This is the very funny story of three sisters and their brother, living in a once opulent and now dilapidated country house in Ireland. Molly Keane has an amazing ability for dissecting the numerous weaknesses of these eccentric characters, always with irony, love and sympathy. As in some other of her novels, she deals with the issue of power in the relationship of care givers and care receivers, showing that even at its most unselfish and needed, taking care of someone can be the ultimate revenge.

This book is structured very differently. Its 30+ stories are divided under 5 sub-headings, each characterizing different tastes and temptations. These include stories of times gone by, futuristic stories, and phase of life (and womanhood) stories, including tales of open lesbian love affairs, forbidden passions, life-long lovers, and stories about identity confusions--basically, very similar to real life. Any one section is bound to hold a gem of a tale. I just picked this book up, so I haven't read that many stories, but the one I like so far is "Free Love" by Ali Smith, which is about a young girl's first love-making experience, and the first time she falls in love with another woman. Very touching. If you're in the mood to read a short and tender, romantic lesbian love story, minus nasty sex scenes that often demean the female body, then this book is for you. It's great...very enjoyable!

First off, Emma she's an amazing writer, I actually borrowed the book from the Library, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down, it was that good. Some of the stories I could identify with and it also helped me with some problems I was going through, this book is a definite plus in my book, if you haven't gotten it or read it you should, go for it! .

The variety of stories in this book is wonderful; some are risque, some are tragic, some are terribly romantic... sexy, sad, nostalgic, and funny. Most times I couldn't put it down. My favorite story has to be "The Lobster Queen" because it reminds me so much of my first romantic... episode with a woman. It's positively heart-wrenching. Other excellent stories include "The Woman Who Loved the Moon," "The Dark House," "The Burning Times," and "The Catherine Trilogy." (That was devestating. I cried myself to sleep after reading that.) One the whole, this book is great. I would recommend it to anyone, straight or not so straight, because it offers so many honest and varied views on lesbians and lesbianism. It's compassionate. It's tender. It will win your heart.

I read this book fast in one sitting; Donoghue's stark but evocative prose brought the interlinked tales vividly to life. The celebration of affection between women is subtle and refreshing, and, though prose and characters seem simple, they are nuanced. My favorite tales were the reworkings of Beauty and the Beast (who is "not a man") and Snow White, which concentrates on the relationship between the girl and her stepmother. Donoghue's reworkings subvert classic tales in sophisticated ways that challenge any reader, especially the young adult audience that this book is ostensibly for.

This is one of the loveliest books I have ever read, period. I'm counting full-length novels, anotholgies, poetry, everything. The writing style is absolutely wonderful, the retakes on the classics astoundingly subtle and haunting. What can I say? It's a beautiful book. Ms. Donoghue's writing style far surpasses those of Patricia Mckillip's, Robin McKinley's, even Elizabeth Knox's, in sheer marriage (uh-oh, getting a little swept away, here!) of words and images while using the sparest of styles. Nothing is wasted or superfluous in this lovely collection of fairy-tales. All of the stories are haunting, with nice twists and turns and oddly strong characters with strong and individual voices, no easy feat for such short tales. My favorites were the remakes of Donkey Skin, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White. Lovely, lovely.

I'm almost shocked that this book is to be found in the children's section of a bookstore, it seemed to me to be a bit too grown up for children. But that's ok. With what many will view as lesbian themes, or at the very least feminist themes, letting children read literature that accepts such normally taboo or looked-down upon concepts might just inadvertantly teach them tolerance and acceptance. That's definitely a good thing, and I know from experience that what a child reads is more than a little influential in her life.

The sum of it is, this book is superbly written with finely, finely crafted stories, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

This was--no pun intended--the most magical book that I have read since *The Mists of Avalon*. Beautiful language, dark eroticism and finely-woven structure makes *Kissing the Witch* a treat even for people who wouldn't normally enjoy books with "alternative" themes.

