The Two Mujeres

by Sara Levi Calderon

Book Overview

Fiction. Simply and sensually written, this love story between two Mexican Jewish women has been both scandalous and celebrated since its first publication. A romance that explores the constraints that family, community and society place on love, TWO MUJERES is an evocation of a desire that crosses boundaries and the risks of that transgression.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 187996001X
• ISBN13: 9781879960015
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Aunt Lute Books
• Length: 211 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Beautifully enticing from page 1

Exasperating in its truth and tale of a woman in love with a woman. The novel really explores the horrendous reality of a culture that requires the conformity to heterosexuality and all of its implications. This sensual and spirtual love story is rich is symbolism and its sexual exploration. The ties that bind are sometimes better broken, as The Two Mujeres shows. It is page turning and hard to put down. For anyone who has been in love, and for anyone who has been told not to love the person they love, it is required reading.

Great Book!

The Two Mujeres was great. It was refreshing to read a lesbian novel about women of another culture. It dealt with many issues. I would recomend it as a great, though rough, love story.

slow beginning -- worth it in the end

at first, the writing in this novel seems a little awkward - the dialogue a bit unsure of itself, the metaphors a little forced. but i attributed this to the fact that i was reading an english translation of a book originally written in spanish, and kept going. little by little, the author, as well as the protagonist, becomes more confident, and as she reveals more and more of her protagonist's story, the words begin to flow and the descriptions begin to sound less like an attempt at poetry and more genuine. the few spanish words interspersed in the english begin to sound less gimmicky and more appropriate. it is like finally getting past the superficial, sometimes self-conscious conversation with an attractive stranger and learning what's behind their carefully constructed facade. the first part of this book, although well-written, is a typical love story, altered only by the fact that it is about two women. there is the requisite clumsy first meeting, the love scenes, the falling in love. what raises this book above the typical comes afterwards, when the author delves into the mind of the protagonist and brings us inside. depth and color is slowly given to the protagonist as we learn who she really is. the other characters, although important, are secondary. they are there, like the backdrop and composition of a painting, to help shape the protagonist. little details about the settings are like stage sets - a hint of color, light, a column here, a carousel there, and the audience fills in the rest. although we are led to think it is beautiful, it too is secondary. within it, a little more of the protagonist is revealed. by the end of the novel the reader has come to know the protagonist as well as a good friend or lover might. light, dark, smudge spots and all are revealed. this is not a love story after all, but the story of one woman's life and her struggles when the choices she makes in life do not coincide with what's expected of her. in the end, much like life, it is a story that is sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but not altogether hopeless.