Bannon wrote these books, which span about 14 years in fictional time, in actual chronological time of about 6 or 7 years. I sometimes wonder if she lived twice as long in her head than she did in real life. It was this book that made me wonder that. Published in 1960, Journey to a Woman brings back Beth, who was the object of Laura Landon's affections from Bannon's first book, Odd Girl Out. Beth has been married for years and has two children and comes to the harrowing realization that she has made the wrong decision in her life. She becomes consumed with finding Laura again, and leaves her husband and her children, as well as a physically and emotionally fragile woman who develops a fixation on her, in order to do it. She finds Laura eventually, after making her way to Greenwich Village, but that "nerve tortured cautious girl" Bannon showed us in the first two books has turned into a woman who used her experiences to develop a calm and warm widsom that Beth does not expect. Beth also meets Beebo Brinker who is also older and wiser, and it is with Beebo that she realizes a truer connection.Bannon has been asked if it's Beth she's most like. And she's responded yes, and no. Bannon admitted that Beth is the most autobiographical character, but that she would never have left her children, and indeed, did not. It was this book that Gene Damon (Barbara Grier) from The Ladder was the most impressed with of the series. But it was also Beebo Brinker from this book that Damon claimed as the protagonist and the hero. I disagree. The saga of Beth and Laura continues in this book to present the inevitable evolution of relationships we must all experience. My earnest hope is that Bannon's characters and her readers all developed the same self-knowledge and wisdom to come out of life's sometimes awful situations as better, stronger people. Read about Bannon's own journey here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bannon (I wrote it...)
This was an absolutely fitting and fairly perfect ending (this is technically book #4, but logistically/chronologically the last one, since #5 is a prequel) to the Beebo Brinker chronicles, oddly enough named for a character that doesn't even make an appearance until the second book, but somehow ends up the heart of the whole thing. The denizens of Ann Bannon's books are unique in a way that they are often difficult, tough to love, but easy to care about and always easy to understand because Bannon does such a superb job of really guiding the reader through the inner workings of her character's brains and hearts that it's impossible not to get emotionally involved. In this book it's fascinating to see how the characters have matured and changed. Although indisputably Beebo Brinker Chronicles are a very important work of lesbian fiction, it shouldn't be boxed in as such, since it deals such a universally relatable topics as self discovery, loves lost and found and lives that one couldn't have predicted for themselves. From one chapter to the next it ranges from utterly depressing and devastating brutality of life and human cruelty to shockingly tender kindness and hope. Bannon certainly makes love sound like a very dangerous proposition, but at the same time it is one's greatest aspiration. Highly recommended.
Do You like book Journey To A Woman (2003)?
Journey to a Woman, by ann Bannon, Narrated by Kate Rudd, Produced by Cleis Press, downloaded from audible.com.In this, the fourth book in the Beebo Brinker chronicles, we find Beth, having been married for nine years, realizing that she can’t stay in the marriage, even with two children, and knowing that she needs to find out once and for all whether or not she is a lesbian. In her fantasies, she has always considered the time with Laura, from Odd Girl Out, to be the most beautiful and fulfilled time in her life, so she sets out to find Laura to determine whether she still loves Laura, whether Laura still loves her, and whether they can begin where they left off. This is the book in which Beth goes through many things and grows up. A compelling read and a continued narrative in this chronicle of the 1950’s and early ‘60’s.
—Kathleen Hagen
This is the last book chronologically of Bannon’s lesbian pulps. It’s interesting to see how now the village (in 1960) is already starting to fade from its glory days and the gay bars are turning into tourist traps. While much less of this book takes place in the village it still very much feels like it captures the feel of the place and the time. This book features Beth from the first book regretting her marriage and wondering if perhaps she really is a lesbian after all. I skipped reading the first book in this series about Laura and Beth in college (as I’d rather read about women in New York than sororities) so while hearing much about the mythical Beth in the other stories this was the first time I’d seen her as a character. I felt so sorry for her, the first half of the book was how being a housewife in California in the 50s really sucked! In a way her break for freedom and her attempt to find Laura and herself were quite surprising. It was more shocking the way that she was forced to give up her children, and never looked back. It was good to see that 6 years later Laura and Jack were still happy in their odd little platonic relationship, nice to see an older and wiser Beebo. I do enjoy these books so much, Bannon has a way of writing that is very dramatic and emotional but also very honest. The people that litter these pages seem real, and their lives are touching and very much still relevant today. I think, despite being set in a sorority I am going to have to read the first book of this series, as it’s so wonderful and tragic I just want to see it all.
—Mel