There's more and more wonderful lesbian fiction out there, but in the plethora of murder mysteries and everyday romances, sometimes the soul hungers for mythic characters. I love this book because it connects me with the awesome experience of passionate self-discovery. There is a moment when you begin to find who you are when the heavens seem to reverberate, but the sound is so soft that you only hear it with your heart. I can only sit back in wonder as Ms Donoghue articulates it so well. My hat is more than off to her...I'm willing to learn a full court bow!

"Stir-fry" tells the coming of age story of, Maria, a college student in Dublin, Ireland. While I enjoyed the plot and characters, overall the ending was unfulfilling. Even with slight reservations I still recommend this book: Donoghue's writing is that good. I also highly recommend Donoghue's novel "Hood".

Maria is a small town Irish girl, who comes to Dublin to attend university. Not wanting to live with her aunt, she shares an apartment with two women, Ruth and Jael, who help introduce her to a grander scope of the world at large. Maria makes a few other friends, but it is Ruth and Jael who are her centerpiece, but when she discovers they're lesbian lovers, she's not sure what to think anymore. She adapts, and tries to follow her classmates and get interest in dating and clubbing, but it all seems flat and uninteresting. Ultimately, a single moment at New Year's clarifies Maria's feelings and helps her realize just who she wants. Donoghue's marvelous first novel is exquisitely rendered, and quite fulfilling. I found some of the middle passages a bit tepid, but this was a brief feeling, and Donoghue's writing captured me again soon after. I am a huge fan of her book "Hood", and it's wonderful this book has come back into print!

Donoghue writes simply and clearly, yet conveys so well the complexities of Maria becoming more aware of herself. There is so much going through her mind as she adjusts to life in the city, away from her family and village, and is exposed to new ideas of how to live. We can see Maria changing and yet are still surprised at the end. This book is more about relationships than events, so on the first read it seemed to drag, but the more I read it the more I notice how every insignificant event is designed to show some aspect of Maria that she is barely aware of herself.

Being both a fiction writer and historian, Emma Donahue has compiled a book of short stories based on events and people she came across in her research. In many cases all she had to work with were one or two sentences, a name, or a rather fantastic story. So she took it upon herself to create the stories and characters that might be behind these brief bits of information.

It's an interesting idea, and the actual writing is flowing and poetic, however, the majority of these stories ultimately disappointed me. Sometimes it's because her stories are a little too obvious, as with the title story. If you are going to write about a woman who is reported to have given birth to rabbits, and you want to give a logical explanation, a scam is about the only explanation you can come up with. THe only room for creativity is in why these folks decided to try it and how they came up with it, both of which I found to lack much depth.

The greatest shortcoming, however, was in the length of the stories. When the main purpose is to develop a character behind a bit of news, it requires far more words. THese stories were more on the order of short shorts. Yet because they were based on actual events, the surprise endings and plot turns required to make a short short work, are not here. Therefore the reader is ultimately left unsatisfied and wondering why the story needed to be written in the first place.

Oddly enough, the only story that appealed to me was the last one, Looking for Petronella. This story was quite a bit longer than the others and had more depth. The plot was also a lot more creative. It was almost as though the author needed to build her momentum to reach this point.

All in all this is not a bad read, but nothing I need to keep on my bookshelf.

Just finished THE WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO RABBITS, by Emma Donoghue - a collection of historical fictional short stories. This book was incredible - language, style, history, wabbits [there was a rabbit mentioned somewhere in each story].

Some stories just slid quietly by - making a small statement. But they were balanced by the ones that hit me between the eyes: Dido, How a Lady Dies, Words for Things, Ballad.

Some particular passages...

From "Ballad" - the tale of the young man who brought the plague to the two women he loved the most - "He wonders what it must be like to have a friend so long that you cannot remember a time before; to be woven together from the root."

From "How a Lady Dies" - I think this was my favorite story in the book. The sad, aching to be that person that cares so much for someone else and has the dignity to not cross the line. Or to be the other person, know that you're cared for so much but you are not able to give back that care - coupled with watching this person wasting away and being able to offer nothing more than a hand to hold and a smile. *sniffle*

"The voice of love is a noose. It keeps you dangling between two worlds."

