Five Minutes in Heaven

by Lisa Alther

Book Overview

A richly textured and absorbing novel of a woman's sexual and emotional awakening from the bestselling author of Kinflicks, Original Sins and Other Women. From Tennessee's sunlit smoky mountains to New York during the Stonewall era, Five Minutes in Heaven follows Jude--a woman haunted by ghosts, dreams and longings--on an epic search for love and intimacy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525938931
• ISBN13: 9780525938934
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Enticing, enjoyable novel...

I found "Five Minutes In Heaven" to be a compelling and enjoyable read. This novel was intriguing, even if a bit dark. The story was somewhat sophisticated and off the beaten path, which is what I liked about it, though not everyone would relate. This definitely isn't a book that stays within the confines of "mainstream" perspective. Rather, it explores sexuality and a woman's search for love, as well as for her self, from a place that exists outside conventional, conservative dogma. Because of that, I found it refreshing, unique and terrific.

Totally, TOTALLY gripping

I can see why some readers would be put off by this book. The stress on feminism and lesbianism is insistent (though not nearly as unsubtly so as in some of Alther's other books), and the characters are quite cliched - polite Southerners, aloof Northerners, sensitive gays, sophisticated but tricky Parisians and the like. At the same time, the passion and love that are the book's main subject and the light, understatedly dramatic writing style used to depict them are such that the reader will forget about the cliches and be drawn into the story, which is totally, totally gripping. Like the love it describes, Alther's novel has a haunting, obsessive quality which I have seldom seen surpassed in other works of fiction. A modern classic!

Made a stone butch cry

This novel was OUTSTANDING. I haven't read anything that was so emotionally gripping in a long time. Anyone who is/has been struggling to find The One will be able to relate. This book touches all of us in that it expresses a very strong desire in all of us (or at least MOST of us) to find a mutually-satisfying, healthy, LTR. And yes, reading this book made me cry, and I never cry. ;