a Goddess-related spirituality is divorced by her husband suddenly for a younger trophy wife. She may or may not have a school-aged little girl. I am pretty sure this woman takes a job in a condom factory and is bitter about it. Describes having to take condoms off of the penis-shaped mold as they go by on a conveyor belt. Contemporary small- or mid-town setting; I don't think any of the characters uses the Internet at any point.
I have no idea how these plot elements are connected, but: there are two gay men (lovers/partners) who are some kind of light/dark duality, which I remember being more symbolic than actually a fact in their world (sort of like they complemented each other, not that they were magical creatures or anything.) One is named Shadow. One dies (due to violence? and is dead for a while?) and they have explicit-but-emotionally moving sex while the dead one is an embodied ghost. The divorced woman character is somehow feeling this/experiencing the sex to the extent that it's somewhat like astral travel to another body/another person's emotions.
There is a strong theme of grief, and also the unfairness of being a woman in a sexist society.
Book details:
I read this some time between 1995 and 1998. I suspect that the book was recent at that time; I think the possible publication window is 1990 through 1997.
It was not a young-adult book, nor was it part of a series.
It was a paperback with a cover that was mostly dark cobalt blue, with figural but abstracted artwork in a lighter color, I think paler blue, yellow, and white.
Almost certain the author was a woman; I think I remember this being her second book at that time, or at least one of two books she had written. This book was better than her other book, about which I remember nothing but a white cover.
It was a novel of average length, no illustrations, text effects, or even illuminated capitals at chapter headings. Boring font. Probably not a trade paperback based on what I remember about the paper.
Stuff I think I made up:
I may be mixing up the plot of two books.
The cover art: possibly in that mid-90's early computer artwork style with figures made out of simple 3D shapes with a lot of gradient, but in kind of a faux-Picasso style? Sort of meant to mimic airbrushing, but with that computer slickness of very expensive, yet ugly, computer graphic design circa just-before-Toy Story. I know that's incredibly vague, sorry.
It may have been classified as a young adult book (at the Pasadena CA Public Library main branch) until someone complained about the explicit sex and got it reconsidered or removed for a time, or just reclassified to adult fiction.
At the time, I recall thinking it was not what I, a young teenager, would have expected from a young adult novel-- the sex was more graphic than, say, Weetzie Bat or Girl plus the majority of the characters were independent adults, plus the theme was really heavy with grieving and bitterness about marriage.
I remember thinking I was getting away with something by reading it...so that's probably why I want to read this again as an adult! Does anyone remember this?
Ok, here's the sum total of what I remember about the book:
Plot details:
A middle-aged woman who is involved with the paranormal, has a second sight, or possibly was a pagan/Wiccan/had a Goddess-related spirituality is divorced by her husband suddenly for a younger trophy wife. She may or may not have a school-aged little girl. I am pretty sure this woman takes a job in a condom factory and is bitter about it. Describes having to take condoms off of the penis-shaped mold as they go by on a conveyor belt. Contemporary small- or mid-town setting; I don't think any of the characters uses the Internet at any point.
I have no idea how these plot elements are connected, but: there are two gay men (lovers/partners) who are some kind of light/dark duality, which I remember being more symbolic than actually a fact in their world (sort of like they complemented each other, not that they were magical creatures or anything.) One is named Shadow. One dies (due to violence? and is dead for a while?) and they have explicit-but-emotionally moving sex while the dead one is an embodied ghost. The divorced woman character is somehow feeling this/experiencing the sex to the extent that it's somewhat like astral travel to another body/another person's emotions.
There is a strong theme of grief, and also the unfairness of being a woman in a sexist society.
Book details:
I read this some time between 1995 and 1998. I suspect that the book was recent at that time; I think the possible publication window is 1990 through 1997.
It was not a young-adult book, nor was it part of a series.
It was a paperback with a cover that was mostly dark cobalt blue, with figural but abstracted artwork in a lighter color, I think paler blue, yellow, and white.
Almost certain the author was a woman; I think I remember this being her second book at that time, or at least one of two books she had written. This book was better than her other book, about which I remember nothing but a white cover.
It was a novel of average length, no illustrations, text effects, or even illuminated capitals at chapter headings. Boring font. Probably not a trade paperback based on what I remember about the paper.
Stuff I think I made up:
I may be mixing up the plot of two books.
The cover art: possibly in that mid-90's early computer artwork style with figures made out of simple 3D shapes with a lot of gradient, but in kind of a faux-Picasso style? Sort of meant to mimic airbrushing, but with that computer slickness of very expensive, yet ugly, computer graphic design circa just-before-Toy Story. I know that's incredibly vague, sorry.
It may have been classified as a young adult book (at the Pasadena CA Public Library main branch) until someone complained about the explicit sex and got it reconsidered or removed for a time, or just reclassified to adult fiction.
At the time, I recall thinking it was not what I, a young teenager, would have expected from a young adult novel-- the sex was more graphic than, say, Weetzie Bat or Girl plus the majority of the characters were independent adults, plus the theme was really heavy with grieving and bitterness about marriage.
I remember thinking I was getting away with something by reading it...so that's probably why I want to read this again as an adult! Does anyone remember this?
Mod note: Final update from the OP:posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 9:07 PM on November 3, 2018
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