"The only thing one can do in Bath that one did not do the day before is die."

"The doctors think a young lady of fortune must have everything to live for. ... Miss Pennington thanks them all and pays their fees without a murmur. She is coming to realise how very rich she is. If she was only a pauper, this dying would have been over with a long time ago."

"It occurs to her that she died some weeks ago and never noticed."

"No, Elizabeth has written nothing worth marble. Her verses are thin leaden things. Nothing to leave behind her, then. Only a share in a much-divided heart."

Read this book, ya hear?

This is an eclectic collection of interesting stories from an Irish novelist. One of the stories deals with Mary Toft, a woman who appeared to give birth to rabbits in 18th-century England. I enjoyed the wide range of topics in the book at the fringes of history, including Caroline Crachami, 20 inches tall at the age of three.

Readers interested in historical oddities will enjoy the very similarly titled book The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits by Cliff Pickover. Pickover's book both shocks and delights.

Set in Ireland, and told in the first person, the story opens with Penelope, called Pen, dealing with the sudden death of her one and only love, Cara Wall.

Cara was away in Greece with some lesbian friends when she was killed in a car accident. Pen is living in the house of Cara's father.

Pen and Cara have been lovers since their Catholic schoolgirl days at Immaculate, and Pen is now a 5th grade teacher at Immac--as it is called by its former students. While their relationship was the grand passion of their lives, we learn that it was riddled with infidelities, and separations.

Cara was becoming very out, while Pen remained very closeted. Also flavoring the story is the fact Cara's older sister, Kate, was actually Pen's first crush, and Kate has now returned from America for Cara's funeral. The book is well-written. Definitely not a fluff piece.

The title refers to all the "hoods" that are a part of Pen's life--girlhood, womanhood, spinsterhood, and now widowhood.

Pen's lover, Cara, never makes it home after a vacation in Greece. Killed in a senseless traffic accident by a drunken driver, Cara was only "faithful" to Pen within her idea of the term. For the week following Cara's death, Pen reviews her life with Cara since they met at school as teenagers and became "s.o.g.s." -- sort-of-girlfriends.

In dealing with her grief and pain of recollection of Cara's affairs, Pen thinks about the many hoods we all wear. "Dykehood was definitely a baseball cap," she thinks to herself as she dons the hood of widow's weeds.

And Pen must also deal with Kate, Cara's sister, who returns from the U.S. after an absence of 14 years. Kate, with whom Pen was first infatuated when the 3 were in school together.

A beautifully wrought book. Warning: explicit lesbian sex.

Absorbing and intense, this novel goes far beyond typical "coming-out" literature. Set in Dublin in the 80's, Hood follows the main character Pen (thirties, a teacher) through the week following her lover's death. Jealousy, intimacy, passion, shame and even humor: it's all here as we experience the grieving process with an invisible widow. Grief is not a quick phase and so the book may at times feel weighty and a little slow-moving. But stick with it -- and you won't have to make yourself do that for long -- for Emma Donoghue's delicate and deft prose will pull you back in. You may even find yourself as I did: coming back to read Hood again and again. In the end, this is a book about indentity and finding hope -- not in spite of, but through, one's pain.

I appreciate authors who take the time to research the details of a subject before they place a pen to paper, it renders the tale all the more believable. Slammerkin is not a "prettied-up" fantasy story about the glittery life of a prostitute, instead, beneath the powdered wigs, pasty make-up and hooped skirts; this novel unblinkingly conveys all the underlying stink and grime of living in London during the 1700's. Within this realistic setting we thus follow the short, traumatic life of Mary Saunders, who is a character who doesn't pine away for the sympathy of the reader, but at the same time, because of her young age and the circumstances that lead to her disastrous destiny, we can't help but feel some measure of pity.

Beyond it's believable plot, Slammerkin is well paced and skillfully written. Definitely a book worth reading.

