Staff Pick
Caldwell is fearless in this tiny memoir, her second after Legs Get Led Astray. After spending her life in relationships with men, she suddenly finds herself, unbelievably, in love with a woman — a woman who already has a partner. Caldwell illustrates all the ugly pain, fear, anger, and aching loneliness of embarking on a relationship that is not your own. Terrific. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Women is a novella about falling in love with a woman, about loving women, about being a woman. It is a novella about a mother and a daughter. A novella about female friendships that blur the line of romance. A novella about a woman who, after having her first sexual relationship with a woman, goes on a series of (comical) OK Cupid dates with other women. A novella about a woman in her twenties who doesn't know if she's gay or straight or bi. A novella about falling in love and having your heart broken and figuring out what to do next. The book is an urgent recall of heartbreak, of a stark identity in crisis.
Review
"Women by Chloe Caldwell is a beautiful read/a perfect primer for an explosive lesbian affair/an essential truth." Lena Dunham
Review
"I read it a couple of months ago in one can't-put-it-down-even-though-it's-the-middle-of-the-night sitting. It's as intense and interesting and clear-hearted as they come." Cheryl Strayed
Review
"What is refreshing about Women is its storytelling through the female gaze, and how this informs our questioning and resolution of identity. Women doesn't profess to be a feminist novella, and I didn't notice this distinction until I meditated on why the book feels so different from classic coming-of-age fiction and memoir....The allure of other women that she conveys is in their ability to be natural and brilliant. There is a desire to have someone who has herself figured out accept you." Bustle
Review
"Women is a skillfully and engrossingly written novella, a small slice of overwhelming love and heartbreak, and the search for belonging and self. Caldwell proves herself as a writer to watch in the coming years." The Masters Review
About the Author
Chloe Caldwell is the author of the novella, Women (Short Flight/Long Drive Books, 2014), and the essay collection, Legs Get Led Astray (Future Tense Books, 2012). Her work has appeared in Salon.com, The Rumpus, Hobart, and the anthologies Goodbye To All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NYC and True Tales of Lust and Love. She lives in upstate New York.