Substitute for Love

by Karin Kallmaker

Book Overview

Now out of the closet, Holly throws herself into the arms of a leather-clad stranger. She risks everything and sets out to pierce the deep shroud of mystery surrounding the woman she has come to love. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1562802658
• ISBN13: 9781562802653
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Naiad Press
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

OH MY GOSH!

I have never reviewed a book before, but this book, oh my gosh, this book is just so out of this world amazing I had to. Speaking as a mathematician just coming out, this book leaves me speechless. I cried I was so happy and so sad during parts. I became the characters; this book is so real. If I had to give away all my books but one (heaven forbid) this would be the one I keep. I almost threw this book out the window in the first couple chapters, the book wretched such emotion for me, but thank my lucky stars I didn't. You have to read this book. You just have to.

No Substitute for Kallmaker

The book description above does not do justice to the actual impact and power of the plot of this book. The story line is considerably more complicated than that. Holly's coming out process, Reyna's terrible dilemma, and the roadblocks between these women seem insurmountable, and the turns of events are not so simple as that description would lead one to believe. Kallmaker has put together a terrific plot with twists and turns one does not usually expect in a romance novel. Each character is rich and full, and the flow of the narrative is masterfully handled. I can't say enough positive things about this book. It adds to Kallmaker's varied and increasingly complex collection of finely written books about lesbians. I also found it interesting that other talented novelists, for instance Lori L. Lake (see her review below), have also been so effusive about this book. Like Lake, Kallmaker writes stories about real life people who have real life jobs and who are not romantic fantasies. It says something very positive when Kallmaker's peers are bestowing her with such high honors. One can only hope that she gets the well-deserved Lammy award for which she has finally been nominated.My only regret is that so few lesbian novels are made into films. This story would be an excellent addition to movies by, for, and about lesbians. Any aspiring filmmakers out there?

Highly Recommended!

At long last, I finally read Kallmaker's critically acclaimed book, SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE, and believe me, it was time well spent. This book is noteworthy and remarkable, and it very much deserved the Lammy nomination it got. SFL is a well-plotted, intelligent, and nuanced book made all the more excellent by the way Kallmaker has woven thematic threads throughout. In addition, the story is well-written and capably edited, with memorable scenes and language. I found myself marking great passages (no, not the sex scenes! ) which I re-read when I finished the book. Holly thinks she is a regular, run-of-the-mill straight woman. She has abandoned a promising math career because her long-term boyfriend, Clay, told her to, just as her overbearing aunt/foster mother has. Holly is, in actuality, an honest-to-goodness math wizard. Not only is she good at the subject, but she loves it. Instead of following her dream to be a math teacher and researcher, she works in an actuarial office so that *Clay* can be a teacher. She and Clay live rather predictably, with Clay's needs always coming first. "They had worked hard to keep everything the same from day to day, as if tomorrow would never come and niether of them would ever change." After ten years, Holly is finally ready to crack out of her shell. For this, she is not prepared, but as Kallmaker tells us, "When dams burst, floods are inevitable." Holly's shocking realization that she is attracted to women begins a series of events that lead her to the other main character in the book, Reyna. Unlike Holly, Reyna knows she is lost, but she is powerless to change her circumstances without harming her mother over whom her father has a chokehold. Reyna chooses to live a double life--one life that satisfies her domineering and over-reaching father, and the other life a series of one night stands carried out Friday nights after slipping away from the private detectives her father has watching her. Reyna works at her father's conservative think tank doing a job that is morally and ethically repugnant to her, but it pays her mom's medical bills and keeps her alive. She is trapped and spiraling further downward daily. And then, Holly and Reyna meet, and sparks fly. In addition to math/numbers analogies and themes, I loved the leitmotif of the sextant. Lost on a hike with friends, Holly is able to use a sextant and her math and mechanical skills to determine longitude and latitude in a key scene. But what she can do externally takes her much longer internally, and we are far into the book before "she accepted that even with two mirrors, the horizon, and a familiar star to navigate by, she still wouldn't know where she was." Neither Holly or Reyna know where they are, at least not until a lot of issues start getting worked out. I liked the fact that this book was not a typical romance, nor was I able to guesstimate how it would turn out. I wanted it to have a happy ending, but right up to the end, I

There is no substitute for Kallmaker

Just when you think she can't get better, Kallmaker manages to surprise you again. This book has it all: the insipid new age boyfriend and the politically driven right-wing Dad, both characters you'll love to hate, two women that you could swear you actually know, those much anticipated senuous sex scenes (No, don't skip to the chapter. It's better if you wait.)and a cadre of circumstances that will leave you angry, breathless, intoxicated and a believer in the power of love.First and foremost this is a coming out story. It begins with both main characters, Holly and Reyna, denying the depth of their true natures. Holly believes she's in love with her teacher/boyfriend even though her relationship with him has been waning and unfulfilling for years because he's just so politically correct. Reyna, an avowed lesbian, hides her identity from the world so that her right-wing Christian coalition father will continue to provide medical support for her terminally ill mother. Kallmaker captures just how cruel people can be in the name of religious or righteous morality. Considering that we live in an age of terrorism, Kallmaker does a good job of dissecting the mind of those who would have us all believe as they believe. She does so without making either the father or boyfriend into monsters. It reminds me of a J.M. Redmann quote that evil is often banal.We know that these two women are on a collision course because the first chapter tells us, but it does not get in the way of Kallmaker developing both of these characters separately. Holly needs to discover who she is, while Reyna needs to recognize that she can't exist in the vacuum of her father's world. They both need to come out of the place they're in. As an aside, Kallmaker also gets to show off a little bit of her mathmatical knowledge.Although this may not be one of Kallmaker's most sexual books, don't worry, there is Chapter 11, all 15 pages of it. Believe me, it's worth the wait. As always, there is no substitute for Kallmaker. She's the real deal when it comes to romance. Buy the book. This one's a keeper.

The best Kallmaker book yet!

A beautiful read. Kallmaker writes a lush, full-bodied story, that is not only about love, but of coming of age within oneself, dealing with the worst kind of blackmail, and keeping true to who you are, no matter how awful the obstacles. Substitute for Love is a novel full of spice, intelligence, heat and passion, and a very mature and even handling of the issue of gay civil liberties, that in no way detracts from the tale, but instead enhances the reader's perception of these issues, as well as giving us meaningful insight into the character's lives and the reasons for their actions. There were so many twists in this novel, and such a richness of physical dialogue/attraction and passion between the two characters, that I really could not put this book down! This really is my favourite of Karin's books, it without a doubt has more to it than your average romance novel - a must read. Most definitely.