Slammerkin is a spellbinding novel, there are many twists and turns that leave will leave the reader anxiously turning the pages for more. Donoghue, vividly sets the scene in London, where a young girl, Mary Saunders, was desperate for beauty, this beauty came at a very high cost.

From a ribbon, a rape, and the selling of a body and soul, Slammerkin is more than the story of a prostitute. It is the story of seeking self-freedom and liberty. It is about the choices that we make and their life-long impact.

Mary Saunders, a young girl of fifteen, attempted to leave the trade. She conspired and found a family, one she thought she would not love, she was wrong. Here is where Mary's story begins and the slow destruction that was to follow in Mary's path.

Slammerkin is a novel to savour and share. It is both lively and horrific. I would highly recommend Slammerkin.

Emma Donoghue is an historian, editor and novelist of extraordinary skill. In her latest book, Slammerkin, she combines her talent for research with her gifts for fiction to create an historical novel that is absolutely compelling, utterly engrossing. The real difficulty, in fact, with reading so astonishing a novel is that I am now completely spoiled for lesser fiction. Slammerkin, a word which means a loose dress or a loose woman, is astonishingly rich, written with elegance and style, containing neither an extraneous syllable nor a gratuitous piece of research. Beginning with the meager evidence of a real woman who was condemned for murder in 1763, Donoghue creates a completely believable world, and peoples it with vividly authentic characters. Mary Saunders lives with her mother and stepfather in the most abject poverty, where she "owned nothing with color in it, and consequently was troubled by cravings." When the thirteen year-old Mary becomes pregnant after a brutal rape, her family throws her out on the street, and she learns quickly that the only job in London for a young girl with no skills is prostitution. Thanks to her friend, Doll, Mary learns to work the streets, but when she earns the enmity of the man who sliced Doll's face, she has no choice to flee to Monmouth, hoping that her mother's girlhood friend will offer her assistance. Mary's past, however, cannot be left behind despite her hopes, and she learns that being a servant is as brutalizing as being a prostitute. Poverty, class and despair are the enemies, regardless of occupation. Donoghue has a larger project in Slammerkin than plot, although the plot is always compelling. She enables her readers to experience, through the lives of these remarkable characters, what it might have been like to try to survive in a world with little tolerance for mistakes. Her characters notice what's going on, and comment on what they see. When Mary's new mistress tells her daughter a story about a good servant, for example, Mary is less than enthralled. She hates stories "about virtuous servants whose rewards awaited them in the Hereafter. They made the Mighty Maker sound like the kind of master who was always years in arrears on the wages." We learn that among the desperately poor, bedtime comes with the darkness because there is no spare money for candles or fire. And how do we know this? Because the Mary's Monmouth employers, aching to be seen as better than those around them, "ate supper at seven in the little parlour, very hungry but proud to have waited until such a genteel hour." Mary learns that "light was a clear badge of rank." What is most impressive in this novel is that, despite what must have been years of research, and thousands of notes, Donoghue never includes any piece of information that is not vital for her characters to know. And what characters they are. Let me offer one example of Donoghue's skill at characterization, an example that also serves to illustrate her exquisite use of language. Nance Ash is the wet nurse in the Monmouth household. She became a servant because one long ago night she decided to keep her infant in her bed, instead of in a cradle where he might freeze to death. Nance's husband came home drunk, and in his stupor, rolled over on the baby, and suffocated him. "The thing was, though, that baby had been Nance Ash's only chance. Without her

knowledge, on that one long night all the hope was pressed out of her life. The next day her tiny boy was put in a coffin no bigger than a hatbox, and her husband, blind with gin, called her terrible names and stumbled out into the lane. After three days she knew he was never coming back, no matter how long she waited." Reduced to beggary, Nance finds work for the breasts still filled with her son's milk. Forced into service, she becomes religious, bitter, cold. "But when the moonlight came in the shutters, on nights like this one, Nance Ash couldn't help thinking of how she'd had her single chance and lost it as easy as a leaf might be blown from a tree, simply because she'd slept sound one night seventeen years ago this January, dreaming of God alone knew what. She'd never slept right through a night since. She just wished, now, she could remember what she'd been dreaming of, all those years ago: what was it that had been so sweet she hadn't wanted to wake?"

this book is fabulous! Emma Donoghue's introduction provides fascinating contextual information, guiding the reader through attitudes toward love between women from the late 1660s to the early 1990s. The poems themselves fairly leap off the page with lives of their own. Donoghue selected poems which are quite accessible and widely varied. I did have some trouble getting past the melodrama of some of the earlier work, but once I did, I discovered many, many truly delightful poems illuminating the myriad aspects of women's love for one another. At the end of the book is a section of biographical notes about the poets which is intriguing on its own. This volume would be an asset to anyone's library.

Michael Field was a successful, well-regarded poet and playright in Victorian England... until critics discovered that "Michael Field" was a pseudonym used by not one, but TWO women writing collaboratively. What even the suddenly-lukewarm critics didn't appreciate - not only were "the Michaels" (as they were known to friends) aunt and niece, but they were also lovers and partners in an extraordinay personal and artistic life. They wrote eleven volumes of poetry and thirty historical tragedies, but perhaps their most fascinating work was the diary that the two women shared for a quarter of a century. Novelist Emma Donaghue has done a marvelous bit of literary biographical research in this revealing look at the lives, loves, and eccentricities of Katherine Bradley (1846-1914) and her niece Edith Cooper (1862-1913).

This is the second "Finbar's Hotel," collection edited by Bolger, and this one is given over to seven Irish women writers: Maeve Binchy, Clare Boylan, Emma Donoghue, Anne Haverty, Eilis Ni Dhibhne, Kate O'Riordan and Deirdre Purcell. As in the first one (which had only two women, Anne Enright and Jennifer Johnston), each writer is given a "room" of the hotel, and creates a guest and a story to explain their presence at the hotel. And as in the first one, the writer of each story is not identified. One has to wonder at the point of such cleverness, as it is a directly impedes any attempt on the reader's part to discover a new writer to seek out in the future. For example, say I find two of the seven stories to be amazing, what am I to do? Buy one book by each of the seven writers and read all seven to figure out whose writing it was that I liked? Since there's no real purpose to keeping the authors secret (other than editorial conceit), why do it?

The strongest stories reside in rooms 101 and 106, which contain stories that revolve around marital infidelity, but have gentle reversals. Room 104 also concerns infidelity, but in this case, to God-and is much less interesting. Rooms 102, 103, 105 and the penthouse all contain guests coming from abroad and their stories all revolve around encounters with their past. Room 105, which concerns a mother meeting her son for the first time is perhaps the best of them, although the penthouse story is worth reading for the ending if nothing else. One sort of odd running thread is the clumsy mocking of Americans that appears in each story, which is in contrast the generally gentle tone of the collection. All in the all, the collection is inoffensive, but not quite as strong as the original Finbar's Hotel.

I bought this book because I saw Maeve Binchey's name on it. As much as I love her writing, I have not read much Irish fiction, and this looked like a fun book.

The book is a set of short stories that have inter-connecting characters in the stories. Each chapter was written by a different author, and I had fun trying to figure out who wrote which chapter. The story itself was light and fun, but not as much as I had hoped.

I enjoyed reading Ladies Night at Finbar's hotel, and would highly recommend it as a vacation or beach read. Nothing too deep to get lost in.

This book us a follow-up to Finbar's Hotel where 6 Irish writers wrote short stories about a decrepit but lively Dublin hotel Ladies Night is all Irish female writers, with the unique female perspective on many issues related to women: pregnancy, artificial insemination, old loves who have done you wrong, youth and aging, sexual jealousy. Although the topics can be dark, the writing is tight, witty and stylish so you can appreciate the humor even if you are crying over a piteous situation, hoping it will all turn out all right in the end. But does it? Read each story and see!